Uncle Lee Wants Me!

Yeap.... I'll be away from the blogosphere for a little while. I'll have very limited access to the internet while I'm away.

I'll be doing my country proud. I'll be protecting you.

I'll be away for reservist. In fact, I'm already in the midst of reservist.

Will be done on 23 June 2006.

I'll try to update my blog as I go along... but sorry, I cannot leak out secrets.

I'm only doing my duty as a responsible citizen of Singapore. I've come this far in realising that my country's defence is top notch and I'm not going to reveal any secrets in my blog to compromise the security of my country.

The Reason

I'm not a perfect person
There's many things I wish I didn't do
But I continue learning
I never meant to do those things to you
And so I have to say before I go
That I just want you to know

I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
and the reason is you

I'm sorry that I hurt you
It's something I must live with everyday
And all the pain I put you through
I wish that I could take it all away
And be the one who catches all your tears
That's why I need you to hear

I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new

and the reason is you
and the reason is you
and the reason is you
and the reason is you

I'm not a perfect person
I never meant to do those things to you
And so I have to say before I go
That I just want you to know

I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
and the reason is you

I've found a reason to show
A side of me you didn't know
A reason for all that I do
And the reason is you

- The Reason, Hoobastank

Grandiose hopes from the Manpower Ministry

What is the Manpower Minister thinking when he said that Singapore aims to be the world's best services workforce?

What is services workforce? What is world's best?

I'm sorry but Singapore services seriously lacks in COURTESY, PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE, and BASIC COMMONSENSE. Couple that with the severe lack of empowerment with regards to decision-making, his statement of aiming to be world's best is a tall order.

There are so many examples to choose from when it comes to lousy services compared with what other countries give. Mind you, being able to serve is usually in-built in a person's character. How to have such world's best services if we are so stiff and stifled?

Take for example if a diner finds out that there is something wrong with his food order. He tells the waiter. What would be the reaction of the waiter?

1. Act blur. Stand there like goblok and don't know what to do.
2. Call his supervisor, who will call his manager, who will call owner....
3. Automatically replace the offending order, no questions asked

How about those waiters at japanese restaurants who holler some japanese greeting everytime a diner enters the restaurant. Let me ask how many staff actually mean what they say WITH A SMILE?

Too many examples....

It's a tall order. The Manpower Ministry can keep dreaming. Please come up with something more down-to-earth and realistic. This seems to me like sweet talk.

Learning from migratory birds

I was in Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve last Saturday morning. Some people would know that Sungei Buloh is a refuelling stop for many migratory birds flying in from the north to escape the harsh winters.

These birds travel thousands and thousands of miles non-stop!

They are masters of fuelling and efficiency. There must be some sort of weight-to-food intake ratio for sustaining the endurance flight. We have also seen the V-shaped flight patterns of some bird species - supposedly drafting techniques to save on energy resources. Each bird taking turns to 'pull' the rest through the air stream, while the rest sucking in the vacuum of least air resistance. I'm sure there must also be the 'prefect' angle of deviation to achieve the best draft.

There's so much to learn from migratory birds that can be used in the science of triathlon.

Simply awe-inspiring and amazing!

Joe, Trish and Choonwei

Here's introducing 3 of the Singaporeans going for Ironman Canada!

Choonwei the Zoomway

Freelance web designer by day, strong cyclist by night.

Not only he bikes and runs much faster than most of us,

but he sure eats a lot!

Legend says he got a superworm in his system,

but that ain't gonna stop this single, eligible dude

from taking part in his first IM this August!

Tricia "Aqueous"

Don't let this little girl fool you either,

she'll beat you on the swim, bike, run and on the trails.

Her mental focus and determination will bring her to the finishing line.

With ease. Anytime.

Joe the Relac-wan-korner "Blow"

You'll hear him from miles away.

He'll walk faster than you can speed on your BMX.

His breaststroke will put a jetski company out of business

And he's only doing triathlons for fun!

Mapledreams: 5 S'poreans Help Others By Attempting Their Own Achievements

Come 27 August this year, 5 Singaporean youths will race in the Ironman Canada at Penticton, British Columbia. That is a gruelling 3.8km swim, 180km bike, followed by a full marathon run of 42.2km.

In a bid to realise their physical and mental abilities, Choonwei, Tricia, Joe, Sijie and Tommy are going to raise funds for charity as well. They have chosen Mercy Relief as their beneficiary. They will raise and race to achieve their own dreams while helping the underprivileged.

Now, Mercy Relief is in need of more funding since the recent devastating earthquake in Yogjakarta while the destruction of Mount Merapi volcano looms.

The five youths have designed a special dri-fit T-shirt for this fund-raising event. Each T-shirt costs S$30.00. 75% of the proceeds will go to Mercy Relief, while 25% will go into the Mapledream fund.

Anyone interested may contact Tricia at mapledreamers@gmail.com or call her at 9128 1817, or call Joe at 9112 9903.

The anti-littering rule applies to triathletes too!

Endurance athletes like marathon runners and triathletes rely alot on gels for quick replenishment of lost energy into our body systems.

The gels come in 'handy' packets with pre-determined 'shots' of contained carbo/protein/electrolyte mixes. Tear the top off and gulp the eecky gel into one's mouth and swallow with water. You squeeze 'em gels into the mouth and you throw the wrapper away while on the bike or run segments. Yep, we litter on the race course. I admit to doing that almost religiously in every race.



In long races, gels such as Powergel, E-gel, Carb-boom, Hammergel, etc. can be a life saver to keep a triathlete from bonking. There are usually no strategically-placed recepticles for a shagged out triathlete to throw the empty wrappers, unless we take the trouble to stuff the gooey wrapper into our bento boxes (if available) or stuff them into the teeny pockets of our tri-suit (if available). In other words, there aren't many choices to store 'em up for later disposal.

I just found out - by chance - that some races actually penalise triathletes who litter! If caught by the race anti-litter patrol, the offending triathlete can be penalised for up to 2 minutes. (this means an extra 2 minutes is added onto the final time taken to complete the race) 2 minutes can affect the overall standings!

Alright, I will make it a conscious effort to store my used gel wrappers for disposal at the finishing line. Not that the additional 2 minutes will matter much to me. I'm just going to try to be a civilised triathlete. Perhaps that is a greater challenge in itself eh?

Here's an article by Mountain Man, a writer for the Triathlete Magazine.

I quote him "Pick up after yourself; your mother doesn’t work here!"

Revealed: Da Munnchi's Code

I have to admit that I was very half-hearted in taking part in last weekend's Bintan Triathlon. I had a nagging headache which didn't give me much motivation to even attempt the gruelling course.

A recce of the bike route (by bus) and a glimpse of the run course didn't help either. The only inviting consolation were the clear blue and calm waters off Bintan.

So what was the oomph factor that spurred me to keep going and going like the energizer bunny on reserve fuel?

Words.

Words from my loved ones and friends, and timeless words from the Bible kept me on course to complete the race.

"For nothing is impossible with God." - Luke 1:37

"You can make things happen if you try hard." - Papa's birthday wish to me

"I have faith in you, and I pray that whatever you do & become will make a positive impact to your life, your loved ones & the community." - Mom's birthday wish to me

"If you haven't got fever or joint aches for the past 3 days, then go for it... but do it slow and enjoy the race" - Doc

"You eat (carbo-load) so much, I better see you at the starting line tomorrow! " - Choonwei the Zoomway

"Slow and steady wins the race" - Papa, as always

So here it is... I hope I've been an inspiration to all my 'fans' and critics out there. Cheers.

Getting to the bottom of the trashcan

The National Environment Agency (NEA) recently launched a new campaign for 'anti-littering' that focuses on hawker centers.

In the news report, the NEA 'hopes to find out why people are still leaving litter everywhere when there are bins nearby through a littering behaviour study'.

Singapore has come very far in its Keep-Singapore-Squeaky-Clean campaigns, but its overly-sanitized approach has resulted in a negative consequence which has got attitude to blame.

Think about it: Who does the cleaning of tables after we eat at the hawker centers? The ubiquitous banglahs.

Does the common singaporean appreciate the efforts made by the banglahs who clean up after them? HOW OFTEN DO YOU THANK THE PERSON CLEANING YOUR TABLE?

No. In fact, almost all if not all singaporeans EXPECT the banglahs to clean after them.

In effect, nobody 'litters'. They just leave their 'shit' around for someone else to clean after them. Littering is when you consciously throw your 'shit' everywhere. Leaving it on the table for the banglahs to clear is not considered 'littering'.

I just personally find the whole concept of getting a 'foreign worker' cleaning up after someone is rather racist, degrading and lack of respect for fellow human-being. What are we teaching our young ones?

So how now, NEA?

Solution is simple.

1. Hire less banglahs. In fact, stop the hiring. No more cleaning uncles and aunties.

2. Then launch a 'Clean up YOURSELF' campaign. This teaches one to be considerate to the next person using the table.

3. Provide napkins and tissue papers. Ever noticed Singapore has a severe shortage of such cleaningware? Either that, or our food vendors are ultra-stingy on such items. NEA should make it compulsory for the provision of tissue papers and napkins for cleaning hands/mouths and tables. NOT FOR RESERVATION OF SEATS, dammit.

Forget about the draconian anti-littering campaign. Who's going to enforce it?

Let's just educate and move on to a more gracious society. Leave our Singaporeans with no choice but to learn how to clean up after themselves.