The Running Robot

Picking up the pen again

2022-10-17T18:38:00.007+08:00

t has been being a very long time since I penned a blog entry in the Running Robot. To be exact, 5 years since the last entry. Life have gone on with lots of changes since my last entry.

My little boy had grown from a little adorable baby to an energetic 6-year-old who couldn’t stop asking questions and making demands. While I am still a self-employed person, I had gone through some career changes in the years in between. I had headed a medium sized company and reached the pinnacle of my career. However, I missed my independence greatly during that time and decided to step away from that.

I had been struggling with the thought of picking up the pen again for a long time. Initially, I was worried about privacy. The running robot was after all a private blog about my life and my journeys. I am not sure if I should show too much of myself to what would otherwise be an international and anonymous audience. I wanted to write about hobbies and essays etc in other websites. However, it turned out to be more difficult than I thought to be. It was far easier for me to write as I used to over here. The words simply come easier.

I am not discounting the possibilities of starting other websites. Leave a comment below if you have some suggestions. Honestly, I wonder aloud too if there is still an audience would over here. Give me a shout out below if you are still around.

There are much content in my mind to share. I have had new hobbies, had many new experiences both bad and good. I also have many thoughts which I wanted to share. Let’s see how this journey goes.

The Ups and Downs of Entrepreneurship

2017-08-24T13:40:00.001+08:00

The lonely and peaceful walk back to the car after a day's work

Another long day, another late dinner. Another day in my days of independence and running my own show.

Is it an easier life? Not really, while hours of work are short. They can end really late. In this instance. I was having dinner at 9.50pm after finishing all my classes. By the time, I finished my dinner and drove home. It was past 11pm. My boy is asleep and so was my wife when I reached home.

The upside is that, I can sleep in the next morning (something that I seldom do). Instead I will wake up and after dropping my boy off at the infant care, go for a run. Yes, while the whole world is at work. I am out running, cycling or swimming. Only after that, I will head to my office to do some accounts work or lesson preparation.

Money is alright and I am thankful for it but as an entrepreneur, it is not constant. Clients do come and go and money is not automatically credited into your account on a fixed day. You got to go out to find the money, because if you don’t, no one will do it for you. One of the benefits of being employed is that you outsource the money finding aspect to your CEO. You just have to do your work and the pay will come on that designated day.

The upside? Pay raises and bonuses can come on any day and any time. No appraisal or waiting needed.

I am getting fatigued and there is no weekends or leave to look forward to. I will have to try to get as much rest as I can during the work days.

It is not an easy life. But I am happy. I think that is all that matters.

Testing the Audi A3

2017-05-15T15:30:00.002+08:00

Source: https://s1.cdn.autoevolution.com/images/gallery/AUDI-A3-Sedan-5811_10.jpg

Upset at the turn of events in the day, I decided get distracted by driving to Audi to try out the Audi A3 Sedan. Audi, a brand that never resonates with me. A brand that I dislike. It is a bit of a dark side to me. But I forced myself to think out of the box to not always shortlist the usual suspects. The main reason is both the new Honda Civic 1.5 turbo and Audi A3 sedan cost similar. Similarly, a used 3 year old Honda Civic 1.6 and a 3 year old Audi A3 sedan would cost similar too. Hence, it got me curious.

Source: https://s1.cdn.autoevolution.com/images/gallery/AUDI-A3-Sedan-5811_9.jpg

The agent had ran out of A3 show cars. Hence, he directed me to a test drive unit. I climbed onto the driver’s seat and the waft of “new car” smell overwhelmed me. It is a snug cockpit with lots of nice touch surfaces. The agent described the car as I scan through the buttons. As I strapped on the seat belt, the agent got surprised.

“Eh, are we going for a test drive?” He queried.

“Yes. Can we?” I asked.

“Oh, hang on…let me arrange with security.” The agent responded in surprise.

He started calling someone on his phone and had a bit shuffling with the other party about paperwork.

“Alright, let’s go. We will sort out the paper work later on.” He shrugged and pointed to his phone.

I slide the steering wheel smoothly and gently step on the accelerator. The electric parking brake automatically released and it is off. The car felt very easy to drive and it seems to wrap itself around me. Much easier to drive then my current car. The power is gentle though. It seems to have a little less poke than my current Honda Civic, which was surprising to me. It rode smoothly on the road’s imperfections and I could barely hear any road noise. Just the distant growl from the little 1000cc engine up front.

The anger and frustrations that I had earlier in the afternoon, melted away as I drove the A3 along the roads. A smooth slide, a gentle prod, the car responded well and had a very polished feel to it.

Source: https://s1.cdn.autoevolution.com/images/gallery/AUDI-A3-Sedan-5811_9.jpg

The cockpit will was well appointed and the indicators stalks and controls are all well damped. I especially love that retractable screen which controls the A3’s infotainment system. The design of the cockpit basically ticks my box.

I began to think since I would be on the road often due to the nature of my teaching job. This would make a very nice mobile office for me as I go from student to student.

The downsides to it is I feel that driving an Audi would give people a wrong impression of me. Many would see me as a rich man with a fancy car. The optics that goes with owning such a car would be problematic. For no one would know that this Audi actually cost almost the same as a Honda Civic. When you drive a Honda, you are under the radar. Your finances does not show with it. Driving an Audi, a BMW or a worse a Mercedes Benz. The connotations are different.

Furthermore, Audi is associated with aggressive and selfish drivers in Singapore. I don’t want to be associated with one.

I love this car, but there is baggage with it. It is also smaller than a Honda Civic though I suspect it would be a more efficient car than a 1.6 Honda Civic.

Anyway, I left the Audi showroom with a good impression of the Audi A3 sedan and relieved of my earlier stress. It is quite strange for me to find refuge in an Audi…

Perhaps, this is the benefit of thinking out of the box and embracing what you tend to dislike.

https://s1.cdn.autoevolution.com/images/gallery/AUDI-A3-Sedan-5811_19.jpg

Driving in Switzerland

2017-05-12T13:15:00.002+08:00

Township of Grindelwald

Driving in Switzerland

Switzerland is a comfortable and safe country to drive in. It is a combination of well-built roads and beautiful scenery because of the Alps. There are some challenging alpines roads but that is part of the fun. Do note that roads are heavily regulated in Switzerland and you have to drive according to the legal speed limits and definitely no drink driving. You do not want to get on the wrong side of the law with the Swiss.

Driving on the Left or Right.

In Switzerland, you drive on the Right Side of the road. The driver sit on the left side of the cockpit. You will need to Cross traffic at a junction when Turning Left.

Road Conditions

The road conditions in Switzerland is superb. The roads are well built and smooth. Roads are generally not very crowded except in major cities such as Zurich. Traffic jams are a rarity in Switzerland. I had not encounter any traffic jams in the fortnight that I spent driving all around Switzerland. There is very little delays. Do take note of road closures as many mountain passes may be closed during the winter months and when heavy snow occurs. The Swiss make use of roundabouts to regulate traffic in junctions, hence there is very little delay at traffic junctions. Saving both time and fuel.

Volvo V40 D3 crossing the Alps

Special Rules

Lights are to be turned on at all times.

Do not drive barefooted or in flip flops. You will be in serious trouble if an accident occur while you are driving with improper shoes.

On narrow mountain roads, uphill traffic has the right of way. Unless the vehicle moving downhill is an emergency vehicle such as ambulances, fire engines.

In towns such as Zermatt, cars are not allowed. You will need to park your car at the town Täsch and take the Zermatt Shuttle Train to get to Zermatt.

The Matterhorn looming above the town of Zermatt

Speed limits

Adhere to the following speed limits closely, the Swiss has a zero humour policy on speeding:

Residential zones: 30kph/20mph or 20kph/12mph

Residential streets: 50kph/31mph

Highways and Rural roads: 80kph/50mph

Motorway (Highways): 120kph/75mph (Camper Vans weighing more than 3.5 tonnes and trucks towing a trailer: 80kph/50mph)

Car Trains (Autorverlad)

To save time and effort when crossing mountains, Car trains are often available for drivers to use. Basically, you drive to a train station and drive onboard a train, the train then takes you and your car across mountains via tunnels or mountain tracks, allowing you to arrive at the destination at a far shorter time than driving. However, the cost of using these car trains are steep. They range from 20 CHF to 150 CHF per way.

During my time there, I did not make use of the Autoverlads as I was on holiday and am in no hurry to get from one place to another. I used the money saved for meals instead. Prices of goods and services in Switzerland is absurdly high. You will want to save your money as much as possible.

Lots of mountain crossings will be done through narrow tunnels like this

Toll Matters

There is no toll roads in Switzerland except when using the Great Saint Bernard Tunnel. However, for foreign vehicles, it is necessary to purchase a "Autobahnvignette" costing 40 CHF and paste it on the windscreen. The vignette is valid for a year and is available to be purchased from petrol stations at the borders just outside Switzerland or at the customs entry points. It is to allow your vehicle to use the highways (autobahns/autostradas/autoroutes) in Switzerland.

I would advise one to purchase the vignette even if you think you will not be using the highways. It is often hard to distinguish a highway from a wider secondary road. The fine for not having a vignette is steep. It is not worth taking the risk.

If you are renting a vehicle in Switzerland, most likely the vignette is already purchased but do double check with the rental company.

Autobahnvignette affixed on the windscreen

Fuel

Swiss fuel prices is average in Europe. At the time of writing, Petrol unleaded is at 1.319 €/L, Diesel is at 1.36 €/L. If you are near Austria, it will be far better to refuel your tank there before entering Switzerland .

At the time of writing, the fuel prices is as follows:

In Austria, the price of Petrol unleaded is at 1.17 €/L, Diesel is at 1.09 €/L.

Weather

As it was Spring when I drove in Switzerland, the weather was mild and largely predictable unlike in Germany. I did not encounter particularly rough weather there. Do note that snow and rain will occur at higher elevations, so do use all weather tyres when ascending mountains. If necessary, snow chains will need to be fitted.

Disclaimer

The above is written based on my limited experience driving (a fortnight) all round Switzerland. Please feel free to comment or correct if you have witness otherwise.

The Simple Life

2017-05-11T15:53:00.002+08:00

Life is not complicated.

It is Easy…

The phrase is repeated time and again by the Thai farmer, Mr Jon Jendai in his TedTalk. It struck a chord in my heart, as for the past few weeks. I have been worried about a lot of things.

My father’s health

How to grow my business and income

What car to replace my current ride

All this thoughts have been running through my mind, day and night.

It is hard not to worry about my father’s health despite of my frustration with his self-destructive behaviour. There is also very little we can do.

As for No.2, business is running well. Income is growing. However, as an entrepreneur I should always be on the lookout for newer opportunities. Especially on sources of passive income. At the moment, I only earn when I work. There is little money coming in when I am not. It is not a good prospect if I am disrupted from my schedule.

To be fair, I tend to run to No.3 as a form of refuge, as cars are a pet topic with me. It is therapeutic in a way to browse through car adverts and have daydreams of running a German thoroughbred or upsize to an SUV. But even that, with the myriad of choices available, together with each choices offering pluses and minuses had taken a toll on my mind.

The Simple Life

Mr Jon Jendai gave an inspirational talk on how to make life easy and light for oneself. Admittedly, the solutions that he proposed are not feasible for an urbanite like me in a city like Singapore. Not unless I am a billionaire, and am able to buy my own land in Singapore. There is no way I can retreat to a farmland to do subsistence farming to feed my family and build my own home. But I do like his outlook in life and the way he manages it.

Food, Shelter, Clothes and Health

It is true, regardless of our wealth, status, race etc, we only need the above four things at one time. And we need only very limited amount of each of the items.

Food = We need only what is enough to get through the day, regardless if it is expensive or affordable

Shelter = we need only one room and one bed to sleep in every night. It doesn’t help if you have more houses.

Clothes = you only need to wear 1 set of clothes per day. As long as you are dressed and is comfortable, it doesn’t really matter how much they cost.

Heatlh = Money can't buy health right? We need to take care of ourselves in the best way we can. No one else can do that for us.

Being Happy

Right now, I am typing comfortably in my office. I have had lunch and there is work and thus income coming in. My wife is at work. My boy is playing happily in school. I have a fine car to drive around in. I should be happy.

Too often, we concentrate on what we do not have or yet to have. We forget the present. We forget to treasure the present.

Look at your present, treasure what you have. Now.

What really matters at the end of life | BJ Miller

2017-04-28T14:55:00.001+08:00

A talk that is really difficult for me to hear. But I forced myself to finish listening to this talk by BJ Miller about the end of life. As much as I would like to hope and wish that my Dad would continue to live as he is, I know that time may be limited.

While I am no stranger to palliative care and I greatly respect those who served in it. I always approached it with great fear and denial, especially when it is prescribed to a patient.

I am glad Mr Miller has made this poignant talk which touched my heart. I guess the most important to do in life is to treasure and live every moment with gusto even in sickness or disability.

Make everyday count.

Being part of this world is all it matter. Whether you have all senses or even only left with one sense.

So do take some time and listen.

Driving in Germany

2017-04-26T15:07:00.001+08:00

Introduction

This kicks off a series of writings on driving in different countries. While not exhaustive, it is based on my experience driving in the mentioned country. Hopefully the information will be useful to you if intend to drive in the mentioned countries.

Schloss Marburg

Driving in Germany

Germany is perhaps one of the best countries that I have driven in. It is basically petrol head heaven. It is a combination of well-built roads and beautiful scenery especially in the Bavaria region. I thoroughly enjoyed driving there and felt very comfortable doing so. I will definitely go back there when I can.

Driving on the Left or Right

In Germany, you drive on the Right Side of the road. The driver sit on the left side of the cockpit. You will need to Cross traffic at a junction when Turning Left.

Road Conditions

The road conditions in Germany is superb. The roads are well built and smooth. Roads are generally not very crowded except in the main business districts of major cities or at major crossings. Traffic jams are a rarity in Germany at least based on my month plus of driving all around Germany. Moving from place to place was a breeze as the Germans used lots of roundabouts instead of traffic lights to handle junctions. Hence, your vehicle will continue to move throughout the journey. There is very little delays. Do take note of road closures due to weather though.

German Autobahn

Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/M%C3%BCnchberger_Senke.jpg

Autobahns

The autobahns (highways) are smooth but not necessary very wide. Two Lanes on each side of the autobahns is pretty much the standard for most of the autobahns. There are also many fuel and rest stops along the autobahns. The toilets are free to use at this rest stops.

Derestricted Sign on Autobahn, time to release the horses!

Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Zeichen_282_-_Ende_s%C3%A4mtlicher_Streckenverbote%2C_StVO_1970.svg/2000px-Zeichen_282_-_Ende_s%C3%A4mtlicher_Streckenverbote%2C_StVO_1970.svg.png

The wonderful parts of the German autobahns is this, many parts of the autobahns are derestricted.

In other words, No. Speed. Limit.

You are free to release all the horses that you have under the bonnet. But please do so at a speed where both man and machine feel comfortable and safe. For me, while driving the Volvo V40 D3, I keep it at about 130-140km/h before I felt out of the comfort zone. While driving the Mercedes Benz C-class C180K stationwagen, I was cruising happily at 160km/h on derestricted autobahns. The local drivers in their BMW and Mercedes Benz are often cruising at 200km/h and beyond. Safety and competency is key when deciding the speed to cruise at. If in doubt, slow down and keep to the right most lane.

Do take note that at major crossings, flyovers or when approaching major cities on the autobahn, there are speed limits which can pop up suddenly. And the German police have a zero humour approach when enforcing speed limits. I have gotten a German speeding fine while on the autobahn, a speed limit of 80km/h was imposed when crossing below a flyover on the otherwise derestricted autobahn. I was unable to slow down enough. The German police gave me a fine of 10 euros. They posted the fine together with a picture of the Merc and my face and sent it all the way to Singapore. Paying the fine from Singapore was a nightmare. In the end, I had to ask a German friend to help me pay the fine in Germany. You will have to pay the fine if you want to drive in Germany again.

Toll Matters

Based on my month plus of driving in Germany, I had not experience a toll road in Germany. The autobahns are also free. In fact, I used the German autobahns to expedite my journey when crossing from Northern Europe to Southern Europe, such as driving from Amsterdam to Munich

Fuel

German fuel prices is one of the highest in Europe. At the time of writing, Petrol unleaded is at 1.409 €/L, Diesel is at 1.199 €/L. If you are hanging around near Austria or Luxembourg, it will be far better to refuel your tank there before entering Germany.

At the time of writing, the fuel prices is as follows:

In Austria, the price of Petrol unleaded is at 1.128 €/L, Diesel is at 1.058 €/L.

In Luxembourg, the price of Petrol unleaded is at 1.179 €/L, Diesel is at 0.999 €/L.

Safety

The Germans are very safe and friendly drivers. Not to mention very competent drivers. I have not seen a traffic accident in all my time there. Whereas in my home country, Singapore, accidents are a dime a dozen. I have not experience any tailgating, reckless driving or any monkey business on the roads in Germany. The roads are very comfortable to be on and you can be sure the Germans will give way when you signal left or right. Singapore roads are the absolute pole opposite of the Germans.

One thing to take note is that the German takes patience and giving way on the roads very seriously. I have followed a tractor on a rural German road for more than 50km. Being the 3^rd car behind the tractor, I was very tempted to overtake the tractor on the opposite incoming lane but seeing the patience of the 1^st and 2^nd car in front of me. I decided to wait.

While driving on the right most lane on the autobahn at 130km/h, a Mercedes Sprinter van came behind me and followed at a safe distance for a long time. After a while, I felt bad for holding up the van and accelerated into the left lane to let him pass. The Sprinter van accelerated pass me shortly in the right lane at about 170km/h. I finally know the meaning of Sprinter in Mercedes Benz Sprinter vans after that encounter. The patience of German drivers are immense.

When it comes to giving way to ambulances and fire engines, the German traffic will move mountains to part traffic for ambulances. You will witness a parting of the Red Sea when an ambulance approaches from behind. I have seen drivers driving off the road just to give way to ambulances.

Singapore drivers should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves in this aspect.

Weather

V40 D3 in snow at Füssen, Bavaria

The weather of Germany is very harsh and unpredictable. Rain, snow, hail and sunny conditions can happen all in a day. Snow and hail can appear all of a sudden. Strong crosswinds can also occur on the autobahns. So always be prepared for bad weather. And if the local drivers slow down, do slow down as well.

Disclaimer

The above is written based on my limited experience driving (about a month) in many parts of Germany. Please feel free to comment or correct if you have witnessed otherwise.

Crossing the Alps

2017-04-24T16:54:00.002+08:00

Tempting times

Recently, an advertisement for a good valued, used Volvo V40 D2 came onto my radar. I had many good memories with the V40 D3 in Switzerland and it is a tempting proposition to make my next ride a Volvo.

The time I had with the V40 D3 in Switzerland was truly magical. One of those great road trips moments that I had in my motoring life. I call them my "Top Gear" moments. Hence, I shall pen down those memories in this post.

Alps Crossing – 20 April 2014

Swarovski's Kristallwelten in Innsbruck

My wife and I had left Swarovski’s Kristallwatten at about 2pm. We were at Innsbruck, Austria. It was an exceptionally sunny day in Austria, in fact, I remembered lowering all the windows using a button on the key fob to let the hot air in the Volvo escape before we got in the car. That was probably the only time I used the windows function in Europe.

Route from Innsbruck, Austria to Lierna, Italy

The 290 km journey calls a 5 hour drive from Austria, through Switzerland, crossing the Alps into Northern Italy, where we will eventually arrived in our B&B Villa Maria in Lake Como. 290km is not long distance but with an Alps crossing. It is a technical drive up and down the mountains dealing with snow, slush and rain. The V40 D3 with its diesel engine has lots of torque and a long range of about 700km. Hence, I was not worried about the lack of grunt as well as the fuel supply.

We pulled out of Innsbruck and started our journey southwards towards Italy. I have always love the quaintness of the Austrian countryside. Worried about not being about to reach Como before dark. We hurried out of Austria without lunch. We thought that we could grab lunch along the way. That turned out to be almost impossible.

We left Austria and enter Switzerland through Martinsbruck. The smooth Swiss highways soon changes to smaller winding roads and a myriad of tunnels cutting through the mountains. To be honest, I am always fearful of tunnels as the speed limit is 80km/h and it always feels that they are infested with speed cameras. I had to use cruise control in the tunnels to prevent myself from exceeding the speed.

Volvo V40 D3 in the Alps

Soon the winding roads became hairpins to ascend the height of the Alps. Pssst... Wa Wa Wa Waaa Roooffff...this is the rorty off beat warble of the Volvo's 5 cylinder engine as it powers me up the Alps. The grunty song of the D3 engine still remains in my mind 3 years on. Unfortunately, as I was at the wheel, I was not able to take photos of the breath taking sights of the journey.

As the roads got narrower, rain and snow started falling. I began to slow down and followed the pace of the local cars so that I would remain safe. There was a white Opel Corsa hatchback in front of me and behind me a dark blue Skoda Octavia. That was about all the cars on the road that day. I followed Mr Corsa gingerly as this was my first few drives in snow conditions. The weather got wetter and colder as we drove on. At times we slowed to almost a crawl due to the slippery road. The immense torque generated by the Volvo’s D3 engine caused the car to squirrel at times before the stability system catches the slip.

We reached St Moritz and I saw the pretty ski town and the majestic lake St Moritz looms into sight. The lake was frozen and it was the first time I saw such a sight. I called out to my wife Jo, to take a look, but unfortunately she was sound asleep. I enjoyed the majestic view alone. It was here, I had to say goodbye to Mr Corsa as he had reached his destination.

Maloja Pass
Source: https://drscdn.500px.org/photo/94599847/q%3D80_m%3D1500/07a2446b87f787b024fc085c18597fff

Traffic picked up a little more here as we crossed into Italy at Maloja. More hairpins loomed ahead but the weather had improved. The snow and rain had stopped and the roads are dry. Soon, we reached Northern Italy and the road signs were haphazard and confusing. The speed limit goes up and down so frequently that the speed limit reading system of the Volvo gave up the ghost. It simply hanged and gave a fixed speed limit.

Lierna, walking to the local pizzeria for dinner

Driving into the Lake Como region, the sun set and the roads got darker. The challenge is upped when the roads are narrow and two way. We finally arrived in at Villa Maria at Lierna at 8pm. I was exhausted but at the same time, I really relished this journey.

Life in a Day: My Dad and I

2017-04-17T17:52:00.000+08:00

Cessna 172 in the air over Bavaria

Having experienced some truly troubling news regarding my father’s condition in the past week. I decided to come up with this little post to summarised what I have learned and felt in the past week

5am in the morning

You are born into the world. Your eyes are bleary and you are not aware of who, where, what you are. You meet your parents for the first time.

6am in the morning

You begin your first tentative steps. The world is a wondrous place. Your parents are your shelter and your support.

7am in the morning

You stepped into your Primary School and left the comfort of your home behind. You begin your academic career. Your parents send you to the school gate and as you step in, you are on your own in school.

8am in the morning

You begin the tumultuous days of teenage life. You have your friends to hang out with. Places to explore, new games to play. The voice on the phone is from your parents, asking you where you are and when you are coming home.

9am in the morning

You joined the armed forces and became an infantry soldier. You travelled far and wide as your mission requires. “Your mum can’t sleep at night while you were away in those faraway places,” my dad told me.

10am in the morning

You graduated from University. You feel that the world is your oyster. Your parents stood proud with you at the Commencement in the University knowing that you have a bright future in front of you.

11am in the morning

You flew the Cessna 172 while your dad sat at the back seat. You were busy with the controls while Dad enjoyed himself with his camera taking in the aerial views. Upon landing, dad told me. “From now on, you can drive the van on your own. Since you can fly a plane, you can drive anything.”

12pm Noon

You got diagnosed with a debilitating illness. You lost your career and you lost your future. You have no idea what is your life going to be. Dad tried to comfort me, “Let’s buy this new van since you seems to like it a lot. Hope it makes you happier.”

1pm in the afternoon

Your ligament is torn and you are unable to walk. You had a month’s rest at home. Mum and dad came and fetch you out for meals and send you home. They even got a parking fine for helping you up to your apartment

2pm in the afternoon

You got married and settled down with your wife. Dad had closed his business and is in the sunset days of his life. Come and join me for tea when you can, he asked.

2.30pm in the afternoon

You started your own business. You are busy with forging an income and success with your own hands. Dad called and told you the dos and don’ts of running a business.

3pm in the afternoon

You have a son now and he crawls all over the place. Dad is semi lucid now. He doesn’t know where he is. He got confused by the days. Yet, Dad will asked, where is little Gerald? He looks just like you when you were a baby.

4pm in the afternoon

Your son is now attending Primary School. Your business have done well and as you stepped into your car. You thought Dad would like this car. I hope Dad would be there for me to chauffeur around.

5pm in the afternoon

Your son joins the army and began his tour of duty and perhaps like his dad, he travels all over the world. I can’t sleep. I hope Dad is there to tell me that he felt the same apprehension when I went around with the infantry.

6pm in the evening

I am in the sunset years of my life. I hope Dad will still be around to chat with the semi-retired me.

7pm in the evening

I hope Mum and Dad will be around.

8pm in the evening

I hope Mum and Dad will be around.

9pm in the evening.

I hope Mum and Dad will be around.

….

Why Uber in Singapore is Great!

2017-04-17T16:11:00.000+08:00

Source: http://theurbantwist.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/uber.jpg

Here is a post from an old friend, Justin on the topic of Uber.

While I drive about once a week to allow me to spend some time on the road and to structure my life. Justin is a more serious driver and he definitely put the money where his mouth is. I truly salute him for his endurance on the road. I have spoken about the shortcomings on Uber before on my earlier post, and I am glad he remains very positive about driving for Uber despite of its shortcomings.

Below is his Referral Link if you are interested to drive for Uber, just click on it and register with Uber accordingly. You will make SGD$100, and he will make some referral fee and that will help to give him a respite from his endurance driving.

https://partners.uber.com/i/justint3984ue

Post from Guest Blogger, Justin Teo

Why Uber in Singapore is Great!

[Pre-qualifications – For people who have a good driving licence, who want to earn extra bucks, who have free time on weekends/weekdays/public holidays, who are doing shift work or not so tough/stressed day job, and who can spare about 4-5 hours each time. Expectations – Flexible work that is better than fast food outlet's pay, and not as good as any SME Company boss's pay.]

While writing this article, I am thinking I am a typical salaried employee of a SME, or an MNC, or a public service job, who is thinking of upping his/her take-home salary in the short run but cannot really do it in this timeline as it is almost impossible giving their current conditions – no opening to up-scale, my boss is my superior, my next performance review is going to be over or over already, etc. However, you can find another way after reading this. Even if you do not go down this route, there is also many other ways of making money in this Apps-driven /Gig economy.

Who is your blogger? Hi, I am Justin Teo, 38 years old. I am invited by my good ole' Army friend, Mr Hoo, to blog about this topic as I have been doing this regularly for the past 8 months already. I have also tried the other private-hire service, Grab in the past 8 months, and I would like to share from my short experience and hopefully to help you to bring in some regular income (albeit not spectacular) to your family and your loved ones, or save for your holidays, or that drone you want to buy.

Why is Uber great? Well, as compared to other flexible jobs, it allows you to put in decent number of hours within your control and make changes even if you have other last minute urgent appointments at little or no costs!

On the contrary, let us look at other temporary jobs, for example, working part time at a convenience or a fast-food outlet, you probably must commit at least couple of months as they will be training you. You will also need to be answerable to your superior, report to the location to work. Thus, it is not as flexible as you think. This is also physically tiring, as most of this work requires you to stand for long hours and commit around 5-8 hrs each time.

With Uber Flex-Club, they only require 4 hours each booking and if you have some last-minute appointment, i.e. Your baby son needs to go to see the doctor, or your aged father requires emergency response, you can make changes 1 hour prior to your booking or cancel your trip. Uber Flex-club or Smove is the platform I have been on for the past 8 months. As I am at a cross-road in my career, I decided this role could help me transit into my new career as well as provide for my existing expenses. Therefore, 3 months after deciding on career change, I am ready to start my new career while doing Uber driving as a side-line!

Now coming to the dollars and cents, I find that Uber used to give very good incentives and fares, however, in recent times, the fares and incentive are not as good as before. Having said that, the amount you can get still hovers around $12-$15/hour. So, putting in about 5 hours a day, 4 days a week (2 weekends, 2 weekdays) you could earn about $300/week (based on $15/hr) or $1,200 a month. For someone who is taking about $4,000 for their 8 hours per day day-job, it is a bump-up of 30% of their pay for the month. All for another 5 hours for 4 days a week. This amount does not require you to work overtime for another 3-4 hours a day for no costs, unlike your day job.

This amount could also finance your $6,000 dream holiday to Europe for your family in just 5 months. (Note that $6,000 is calculated based on multiple of 5 months, 4 weeks, 4 days, 5 hours and $15/hour each time). Why is this not great then?

Some of the other benefits, include possibility of networking, knowing people and getting business idea or sharing your problems with them and sometimes even counselling passengers! Our forefather, the late-Mr Lee Kuan Yew once said, that “to be successful, nothing could be compared to work of making the lives of your fellow men better. This can bring immense satisfaction”. If you are going into this trade, it will help you make additional income and in the meantime, also help fellow Singaporeans or residents have a better life by fetching them safely and comfortably to their destination, this can be very satisfying.

Ok, enough of the fairy-tales of this trade, since I am into it for 8 months already, I would have seen quite a few 'horror' stories that people might ponder about. I do not really term them - horror cos they certainly did not scare me into stopping to drive for Uber. They are just some inconvenience that you need to put up with. Let me just put it into point forms:

You are more exposed to bad road conditions, i.e. More jams, more lousy drivers, rain and flash-flood conditions, and some pot-holes;
The possibility of nasty passengers (very seldom though as a lot of them know there are many phone cameras around nowadays);
There is a higher possibility of fines for traffic violations like illegal stopping, jumping red-light.
The need to check the car and make sure you report damages to the rental car company before you drive off as you may be responsible for the existing damages not caused by you if you did not report them;
You may need to clean up after some passengers, especially babies or toddlers who dirty your seats;
Massive bird-shit landing onto your car (due to birds feeding on our food-waste), and even the windscreen wipers do not work on them;

Sometimes, all the above will come together in the next 4 hours that you drive!

Considering the above, isn't this scary enough for you to not even consider this and forgo the money altogether?

Well, considering the pros and cons (most of the cons are not controllable), you do not really need to bother about them, just manage them when it comes. The Uber/Smove hotline is also responsive and can answer to your booking and car problems. What you can control is to try to book more trips and cancel or rebook if you cannot make it on that day, and let the money start rolling in!

Uber and part-time driving is brilliant, isn’t it?

My Inner German

2017-04-10T15:18:00.001+08:00

Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria

Today I am not going to write an educational post. This is a more personal post. It is about my journey with touching an innate vein within myself and one that I am still trying to find answers with. It is about my brush with my inner German.

Zurich, April 2014

It was a trip that I was looking forward to. I planned the Switzerland self-drive trip meticulously and tirelessly. My wife and me were travelling back to Europe for the first time since our honeymoon in 2011. Being a Top Gear fan and petrol head, I was looking forward to driving on the Stelvio Pass in Italy as well as on the speed derestricted German autobahns. The journey for this free spirited trip would require me to drive through Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Northern Italy. I had not driven in the continent before, hence there were much preparation like reading up on the dos and don’ts of European driving, driving through weather and even the testing of cars which I could potentially drive there.

We landed in Zurich on 17 April 2014 and the first thing we did was to get our rental vehicle from Hertz. It wasn’t the smoothest of transactions but eventually we ended up with a Volvo V40 D3 and our journey commence. Now, I did try to rudimentarily learn German phrases through an audio book before my trip. But it wasn’t really useful. The German speaking Swiss and Germans spoke English to me even when I tried my awkward German phrases with them. I never did learn to read German. Not ever in my life.

Reading German

My first surprise actually happened before we landed in Zurich. I was on the flight from Helsinki to Zurich when I saw a businessman reading a German newspaper. I looked at the first page of his newspaper and read the German words and realise I could decipher what was the news about. I brushed it off and thought I was probably just guessing it wrong.

Driving the Volvo out of Zurich Kloten airport, I realised I could read most of the road signs and proceeded on my way to Liechtenstein, a small little country within Switzerland. I reached Liechtenstein and we stopped at a supermarket to buy some groceries and drinking water. I saw a parking space when I saw the word, “Für Kunden” written on it. I thought it meant “for customers”, hence I parked, and went over to some of the old ladies at the supermarket to check on its actual meaning. They said, “Für Kunden means it is for customers’.

I was taken aback.

We walked around Liechtenstein, exploring the surroundings of Vaduz Castle and I began reading more signs and 70 percent of the time, I could guess the meaning. I remembered telling myself, this is queer.

The Principality of Liechtenstein

My wife and I drove on to Austria and the revelation stuck on the back of my mind. Probably, I had a good grasp of language and after all the German language is written in a way similar to English, maybe I could guess the same for other languages.

This was untrue, I had no such faculty for other languages such as French, Italian and Finnish. I was all at sea when I got to those places.

Déjà Vu Feeling

It was during a drive in Southwest Bavaria where I encountered a strange Déjà vu feeling, we had wanted to visit Lindenhof Palace but realise that we were too late. The palace had closed for the afternoon and we to cross back into Telfes Im Stubai, Austria where our hotel for that night was. The sun was setting as I drove almost hastily to try to reach Telfes before it gets dark. For in my mind, I was worried that I might encounter snowy roads as I approach Innsbruck, Austria. I would not want to drive in the snow in the dark.

Shortly, after I left Lindenhof Palace, I was driving along a German country road in Southwest Bavaria with the sun setting in the horizon. A feeling struck me. The country felt familiar. It felt comfortable and almost homely. The golden sunset was shining through the windscreen, the pine trees and forest lined the roads. The trees waving gently in the breeze. The snow-capped Alps in the distance. The winding road simply felt very familiar. To put it simply, it felt that I have come home.

Somewhere in Southwest Bavaria but not near where I encountered the déjà vu feeling

Munich in 2015

I went Munich in 2015 and also went round much of Germany in this further trip. The Déjà vu feeling didn’t occur but Germany felt very comfortable to me. I did not went back to that road near Lindenhof Palace. However, I managed to travel around Germany with ease. I was comfortable with the environment, the food and my reading ability served me well. Perhaps, the only thing that didn’t agree with me in Germany was the abrupt weather. It could be sunny in one moment and snowing, hailing, raining in the next moment.

I couldn’t say I felt at home in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. The environments felt foreign.

At ease with the German language

I continued to have the ability to read German fairly. It served me well especially I need to purchase items from Amazon.de for business, I do not even need to change the language to English to navigate and make purchases. I could also read news websites like Spiegel.de in German for a more European view of world matters as opposed to BBC or CNN.

Was I, in my previous life a German?

I wonder if anyone out there have an experience like this before?

Discover! Explore! Learn!

2017-04-07T16:53:00.001+08:00

View from the Eiffel. The boundless Earth.

The Baby Instinct

When you were a baby or a toddler, the world is a wondrous place. You seek to peek through holes, dig at nooks and crannies, climb high and low to seek different perspectives of the world. The moment we wake up, we began exploring, searching and unconsciously learning about this world.

Sometimes, this little explorations leads to great stuff like discovering a can of candies, or it could lead to disaster which culminated into a hard landing onto the unyielding ground. But despite that, we continued exploring and discovering. Our enthusiasm never wanes. I can attest to that as my little 10 month old baby Gerald has unlimited energy and is relentless on his attacks on things that are within his grasp.

This poem “ the Elephant’s Child” by Rudyard Kipling illustrate the curiosity of the child but also illustrate the preoccupied adult mind

I KEEP six honest serving-men

(They taught me all I knew);

Their names are What and Why and When

And How and Where and Who.

I send them over land and sea,

I send them east and west;

But after they have worked for me,

I give them all a rest.

I let them rest from nine till five,

For I am busy then,

As well as breakfast, lunch, and tea,

For they are hungry men.

But different folk have different views;

I know a person small—

She keeps ten million serving-men,

Who get no rest at all!

She sends'em abroad on her own affairs,

From the second she opens her eyes—

One million Hows, two million Wheres,

And seven million Whys!

The Elephant's Child

I am Busy

We grew up. We graduated and left school. We assume that our academic lives are over. We dive headlong into our careers and the industries which we are in. We learn all we can learned about our work and the industry. We become experts in our fields. Some will continue learning about their trade their entire life. Some will get complacent and stopped learning. After all, they are already the experts.

For example, a person who is an accountant, he had worked in his trade for decades. He has passed all his professional papers and he has climbed to the peak of his position in the company. He is the guru. He teaches but no longer needs to learn much more. Just an occasional update will do. He is successful in his trade, he is well respected and comfortable.

Now, what is wrong with this picture? You will ask. Life is complete.

I disagree. There is room for improvement. Much much room for improvement.

Well, how many times have we said to ourselves the following statements.

“I am not familiar with Economics.”

“ I have no knowledge on how to paint the walls of my house. “

“I have no idea how my smartphone connects to the

Wi-Fi, someone else configured for me. “

“Where is Luxembourg?”

#HalfTruths

Or worse. Unjustified judging statements:

“Eating meat destroys the environment”

“all non-organic food is full of pesticides”

“This is a poor man’s district, it is very dangerous here.”

“Climate Change is a conspiracy theory, made to take away our jobs”

“Islam is the cause of terrorism”

One of the biggest problems with maturity is that it tends to make adults feel they already knew it all. They stopped learning, stopped questioning and stopped discovering. They simply brush it off as I am too busy to learn things outside my trade or my environment. Too busy. Too tiring. Too complicated.

This is a Huge World

There are many things that we can learn in this world, and there is a constant need for us to question and to discover. Look out of the window and you see blue skies and leaves swirling in the wind. Why is the sky blue? Why do the leaves swirl? Doesn’t wind blow in one direction?

As we learn, the more we discover, more questions are generated and we learn even more. This is how we grow and become intelligent. I am not saying we should go out of the way to learn complicated subjects like astrophysics or DNA computation.

Mindfulness

I am saying there is a need to learn about your immediate environment, your society, and of your love ones.

Someone can say that he is an expert in x subject and yet he has no inkling that his son’s ambition was to be a pilot.

We walk through the same path to our office everyday but never notice that there is an old man who sits at the park next to the path and plays the harmonica.

We drive our cars everyday but has no knowledge where the spare tyre is.

We need to be mindful. We need to learn about our world, and we need to learn from babies. I read from the news today that Facebook is using a new software to guard against fake news. But no amount of software will be as powerful as in an inquiring, learned mind.

Hence, I urge all to Learn! Explore! Discover!

The Risks of Being Employed

2017-04-06T16:02:00.001+08:00

The buffeting winds of change

The Risk of Business

Some may say that it is because I am currently self-employed and hence that is why I am now lobbying for the greatness of running a business and being self-employed.

Let me be fair. Much have been said about the risks of running a business. You may fail, you may get cheated. The income is not stable. You are affected by the weather of the economy etc. In fact, just earlier today, I just message a friend to advise him to stay at his current job instead of setting up his own business. Well, he is valued at work and his prospects are good. And his pay is substantial. So why not.

In essence, employment is never going to be as risky as being self-employed. I agree and I accept that.

As an analogy, running a business is like flying. The risks are numerous and in the event of an accident, and you have fewer chances of walking away alive. However, being employed is like driving. Largely, it is safe and in the event of an accident, most cars are built in a way that you can walk away alive.

Employment and its Dangers

Why the title then, one may ask. Well as much as staying employed and having a fixed income is a safe option. There are many hidden and inherent risks in being employed.

1. A Sole Income

This is perhaps one of my biggest bugbear to employment. Being employed requires one to dedicate a large amount of one’s time and energy on the job. You are required to be at work from x to x hours. You are to complete x and x project as tasked. Hence, it is very unlikely that you could spare the time and energy to do another job or have another source of income. Yes, it is not impossible. I am a living example of one who worked and run a business for many years. But I can tell you, it is extremely exhausting and soul draining.

Having a sole income means in the event something happens to your job, your financial lifeline is cut. Your income is zero. Null. You are living on reserves. Now, let that sink in for a while.

Your bills will be waiting for you, and there is no way of building an income in a short time to take up that huge chasm. You have to look for another job. Fast.

2. People Come and Go

You had a great boss. You worked well with him and he values you. You are on your way to your promotion and a pay raise. Life is great.

Suddenly, circumstances changed and he resigned, got promoted, retired etc. You get a boss who you doesn’t like you. He picks on you. He gives you the worse assignments and projects. He chides you and he thinks you are not up to the task. Life is horrid. You are considering resigning but you need to pay the bills. You are stressed.

Your work team was fun and cooperative. People looked out for each another. You enjoyed being at work. Laughing, sharing and celebrating Christmas, New Year and many festivals. Friends are made and it is a wonderful time. The environment is positive.

A backstabber joins the team and started reporting to the management on every mistake made by the team members. The backstabbers ascends in position and favour by the bosses. The team begin to talk less and be more wary. People who were stabbed leaves or transfer out. You worry that you be the one that would be stabbed next. The environment becomes toxic. You are considering leaving.

3. The Nature of the Job

The job that you gotten is in line with what you believed in. You are able to touch peoples’ life. It is meaningful and yet you are paid. You can’t believe that you are actually being paid to have such an enjoyable time. The working hours is great and you have good balance between having time for work and your personal life.

A new doctrine or new Chairperson comes to your job. Do more and do faster! Chants the new tagline. Your job structure changes and you are overwhelmed by the amount of workload. You are expected to work longer hours, on weekends and evenings. You got stressed and complained to your direct superiors, they shrugged and said they can’t do anything. It is a new direction.

You tried to endure but end up exhausted and disillusioned. You have no place to go.

4. The Location of the Job

Your work location is less than a 10 minutes commute from your home. You can wake up at 8am, get dressed, have breakfast and still be able to reached office in time. You can go home for lunch and you get home in a jiffy after work. There are shops and malls near your work location and you can buy your groceries and fulfil your shopping habits during lunch time and after work.

The rent went up and your boss said we now have to relocate to another location. The commute is now 1.5 hours and you have to get out of your house before the sun rises and reaches home after the sun set. Your children barely sees you. You are considering getting a car but parking is expensive at the new site.

To be fair, this is a shortcoming that even I faced currently as a self-employed. Currently, my rented workspace in a co sharing office, is right next to my flat. I take the lift down and walk over to the library next to my flat. My office is located on the 3^rd floor of my the public library building. In the event if Regus, which is my workspace provider decides to cease its tenancy with the National Library Board. I will have to commute. And this is something that is beyond my control.

Final Analysis: Beyond Your Control

There is a recurring theme in the points that I have mentioned above. That is, in many ways being employed means giving up your own independence to allow a company, an organisation to dictate your life. If things are great, you will be good. But if things goes south, there is absolutely nothing you can do. You are entirely exposed to the buffeting winds of change and there is nothing you can do about it. Being employed is stable and put food on the table monthly, but there are risks.

And the question is, are you willing to take the gamble.

It is a mad mad world

2017-03-29T16:26:00.001+08:00

Looking at the headlines today, it is a world that has gone mad. What has happened to sensibility? What has happened to common sense?

Triggering Brexit

The British PM Theresa May is triggering the exit of UK from the European Union using Article 50. Hence, a two year time line starts for UK to negotiate her way out of EU. Well, she is just carrying out what she need to do according to the wishes of the majority of the British people who wanted to leave the EU. Somebody has to do the deed. Not Nigel Farage, he is long gone after creating trouble and getting what he wanted.

So what does this means for UK?

Positives? Hmm…well you get to decide what you want to do with your country and not be controlled by a remote government at Brussels. You get to decide not to admit migrants? You get to wave the British flag and say you are truly independent.

Negatives? Well, lots of troubling news ahead.

The big ones. Your banks will leave UK. UK traditionally is a base for the non-German, French, Spanish speaking countries to communicate and trade with EU countries. For example, Chinese companies would use UK as a base to import and export goods from the EU because UK speaks English and English is more familiar language for the Chinese compared to German, French etc. Once, UK is out of EU. UK ceased to be a useful base. Moreover, it is possible that now taxes may be collected by the UK and the EU when there is a transfer of goods from the EU to the UK and vice versa. So no business in the right mind will want to continue using UK as a base for Europe.

Hence, companies will close and relocate to perhaps Germany (where their command of English is strong) and severe unemployment will result. So despite, the British flag waving and celebration of independence, you will have less jobs.

For British businesses who sells predominantly to the European market, they will be in trouble, tariffs may now be put in place for the exports to EU. Their costs will go up and to be honest, it really makes no sense to stay in UK anymore if you are serving the European market. Hence, less businesses, less employment, less income, more suffering.

Now this is not rocket science, but many people do not understand this. They simply believe that with Brexit, I get rid of the cheap Polish workers and they will hire the more expensive British workers. I will have jobs. Yay!

Getting rid of Clean Power Act and Believing that Global Warming is a Hoax

Looking at the same news webpage, you have a man who was voted in as President (Nope, I still don’t believe it) who is signing a Bill to repeal the Clean Power Act which helps to reduce the effect of Climate change. Two pictures to the right, you see the effects of a Cyclone Debbie in Australia. For those who have read Geography, one of the outcomes of Global Warming is the more frequent occurrence of severe storms.

Well, Trump as we know is not a well-read man. He reads lots of conspiracy theories though. He believes global warming is a hoax but he believes the wiretapping of Trump Tower is real. And he is the President of the United States. I have a nagging feeling that the worse is yet to come from him.

It is said that he is a businessman. However, businessmen have no such luxury of choosing whether to believe global warming is real or a hoax. They can only try to prepare as far as possible for the damaging effects of global warming. For example, if you are a car manufacturer like Toyota in Queensland, you would have make sure your plant is affected as little as possible by the cyclone. If there is something that you know can reduce the frequency of cyclones in Queensland, you would do it.

Nope, not Trump. He has the luxury of believing that global warming is a hoax. He does. And its great. Believe him.

I have always held the US and UK in great respect when it comes to handling world matters. However, this time round, I will have to look elsewhere for leadership.

More information than before

There is clearly a need for some sense and intelligence in this world. We have more information than ever before and yet we are choosing not to read them. We are only choosing to believe in what we want to believe. It is clearly a dangerous situation we are in. Do we want to see a Holocaust sweep across the land once again with racism on the rise. Do we want to let our children inherit a planet that we have destroyed through our misguidedness and ignorance?

A Call for Action

Let not our immediate needs and wants be a cost to our children. Let them inherit a world that is even more beautiful than the one that we had. As parents, we all want our children to grow up safe and be happy. But why then are we doing the reverse by compromising their safety and their future?

Let’s make the future world a better place for them. And for us. It is our responsibility and it is most necessary to do that.

“So, let us not be blind to our differences--but let us also direct attention to our common interests and to the means by which those differences can be resolved. And if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal.”

US President John F Kennedy, June 10, 1963

Honda Civic Hybrid vs Volkswagen Jetta

2017-03-28T18:08:00.002+08:00

Time to start hunting for a car again

In just a matter of months, my current car, "The Whisperer", a 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid will be coming to the end of its life with my family. In Singapore, we can't keep a car beyond 10 years unless we are willing to pay the government SGD$50,000 (Approx USD $35,747) to extend its life beyond 10 years.

I am not in favour of that choice because a 10 year old car is a 10 year old car. Problems are bound to surface in time to come and not to mention I will also lose the scrap value of the car which is worth SGD $10,000 (approx USD $7,150)

There is a myriad of choices out there including new cars and used cars.

Used vs New

I still feel a used car that is not more than 5 years old would be a better choice as new car prices are crazy high in Singapore. A new car depreciate like mad once they leave the dealer easily losing about SGD $30,000 (Approx USD $21,449) in the first year for a mid size sedan. For a rough guide prices of new cars in Singapore, you may refer here.

The Proposition

There are many tempting used cars out there. I am a big fan of Mercedes and Volvo, a used Mercedes Benz C class or a used Volvo S60 or V40 would be great to have. I have driven both cars in Europe and they are fantastic drives. I especially like stretching the C-class legs on the German autobahns and it was smooth, fast, well equipped and very classy.

However, in Singapore, I can't help but feel that both cars will be stifled and it is unlikely that I will ever attack mountain roads here. For, there are no mountains in Singapore.

Reality will also have to set in. While a 5 year-old Volvo S60 is very close to the price of a used 5-year old Honda Civic Hybrid. It is considered an exotic car over here and will incur more exotic servicing and repair fees.

As for a Mercedes Benz, a 5-Year old C-Class will cost SGD $95,000 (Approx USD $67,920). I don't think I can afford such an extravagance.

Enter the 2 Contenders

Choice No. 1 : 2012-2013 Volkswagen Jetta

Selling Price: SGD $64,000 (Approx USD $45,757)

Exterior

Personally, looks wise. I prefer the look of the Jetta. it looks more sporty and handsome. It has a clean Germanic shape. Not a sleek super car but I like the style.

Volkswagen Jetta 2012 Exterior
Picture Source: http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/12/2012-vw-jetta-gli---01.jpg

Volkswagen Jetta 2012 Exterior Rear
Picture Source: http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/12/2012-vw-jetta-gli---02.jpg

Interior

The interior to be frank, feels a bit low rent compared to Volkwagen Passats and even Golfs. It also doesn't have some bells and whistles which the Golf has such as the start-stop system. I hope it comes with a built in bluetooth connection though. I use that a lot for Spotify and phone calls.

Why not a Golf, one may ask. The answer is simply because I needed the larger boot space for my baby pram and other paraphernalia.

Volkswagen Jetta 2012 Interior
Picture Source: http://images.newcars.com/images/car-pictures/original/2012-Volkswagen-Jetta-Sedan-2.0L-Base-4dr-Sedan-Interior-1.png

Performance

The superior performance over the Honda Civic Hybrid is also tempting. I always have an affinity for small turbocharged engines. High torque means more get up and go. If I were to purchase this, it would be the most powerful car I have ever owned. At an engine capacity of 1,390 cc, the engine size is wont incur much tax and fuel economy as far as I have read is decent.

Reliability

This is one big issue with Volkswagen in Singapore. many VW owners have reported issues with the DSG gear box and there was a recall. It seem that the transmission fluid used was not suitable for the high heat climate over here. While Volkswagen Singapore have mentioned that the issue has been solved with a replacement of the transmission fluid and certain parts. A pall does hang over the longevity of their products.

Servicing and maintenance costs will also be higher than the Honda. Reliability is probably the weakest link in the proposition for the Jetta.

Some specifications of the Volkswagen Jetta is below:

Engine
Engine capacity	1,390 cc
Engine type	4-cylinder in-line 16-valve TSI Turbocharger
Compression ratio	unknown
Bore x Stroke	unknown
Fuel type	Petrol

Performance
Power	89kW (120 bhp)
Torque	200 Nm
Acceleration	9.8s (0-100 km/h)
Top speed	202 km/h
Fuel consumption	16.7 km/L
CO2 emission	138 g/km (As tested by LTA)

Choice No. 2: 2012-2013 Honda Civic Hybrid

Selling Price: SGD $73,000 (Approx USD $52,191)

Honda Civic Hybrid 2012 Front
Picture Source: https://www.cars.com/research/honda-civic_hybrid-2012/

Honda Civic Hybrid 2012 Rear
Picture Source: https://www.cars.com/research/honda-civic_hybrid-2012/

Exterior

Compared to the eighth generation model that I am currently driving, the 2011 nine generation model looks a little more dowdy than the eight generation. Less sleek and more Camry like. The nine generation model had received a lot of flak in the motoring community for its uninspired shape when it was first unveiled. The current tenth generation model is sleek and sporty again but alas its a new car, hence not in the contest.

Compared to the Jetta, it doesn't look as good. But the spacy shape of the ninth generation hybrid still works for me. I have no qualms about driving this for a long time. It does look more a middle age man's car though.

Honda Civic Hybrid 2012 Interior
Picture Source: http://www.autoguide.com/gallery/admin/d/359678-5/003_2012_Civic_Hybrid_20.jpg

Interior

While a Civic's interior is hardly luxurious compared to a Mercedes Benz. It is still a pleasant place to be in. Beige leather with a two tone interior with leather trimming gives it a comfortable feel. Honda's interior are built to last and the Civic DNA runs through all the generation with its spacy instrumentation that works very well.

I have gotten very used to the digital speedometer and spaceship like driving instruments and the nine generation continues that trend. However, I do feel that the trimmings like the brushed aluminium gear level surround of the eighth generation has been removed with cheap black plastic trimmings. Overall, the ninth generation felt a bit low rent compared to the previous generation. It is a big bug bear for me.

Performance

While a Civic Hybrid is not going to win awards for speed and power. It does move off the line in quicker than most conventionally powered sedan. This is due to the instantaneous torque that is available from zero rpm from the electric motor. A conventional petrol engine will have to rev to at least 1,500rpm before torque is served. The hybrid powerplant was something I have really enjoyed in my current eight generation Civic Hybrid. I like the torquey shove off the line and a fuel consumption that was so low that one would have difficulty remembering when was the last time the car was refueled.

I enjoyed the strange noises emitted by the hybrid power plant when in motion. it feels like I am operating a spaceship instead of a car. Having an aviation background, this had a great appeal. I also like the dead silence of the car when the engine shuts off at the traffic lights, it is like being in a oasis or a cocoon in the middle of noisy traffic.

Reliability

It is a Honda. What more do I have to say?

Some specifications of the Civic Hybrid is below:

Engine
Engine capacity	1,497 cc
Engine type	4-cylinders in-line 16-valves SOHC i-VTEC Hybrid electric
Compression ratio	10.8
Bore x Stroke	(73.0 x 89.4) mm
Fuel type	Petrol

Performance
Power	82kW (110 bhp)
Torque	174 Nm
Acceleration	11s (0-100 km/h)
Top speed	190 km/h
Fuel consumption	22.7 km/L
CO2 emission	104 g/km (As tested by LTA)

Conclusion

The above two contenders have both their merits and drawbacks.

Volkswagen Jetta

Pros

SGD $11,000 cheaper
Most powerful car I will own thus far
Handsome design
Better handling
Better NVH insulation
Scratches the European Car itch.

Cons

Gearbox reliability
More expensive servicing and maintenance
No relationship with existing dealer workshop

Honda Civic Hybrid

Pros

Honda made
Hybrid Start-stop system
Electric instant torque
Great fuel consumption
Good relationship with current Honda dealer workshop
Cheaper servicing and maintenance

Cons

Another 5 years with a Civic Hybrid?
More expensive than the Jetta
Interior slightly lower grade than current ride
Dowdy Camry design

I have not come to a decision yet but I am more inclined towards the Honda Civic Hybrid mostly due to familiarity. However, with a SGD$11,000 price difference. It needs further reconsideration.

Asking for Opinions

If you have any other suggestions or comments, please feel free to comment below. If you are a existing owner of the above cars, do let me know of your ownership experience. More information will always help in my decision making.

Finding footsteps...

2017-03-24T13:12:00.002+08:00

Sunrise over the Alps enroute to Munich

Resonates with my soul

An old friend, Asingaporeanson recommended Steve Pavlina's website to me and I came across the following paragraphs which resonate with me.

"When I had a job, I didn’t care so much about optimizing my startup routine for each day. There was a disconnect between my productivity and my results. As an employee I sometimes prided myself on how little real work I got done each day. I didn’t like my boss, especially due to his bad temper and his use of fear tactics to manage people, so perhaps being unproductive was my way of punishing him for being such a jerk.

Without a job, however, being unproductive makes no sense since it’s clear that I’m wasting my precious life. So I’m very motivated to stay sharp and squeeze a lot of juice out of each day. If I don’t keep my standards high, I suffer for it, and there’s no one to blame but myself.

If I ever slack off, I can reboot myself whenever I want. I don’t have to wait till the end of a shift or a weekend. I can set new goals or pivot to a different rhythm whenever I experience one of those golden awareness boosts. If I want to start a new habit trial, I can kick it off as soon as I’m ready. I don’t have to work around my employer’s schedule.

If I feel unmotivated or burnt out, I can take a vacation starting the very next day (or in some cases, the same day). I can stay on vacation for as long as I want. I’ve taken breaks for 30+ days more than once. Taking a full month off can be very restorative, and I usually hit the ground running when I return.

I write when I’m inspired to write, not on some employer-dictated schedule. I don’t arbitrary say to myself, “I have to blog something today.” What draws me to the keyboard is when I’m struck by an idea. I’ve gone as long as seven weeks at a stretch without blogging, and it’s totally fine. It wouldn’t suit me (or my readers) to crank out drivel on a schedule. I’d rather write only when I have something inspired to communicate.

This isn’t the industrial age anymore. Working on a 9-5 schedule isn’t well suited to today’s best opportunities for creative knowledge workers. I feel fortunate that I don’t have anyone imposing such a schedule on me. Discovering my own best rhythms has enabled me to crank out 2 million words for 100 million readers over the years."

https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2017/03/25-years-without-job/

Steve Pavlina is a successful entrepreneur and writer who wrote much about personal development. His last job was 25 years ago and has been self employed ever since. He believed in treasuring life and the constant need to improve oneself.

Finding my footing

I am still trying to find my footing in this footloose reality that I have given myself.

It is easy to take things easy and wake up late everyday. Go around to all the places that I would have love to go when I was fully employed. After all, most of my work doesn't start till the late afternoon. But as I have tried, I find it hard to truly relax.

Sunrise in Stuttgart, Germany

The early bird catches the worm

By waking up late, I would have wasted much time to accomplish my many things in the morning. Richard Branson is a role model that I looked up to in managing my business and he has a firm routine in the morning which begins at 5am. He believes in embracing each day from sunrise to sunset.

In all honesty, waking up at 5 am is far too difficult for me and besides, I do not have an island to explore and kite surf. Yet. Haha.

Now, I try to wake up at 8am every morning and be out of the house at 9am by sending my baby boy Gerald to infant care. After that, I head straight to my serviced office and start reading and writing.

The alternative was to rent an Uber car in the morning and drive for a few hours exploring Singapore while earning some money. But the downside is that it will rob me of much energy for my other endeavours for the rest of the day.

Picture Source: https://s1.cdn.autoevolution.com/images/gallery/MITSUBISHI-Attrage-4865_1.jpg

Unsustainable Uber

In all honesty, I think trying to make a living via Uber in Singapore is not workable. The income is only slightly better than that of working at Starbucks. I salute those who drive Uber for a living. It is a tough job and pays too little for the amount of risk and work. If you want to drive for a living, being a taxi driver would the main taxi companies in Singapore would be more practical.

I truly hope that Uber would stop promoting its drive for new drivers and concentrate on retaining its existing drivers by giving them their fair dues in proper fares. The fares are simply too low. A passenger gave me a SGD$0.50 fare for a ride the other day. Half the price of taking a public bus.

For several times, I had wanted to throw in the towel but boredom got the better of me and I was back at the helm of a Mitsubishi Attrage in the morning. And hey, due to the stress and fatigue of Uber driving, I lost my appetite. With that, I actually lost 3 kg. Well, guess that is a kind of perk. I guess.

Picture Source: http://intraining.com.au/wp-content/uploads/myths2.jpg

Time for to go running again

Starting from next week or even tomorrow. I will put an running regime in my daily schedule. I have not ran much in 2017 because of a long bout of flu which bogged me in the first two months of 2017, which also contributed to my resignation of my day job. Mileage for this year is very low. I will reverse that trend and depend on running instead of Uber to maintain my weight.

Yes, it is necessary to put exercise as an appointment in the schedule. If not, it will be relegated to one of those things that we will do one day.

Let's do it!

Freelancing: Feeling "lost" and terrified...

2017-03-21T13:56:00.000+08:00

Changi Airport Terminal 3

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/blob/3299092/1479488837000/snorlax-garden-data.jpg

It is a nice, quiet Tuesday morning, I have decided to take things slow on this day and not cram too many things on the schedule.

Former Hectic Life

I had being juggling a permanent job and running my teaching business for many years. Day in day out, I had been rushing through meals, rushing from one point to another. Having many deadlines to juggle on the day job. Lessons plans to be made for my classes. Family time to juggle. etc. etc.

Current Reality

I woke up on Tuesday morning at 8am, sent my baby boy and his mummy to his infant care centre and drove to Changi International Airport for my medical checkup. After the check up, which ended at 10.30am, I walked out of the clinic and began wandering along the airport terminal. My mind endlessly thinking about finding something to do.

Note that this is not a off day for me. I do have lessons in the evenings. I just have the morning and afternoon off. I thought to myself, perhaps I should call up the car rental company to get a Uber car for a spot of Uber driving. Perhaps, there is some paperwork to do or errands to run. Perhaps, I should head to the office to sit down to read and write my blog.

I was utterly lost

I look at the restaurants and cafes, yes in my previous life. I would have loved to have time to sit down in a restaurant to have a nice meal or spend time in a cafe over coffee to read. It was a luxury I yearned to have. Now I can, but I couldn't do it. I know it sounds like a first world problem. But I was quite terrified.

Germanic Trait

I remembered watching a documentary on modern day Germany and remembered the reporter interviewing a German on how he spends his free time. The German was quite serious about the word "vacation" and gave a solemn face reply that vacations are a free and a dangerous time. It requires careful planning and structure.

Yes, I do have a strand of German DNA in me and now I feel just as terrified as that solemn face German.

Back to the cubicle

In the end, I gave in. Headed to my nearest Regus serviced office and wrote this post. I did have my coffee.

In an office cubicle though.

I want to be a motoring journalist!

2017-03-19T22:43:00.000+08:00

Petrol Head Heaven, the Stelvio Pass

Picture source: http://www.midlifecyclist.info/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/stelvio-4-of-24-1024x663.jpg

Petrol head

I am a petrol head. There is no denying of it. Petrol literally runs in my veins. Now that I am very much a man who is free to dabble in my interests. I would like try my hand as a motoring journalist. Albeit an amateur one.

A shortage of car reviews for Singapore

There is clearly a shortage of good motoring review of cars in Singapore especially long term reviews by owners. Other than the odd comment or short review in oneshift.com or in sgcarmart.com, there is hardly any other information source from car owners in Singapore. When I am looking for car reviews, I often have to turn to the British motoring website autocar.co.uk or the US motoring website motortrend.com for objective and professional reviews.

It is often inadequate as these websites review cars that are equipped for the UK or US markets.

In Singapore, due to the high cost of cars, equipment on cars is often spartan as dealers are afraid to bring in more equipment for fear of further elevating the selling price of the cars. Hence, while very good reviews are written on these websites. Often many of the features in these reviews are not available in Singapore.

Outrageous Prices for Singapore Cars

To put in perspective on how high car prices are in Singapore, I shall put in some numbers over here for new cars sold locally.

Picture source: https://media.ed.edmundmedia.com/honda/civic/2017/ot/2017_honda_civic_LIFE1_ot_1105163_1280.jpg

Honda Civic 1.5 VTEC Turbo Sedan (Price as on 19 Mar 2017)

SGD $130,000 or USD $92,731.30

Picture source: https://photos-1.carwow.co.uk/models/1600x800/C-Class-3.jpg

Mercedes Benz C-Class C180 Sedan Avantgarde (Price as on 19 Mar 2017)

SGD $184,000 or USD $131, 250.46

Now let that sink in for a while.

I must be mad to be a petrol head in Singapore.

My motoring credentials

Thankfully, I have travelled and driven extensively in these countries. Hertz and Budget car rentals have allowed me to drive in the following countries:

Malaysia
Thailand
Vietnam (on motorcycle)
Western Australia
Germany
Austria
Liechtenstein
France
Northern Italy
Belgium
The Netherlands

With the above credentials, and my extensive autobahn experience, I can proudly declare I am an international driver.

My daily ride is Honda Civic Hybrid which I name the Whisperer.

Yes, some pure petrol heads will cringe now and say it is sacrilege for a petrol head to own and drives a hybrid. I will write a post in the future about why petrol heads should look at hybrids in the future.

A clue?

Instant torque is the answer. Instant torque. Nothing that runs purely on petrol can beat that.

Believe me, the Civic Hybrid is a good car and workhorse. This is especially so when you will forget when was the last time you visited a petrol station.

Car Reviews and Driving Destinations

I will be posting reviews on cars that I have driven overseas and some cars that I have tested in Singapore.

I will also be writing about the countries that I have driven in and hopefully it can provide those who intend to drive them to have some information before hitting the road. All countries have their own road nuances and idiosyncrasies. In my opinion, Singapore roads has the most idiosyncrasies.

If you are feeling generous and would like me to write a review of your car(s). Please feel free to email me at takeflightnow@outlook.com. I will try my best to write a thorough and objective review on them.

Isaac Lidsky, the man without sight but sees better than most

2017-03-17T15:40:00.002+08:00

I came across Isaac Lidsky while researching for a coaching session.

Isaac Lidsky,

A man who lost his sight at age 25

Despite of his disability, he went on to become a successful lawyer and served as a law clerk under two justices in the Supreme Court

The CEO of ODC Construction, a construction company worth USD$70 million

The writer for the book "Eyes Wide Open"

Most importantly, a father of four kids who insist on changing his children's diapers even though he could not see. And he did a good job of that.

Sight without Vision

The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision - Helen Keller

How many of us are guilty of that? Seeing an open door which leads out of our predicament but refusing it as it is unknown, foreign and fearful. Choosing instead to remain where we are and continuing with deal with the problems and constraints we are familiar with. In other words, choosing to remain stuck.

In my early adulthood, I was convinced that holding a stable job would allow me to have a comfortable life and pay all my bills. Not a luxurious, but a comfortable life. I was wrong.

I rejected any suggestion of teaching part time, after all I was a trained teacher with the Ministry of Education. To me, it was too tiring, too difficult. Who holds two jobs nowadays, I thought.

I struggled to pay my bills for a number of years. In the end, a chance referral by a friend restarted my teaching career. Yes, it was tiring, and difficult. But I enjoyed it and made me aware that I was being short changed in my day job. I was worth a lot more.

A few years later, my little start-up company TakeFlight was formed, established and bringing in decent profits. It was a long, exhausting process. It was a fulfilling process. Still, it took a long while for me to say farewell to my day job.

I eventually did and to be honest, it is still scary and uncertain but I definitely feel happier.

We decide our own reality

If you are carrying a heavy load, a hill will look steeper that it really is. If we are rushing for time, the bus will seem slower than it really it. We see what we want to see, and more often than not, we choose not to see what we do not want to see.

What we see is only as real as how we decide for it to be.

For Lidsky, his eyes were failing and worse still, it was giving him false messages. The world that he sees through his eyes before he went blind were strange images and false realities. He can't trust his sight even when he had it. Hence, he started to make sense of his world in his own way. And it also began his journey on believing in his vision rather than his sight.

Knowing that he was going blind, he knew that he was destined for a simple life with limited opportunities. A life of pity and possibly alone,

He rejected that destiny and built for himself a life which may seem even impossible for a fully able person.

We decide our own destiny

Recently, I watched a Korean drama titled "Goblin" who mentioned that even God cannot predict and defy the will of the human spirit. I subscribed to that notion.

Like Lidsky, I was once diagnosed with a disabling illness that made me questioned if I will ever be an independent person again, Life was so uncertain that it is far easier to give up then to fight the reality. However, I choose to fight. And the destiny, that I thought would be my life, was in fact untrue.

Now, if you think you are stuck, you are not. if you think you are a failure, you are not. That is not the reality. The open doors are just around you. Try to see them.

The impossible is simply not impossible.

Lidsky, in his own words is over here.

Restarting a Blog

2017-03-15T19:51:00.000+08:00

This blog has been in existence since 20 Nov 2011. Of which from 2013-2017. It was largely frozen. The running robot during that period was very busy juggling a day job and starting his little teaching business. That left him with little time for himself, hence, the blog was frozen in time.

Now that the day job is out of the way, the running robot has time to sit down and write what he had missed writing in the span of 4 years. That is if, the mad driven running robot don’t go crazy doing multiple jobs again.

Given that this blog began as a personal blog, a place to where the running robot shared his joys, frustrations and interests in life. So where do we go from here?

I am thinking along this framework:

The Running Robot Blog = Interests + Joys + Education + Opinion + Short stories*beta

Interests = Cars + Aeroplanes + Running + Army + Travel + etc.

Joys = Great days + touching days

Education = I am a teacher as well as a personal coach, hence there will be things to teach naturally. Two of my pet subjects is entrepreneurship and income diversification, I will share some of those things over here.

Opinion = I am entitled to my own opinion, right? Not too many of those though.

Short stories = This is in beta stage. I hope to write some fiction over here. Not sure when that will happen. But it is coming.

In summation

I do hope that I could, through this blog, bring some happiness and inspiration to your lives. I like to educate people and help them get ahead in their lives. In my day work, I help students and adults improve their lives one by one. Over here, while I may not be able to give the personal attention that I give to my students, but hopefully some of the strategies and thought could rub off and get you to a better place.

Above picture sourced from: https://cdn2.iconfinder.com/data/icons/power-symbol/512/power_symbol_7-512.png

iPhone 7 review from an Apple Cynic

2017-03-14T12:17:00.001+08:00

Let me get an iPhone.

I had never had an Apple product. Not one.

The iPhone, iPad, iMac etc. They are beautifully made and popular almost to a fault. They are also very pricey. Way above what I would pay for an electronic device in which have an average service life of 2 years.

Apple as a company is filthy rich and has one of the largest cash reserves. In other words, I did not wish to one of the contributors to their cash reserve.

Their technology was not as advanced as claimed by their advertising. Many other mobile phone companies have more advanced technologies and for example, live images was already on my Nokia Lumia 930 in 2014 but was only launched with the iPhone 6S only in Sep 2015. I am sure the Android pundits from Samsung and other companies would agree with this.

iPhone as a technology platform was hardly ground breaking. But it pretends to be ground breaking.

So why did I buy one?

I had been a supporter of Nokia and their Lumia range. In part, because I always believe in the underdog. Because, of the ZEISS lense technology. I am a photography enthusiast.

I also particularly like the new Windows 10 Mobile interface and how seamless it integrates with my Windows 10 equipped ASUS T300chi laptop.

More importantly, I don't have the deep pockets needed to buy Apple devices.

However, as my Lumia 930 grew tired and started acting up. I knew it was time for a replacement. There was no decent Windows 10 flagship in sight. And while I uses Android tablets for my students and lessons. I didn't fancy having the interface for my daily communication and computing needs.

Hence, enter the iPhone 7 into my life.

The transfer of personal data such as contacts, calendars, pictures etc wasn't as seamless as the old Lumia range. Previously, it was log out and wipe out the data in the previous Lumia phone. Turn on the new Lumia phone and log in. In a matter of minutes, all the data is ported over and it is as if there was no change of phone. Everything is there as it was.

In the case of the iPhone 7, I used Outlook to login and my contacts and calendars are ported over. My old pictures remained in the cloud with OneDrive and new pictures taken are also uploaded there instead of iCloud.

Life Changing

While the iOS interface is archiac compared to the Windows 10 mobile. The point is everything works and there is no strange crashing or hangs that you get when you uses Android apps.

You have supported Apps for everything, Pocket, Uber, Microsoft Office, Spotify, everything works.

The battery life is wonderful. The quad core A10 processor with its twin fast processor cores and twin energy efficient cores allows the iPhone 7 to be used for a whole day easily on a single charge. Unless, you do use the iPhone intensively.

And even when you do, the A10 processor barely heats up. Unlike my old Lumia 930 which heats up enough to warm food and have a dismal battery life.

And most importantly, it looks as if it will last a long time. Not my words. I get these from other iPhone users. These phones last a long time.

While the price is a pain, I felt it was worth it. Now, I am no longer the outsider when it comes to apps. The phone is stable and will fulfil my needs for a long time to come.

Now, perhaps it is time to get an iPad to replace my ageing Lenovo and Samsung Android tablets. How's about an iMac to replace the Asus T300chi? hmm....

The walk of freedom and uncertainty

2017-03-13T18:27:00.004+08:00

It has been exactly a month since I left my job of 12 years and began my freelancing journey as a full time tutor and entrepreneur. It is a walk of freedom and much uncertainty.

Boss... towkay...odd jobber...freelancer...self employed...unemployed

This are the many names that I have been given since I left my job.

There is much freedom now...I have the option of deciding when I would like to start the day. Though it is subjected to the schedule of my students and other work commitments. And to be frank, I start working even earlier than before, so that I have more time in the afternoons.

I truly get to smell the flowers in the middle of a work day and have meals at places in which I could only go previously when I was on leave or during the weekends.

I have no boss to answer to. But I do have many clients who can boss me around. Thankfully, my current clients are very nice people.

Financially, it is a different set of rules. While the amount of money might be about the same as my salaried job. Pay doesn't come in a lump sum on payday every month, instead it comes in trickles here and there. To date, I am never more than 2 days from my next "payday". And of course, income is by no mean fixed. It can be brilliant or it can be short. It is going to take me a long while to adjust to that.

There are many things that I missed in my previous job, the banter and closeness of colleagues, my cosy cubicle and of course that stable sense of showing the world that I am gainfully employed.

It can be quite a lonely life as you traverse the world alone with your work, having meals alone and even working from a cubicle in which you are surrounded by strangers or fellow freelancers. Yes, I do have a cubicle albeit a higher class but a far smaller one.

There are times where you are tempted to call up your old colleagues and meet them for lunch but sigh. The hectic schedule and mobility of freelancing does make it a challenge.

Thankfully, I am now able to spent more time with my baby boy. In days of past, I am often working full time in my salaried job and managing my business after work and in the weekends. Dawn to dusk was what it was. Now, I am no longer the absent dad.

I am sorry if this post is a bit disjointed. I am still quite overwhelmed by the experience, especially the sudden freedom. Still learning, still adjusting.

I will promise to write more often.

18 years old once again...

2014-11-16T17:20:00.000+08:00

I went to an army mate's wedding last night. Being the only guy from my anti tank platoon in what is essentially a scout platoon wedding, I didn't expect myself to fit in their conversation. However, it turn out to be quite an experience.

It has been a long while since I last saw this guys. Though we were from from different platoons, we have lived together for 2.5 years during NSF and served 10 years NS together. There were a boisterous and fun lot and now even at almost middle age, they still are.

The dinner began as other wedding dinner goes. Trading of talks about work and marital status. Not to mention the flashing of children's photos on our smart phones. Guys in shirts, long pants and dinner jackets. Stuffy things.

Then the talk on old missions and overseas exercises started. The shared experiences starting flowing. From the sands of Thailand, the rolling hills of Taiwan, the brutal jungles of Brunei to the wastelands of Lim Chu Kang. The stories kept going... Stories of incredible long walks, great escapes, amazing navigational skills and near misses kept coming. The horror of the Silkair MI185 disaster was also relived. Suddenly, I don't see the guys in their stuffy clothes. I see them in their camouflaged and fatigued faces, their jungle hats and their sweat soaked uniforms.

The wedding dinner went on and concluded but we remained seated and more stories flow on. When the last guest have left, one of the guys let lose a tirade of full military spec expletives. We laughed out loud. We were really back to those days.

Finally it was time to go. The whole lot of us went to the toilet and suddenly childish pranks broke out with water and wet palm prints on each others shirts. This culminated with a game of "catching" as guys began chasing each other around the ballrooms. This guys are middle-aged men and some of which are fathers of children, mind you.

Someone muttered, we are 18 again. We laughed.

Saying Goodbye

2014-04-07T14:29:00.001+08:00

Call me a sentimental man.

Goodbyes are never easy for me. One of the hardest goodbye I had to gone through was saying goodbye to my first car of 8 years. Marchie.

Lots of memories in this car. I may have shift houses 3 times in the past 8 years but Marchie remained constant. He was the car which picked up my wife the first time we went out. He was the car that did the shuttle between her home as mine as we dated. He was our wedding car. Etc...etc...

It was September 2013, Marchie was getting sick that year. Visits to the mechanic was getting more frequent and the repair fees were getting higher. The high mileage from my teaching job did not help the situation.

I contemplated my options. Given the crazy prices of new cars in Singapore, it was not logical to get a new car. Carrying on with Marchie was going to make costs very high in the long run, not discounting the fact that I may not be even be able to arrive on location to teach.

I looked at the used car ads on the internet and decided to go to the 2nd hand dealers for a look.

The Whisperer wasn't exactly love at first sight as Marchie had been. Yes, it was slick looking and fairly luxurious. But it was a common Honda Civic shape. Black. Not exactly my favorite colour for a car. I love the technology behind it and the fact that it drives like a space ship. But looking at it externally, it looks normal, very normal.

The down payment was ludicrous. It took me a long while to decide on taking the Whisperer. Luckily with the help of wifey, we managed to pay it and am now driving it with only a little loan to service. Put it simply, it cost 1/3 of what a new Honda Civic Hybrid would cost us.

The excitement of driving a hybrid got to me before we took delivery of the Whisperer. I devour all technical literature available on Honda Hybrids and other hybrid techs.

But as the day towards handing Marchie over to the dealer gets nearer, I began to be more and more uncomfortable. Thoughts such as I will never see its cute shape waiting on the car park for me. I will never get to sit in its cockpit ever again. What will be its life after this?

I began to get insomnia as my mind constantly thought about the times I had with it. From the first day I pick up Marchie from the dealer, to my wedding, to the numerous trips to Malaysia in it.

It was nerve wrecking and wifey knew about it. I was tossing and turning in bed.

The day finally came and I ask my buddy YL to come along for the hand over. He was a Honda Civic driver and could guide me along as I took delivery of the Whisperer. Marchie wasn't packed yet when I drove to the dealer car park. I stopped the car and turn to YL, "Bro, can you help me pack Marchie. I can't bring myself to do it."

He nodded and went about helping me to do what I couldn't.

Changes

2014-04-03T11:40:00.000+08:00

www.flickr.com

It has been an amazingly long time since I last wrote for this blog. Life has its queer way of making one so busy that he loses time for himself. The constant working and teaching has taken its toll and I was only half as fit as I was when I was constantly writing on this blog. Remarkably in extraordinary circumstances, fate dealt me a holiday and I am suddenly given ample time to run and rest.

“Why don’t you start writing again?”

My wifey asked me out of the blue the other day. I was surprised. I never thought she really bothered about my ramblings since it was mostly on cars and other mechanical stuff which I like.

“Perhaps I can try”

I answered and my mind began making plans on what to write and when are the pockets of time I could sit down and write.

There has been plenty of changes in the running robot’s life. Life has gone from a struggle to stay afloat financially to a more relaxed outlook. There is now time to contemplate and to plan.

As for my dear ride, my trusty and cute Nissan March “Marchie” was gone and replaced by a Honda Civic Hybrid “The Whisperer”. Both of which are miles different in character.

Saying goodbye to Marchie was one of the hardest things I have done.

More about them in subsequent posts anyway. I don’t know how long this holiday will last, but I will try writing again.