年龄越大似乎越能察觉到时间的急速流失。 年少时度日如年。现在却是一年如一日。

A well-protected environment molds an Idealist while the harsh world makes a Realist. The protective cushion shields one from harm but also serves as a vacuum from the reality.

This morning while waiting for the train at the train station, I spotted a teenager looking really candid in an ankle-length flowery skirt and off-white blouse with pouffy half-lenght sleeves. If not for the fact that she had on her a pair of converse-like shoes, carrying a side-sling canvas bag and spotting a spunky bob haircut, I would have mistaken her to be a lady in her fifties.

She looked awkward and I felt the same way for her. The first thought that ran through my mind profusely was why would she have placed herself in such a situation and openly asked to be ridiculed by whoever she might be meeting later. Why didn’t her parents get her something more befitting for her age?

I lost sight of her in the crowded train. I didn’t notice when she got off or if she did.

It was after a good stretch of time before I was reminded that I too was in that same position twenty years ago.

I was part of the school choir then and for one of the performances in school, we were told to prepare a pair of white heels to go with this truly horrible dress in orange colour that was tailor made for each of us by the school. I dutifully took home this piece of instruction to my mum and her reaction was it will be such a waste of money to buy something that will only be worn not more than twice. She then suggested that I make do with hers, which by the way was easily 2 sizes up from what I could fit.

I didn’t dare disobey her and partly because I agreed that we shouldn’t be wasting money in such manner knowing how hard my parents had to work just to make ends meet.

And so I did, I dragged my feet around (in every sense of the word) that day in the shoes that were obviously way too big.  To fill up the empty space, I resorted to stuffing pieces of tissues into the toe area but it only helped that much.   I could only wishfully hope that nobody would take notice of it.

It may seem comical now that I think back, however it is without a doubt that I didn't find it funny back then.

Over the years, I lost that bit of my memory and seeing the girl at the station today brought it all back and I am thankful for that reminder.   I no longer need to bat an eyelid to buy another pair of shoes whether it is for myself or for my children, but I am sure that there are many people out there who deem buying an extra pair of shoes as luxury.

The definition of necessity and luxury is dependent on the person who defines it.  I am not sure if my children will grow up to appreciate it like I do seeing how they never have to worry about whether they will have shoes to wear, and only about which one to wear today.

Had a friendly debate with Mad 2 weekends ago on whether the Government had done enough to prevent the recent flash floods. I think I am probably one of those rare few who didn't think that the Government could have foreseen it happening.

The limit is only known after the line had been pushed. Didn't we all took comfort in believing that our canals were sufficient to deal with the rainfall? We were just as complacent, if that is what we think of our leaders.

这就是所谓的马后炮！

“人生如戏”说的一点都没错。


青春期有如偶像剧。。。天天做着白日梦，期待长大， 向往美好的日子，还有真命天子的出现。


二十来岁时的生活好比现代爱情剧。。。事业起步， 第一次体会到现实真的很残酷。成家立业成为剧情主体。


一踏入中年，黄金时段的环境剧便开始浮现眼前。埋头苦干，继续为生活找路 只为了能让一家子过好日子。 一身的重担，继续挑着。


如果说家庭伦理可以用来描述晚年，那准没错。三代关系之间的问题不胜枚举，错中福闸。每一段故事都有它的小插曲。

Life doesn't necessary move just because a lot of things are happening. Plans got shelved and the days were frozen but there was still too much noise in the background. We wrestled with things that needed to get done but still there were tasks that we couldn't get around to.

Hunger is only for those who have the luxury of time. When the dust finally settled and I can finally breathe better, that was also when I started to hear my stomach growl and feel my knees buckling. Food was the last thing on my mind in the 48 hours when Matty was hospitalised.


Physical pain is less painful than emotional pain. I cried more seeing my son getting the drip inserted than having a 10 centimeter cut across my abdominal (twice) when I went through cesarean birth.

While driving home after work a few days ago, I had a shock for a split second because I thought some of the buildings along the bit just before Marina Bay Sands and which are still under construction, were leaning at an angle as if they were going to topple over anytime soon.

After that split second, I did remember that the view is such only because that stretch of ECP sat on a gentle slope. I have driven past there countless number of times but almost each time I will get that momentary fear... my brain often fails to ping me fast enough about things like that!

This is a real-life illustration of how our view (of a given situation) is determined by the ground that we stand upon.

High profile job = more money and number of days of leave per year = more back-logs to clear
Low profile job = less money and number of days of leave per year = less back-logs to clear

Always good to know that life is fair. We just need to get the formula right to help us see better.