The Return of the Damn Dongle

HSBC Malaysia, in their undoubted wisdom, have decided we poor internet bankers must have a security generator of "one time use" passcodes. Great, another lumbering gadget to carry around. Those of you who remember dongles will understand my irritation, especially since we use a number of banks, and always use the net to transfer and service the accounts. Not only that, but HSBC did not send me the promised letter to permit collection, and only offered a delivery service to corporate bankers, not us poor personal bankers. No wonder I came across this picture on the net, and regret that I cannot attribute it properly since I have mislaid the link.

Anyway I emailed them, they replied please write or telephone. I telephoned, I was told to email. This was a bit confusing, so we talked longer, eventually I was told that the easiest way was to go into any HSBC bank in Malaysia, where they would happily give me device. Can I get it through my HSBC Singapore Bank, so close to my work. Oh, NO!

So, unwillingly and in spite of the bad weather, we drove over the causeway yesterday. Usually we use the second crossing and disappear up the Expressway to KL. But a new experience is always fun, right? I had heard of the jams but thought that on an non-holiday day it would be reasonably quiet. How wrong I was. But at least after the safety of Singapore we were pleased to be given a warning of what to expect in the multitudinous signs.

Then we had try and find the HSBC, well, in fact we quickly found this place but it was reasonable only for breakfast rather than banking.* So we had to return to the road and search; Alice was driving and in fact managed to spot it quite quickly although we then had to drive around a huge loop to get to it.

However I was surprised that it was relatively painless to actually get the damn thing, and indeed once home the activation was similarly simple, but why is it necessary, we have double passwords on the account, surely that is enough.

And of course there is still that painful queue to pass before we can get back to Singapore. So almost an entire day wasted to get something I do not really want, and the time taken prevented a decent walk round the bird park or similar. Life can be a nuisance, can it not?

*This is a lie, the real restaurant in actually in KL! I never promised total truth, did I?

Medical woes, but not mine!

Alice has had the odd palpitation, together with other symptoms, which have worried us recently. So we whipped off to the hospital yesterday morning, ending in a six hour marathon trawling through doctors and tests. First the charming lady gynie since obviously, in spite of Alice's relatively young age, there was reason to consider that this might be coming a year or two earlier than the average.

We then moved on to a heart guy, who did an ECG, later suggesting the stress test one which we put off, since we needed to move on to get Alice's mammogram done. Well, what a lot was fitted in, and during the interminal waiting I listened to a book and Alice flicked through numerous magazines, and at the end the good news was things seemed to be not too worrying, although we must return next week. So until we go back Alice has only a pill to help her sleep and perhaps calm her nerves. And we can now be reasonably sure she cannot get a part in this Philippine show.

But how I wish we had seen it!

A Mighty Fine Time

Xmas is always a gamble, at the age of about six I apparently ruined my parents' day by refusing to sit in the pedal car they had bought me because I wanted a tricycle. Then there are the opportunities for arguments, the underdone turkey and all the other risks, including buying the wrong present for the youngest of our brood.

And of course I want my turkey, without which the period is unfinished. So on Christmas Eve Alice and George set off to see "the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" I set off in search of turkey in any restaurant down Orchard Road. This was on offer at a couple of places, both either presently closed (it was only five in the afternoon), or fully booked. Eventually I gave up and entered Tony Roma's, who had a much shortened Yule Tide menu. Unfortunately without turkey.

Never mind there were still chances. We only have the sock in the morning with the main, under the tree, presents coming after Xmas lunch, or on this year, "Four Seasons' Hotel Free Flow Veuve Clicquot Christmas Brunch". We donned our elegant Xmas headware, which appeared to astound those we passed as we exited the Condo and set off. We had a splendid meal, marred by the miniscule amount of turkey handed out when you visited the carver. I stalwartly held my place and demanded more, but the extra amount forthcoming made me realise it was a losing battle. Deep disappointment, until I discovered a new sensation. I know and enjoy, onions, pickled or raw with cheese, also grapes and celery with cheese, but Alice sorted me out with raspberries and the combination was wonderful. I had always been a fan of strawberries, sprinkled with fresh black pepper and dipped into one's champagne, although admittedly a separate glass was preferable as pepper soon floated! But this was a superb taste and almost made up for the tiny portion of turkey.

Then presents, George being well taken with his PSP. And of course we had bought the wrong games, but he also received two certificates to buy games. So on Boxing Day we were off down the shops, Harry Potter and Sims are now in his possession and I gather this counts as one of the world's greatest presents.

And we dropped by Jack's Place where I finally got a turkey lunch, this made me think of Carolina, after all nothing could be finer. And Alice was amused, good enough for me.

Nearly There

As we reach towards the real start of the Festive Season, that is when I am not at work and can hit the restaurants, I send the above message to you. I regret that I have no idea when, or how, I came across it and the deep significance it obviously has for the Xmas period is therefore but a dim memory incapable of coming to the forefront of the brain. That is, supposing I ever knew. I know that there are (rare) occasions when people glance at the boring expanse that is my life (but do remember the idea of whoever it was who rightly pointed out to Major Major Major Major that boredom makes the time seem longer thus providing a subjectively longer life) so should anyone have an explanation of this I would be grateful.

And as a great comment on the real underlying meaning of Christmas here is Santa in KL, stolen from the Beeb today, and a lovely way of letting those less well "educated" about Father Christmas see how he spends his time.

Old Pals, Old Problems

A voice from the past (or at least an email) arrived just the other day, my old buddy having hit this page (one has to assume by accident) and concluded that my ailing body must mean that I am becoming expert in medical matters. He, poor soul, is suffering from flatulence; now I think about it perhaps I pity his colleagues more.

My revised diet similarly caused upsets when first begun and I strongly recommend him to look closely at his diet and see if this could be varied so as improve matters. Mind you I seem to remember that he had similar problems in the past, or so I conclude from his regularly going commando, presumably having burnt holes in his underwear and decided that the cheapness of getting clothes made in Malaysia made the risk to his trousers worth taking.

It's a worrisome life with such problems and I hope he, a lover, as I recall, of Indian food can find an open air job to prevent possible upsets to others.

But, as a person who once recommended Jack Daniels drunk while eating chillies to another pal as a sovereign cure for sore throats, I must try and make a recommendation. Perhaps the solution is a new tee-shirt. Or perhaps, more sensibly, he should give up the curries and/or eating at Nando and take to a diet of chilli and wine, which has done my belly a great deal of good and would doubtless treat him just as well.

Fitness woes

Bloody hell, my body hurts especially in my back, still this is a fine change from the usual problems with the belly I suppose. This is a real weird problem, the other day it began while walking and today the same but worse. Why walking can cause backache I have no idea, I would have expected legs or feet to complain but am surprised by the actual location of stiffness and pain.
And last night I was at La Viva at Chijmes with colleagues from work, quite nice but not a world-beater. Plenty of tapas but somehow not a really satisfying meal. But the amazing news is that I was reasonably restrained on the wine front and stayed completely away from the Sangria, mind you I have never understood why someone should want to muck about with wine. Added to which I tore myself away at 9:30. Put these things together I was not faced with the aching head or whatever from over indulgence for a change. So I am extremely annoyed that I have a complaining body having avoided self inflicted problems. And this is another nasty wrinkle, now that I don’t drink on a daily basis I can actually get hangovers, something which does not seem to occur if you booze daily. Having said that, I do not think that excessive drinking to avoid hangovers is actually a sensible alternative. But I haven't gone as far as the charmer above!
After the day off for walking yesterday I felt that perhaps I should do a little longer today and walked to the Esplanade, cut up to the seaward end of Boat Quay and returned. About fifty five minutes so the longest lunch time walk so far admittedly, but why the pains in my back?
However we have arranged a cure, Alice is picking me up early from work, we will go to Jack’s Place for a feed, preceded with a G&T and accompanied by a bottle of wine, then home to a hot bubble bath. I am quite convinced that this treatment will be effective, it probably puts back more calories than I walked off but never mind.

Overdone

Usually my escape from work pressures at lunch time consists of plugging in my earphones and listening to a book. I am rather fond of Nigel Planar's readings of the Disc World books.

However it has finally come to my notice that I can listen and walk as well, initially I had been convinced that the heat and humidity made wandering around in work clothes rather a no-no, if I didn't want to be somewhat fragrant during the afternoon. But I can mostly walk in shade under five foot ways and the like, and on return to the desk a few minutes of higher power on my desk fan seems to cool me down sufficiently that together with my "Armpito" (that makes me think of H.G.Wells "Story of the Future" I must get out my book of all his short stories and have a dip again - the trouble is I always end up rereading them all, and there are quite a few).

I have therefore been wandering around, up to Boat Quay and over the river and back, or in the opposite direction, for about 35 to 40 minutes daily during the lunch break. I don't even need my stick since I tend to keep moving. All jolly good for me, no doubt, and certainly allowing me sight of other things than the inside of an office that permanently has its windows covered. Add this to the swimming that has been taking place on return to the Condo, just a gentle lap or two with Alice, and I was feeling quite pleased with myself.

However the body was laying in wait and suddenly all muscles started whinging and complaining (I didn't know I had any until they informed me that, no matter how small, they did exist). It seems to me that this is wholly unreasonable, I am doing my best to improve the body and instead of helping they are locking up, making it hard to climb the few steps to my office and expressing irritation even at strolling short distances. Well, they can whinge but, except for yesterday when I did not swim, I will keep on going. Wimp I may be, but a determined one.

Colette said . . .

While I read the books as a very young man and therefore took in very little nevertheless I came across a quote the other evening. "If I can't have too many truffles, I'll do without truffles" which seems a wonderful philosophy for life to me; mind you I would slightly modify it and apply it to things other than truffles, wine for instance. I really feel a glass is insufficient for proper enjoyment, indeed at times so is a bottle.

Yesterday (Sunday), partially as a reward because I had started walking at lunchtime, we went back to Kang Yin's sister's great Mongolian steamboat restaurant. They only sell beer so we took a bottle of a cheapish sparkling wine which went down very well. I did have to get a large beer though since the soup that I chose was quite hot, Alice, above dropping veggies into her side of the soup chose the herbal, very nice and not quite such an inducement to drink as the one I picked.

We were supposed to be going to look at a photographer's afterwards, since we would like a decent picture taken on our imminent 15th anniversary. We had lovely ones taken on our 10th and intend to do the same on the 20th, but we will just go for a single one for the half decade.

However, as you can see, the fact that we over indulged in the food (yes, we finally have a proper link to the quote) made the idea of swanning off on a probably fruitless search, since many wedding etc photographers seem to be closed on a Sunday, just plain laughable.

Necessary Swimming

Since the holiday, spent mainly (by me) in restaurants and at buddies' barbies, there does not seem to have been much weight loss. My own fears of pain and Alice's encouragement has led to the reinstatement of post work swimming. This involves coming home knackered and hungry and, instead of feeding and resting, getting changed and going down the 36 floors to the pool.

So far we have only managed to get round the pool circumference once but, as you can see when looking down from the 36th floor, that is in fact quite a distance for wimps like us. It will of course increase as time goes by. The only concern is that since it has often been raining and Alice's school run means that on Mondays and Fridays I need to do it by myself then we may not get it fully established as an essential habit.

As you can see, from this old photo taken in Penang, it is obviously far more fun if Alice can be with me and hence her absence is likely to make me avoid the exercise, even though I know it is required. The thing is that I can't wait for Alice to get back and go later since we have a limited time in the evenings. I really can't hack the work unless I am aimed at sleep by ten, we don't get home from work until 6:30 and BBC Prime takes up the hour between 8:30 and 9:30. This is hard to miss since it has things like "Open All Hours", "Only Fools and Horses" and Alice's favourite "My Hero" about Thermoman.

And without her to urge me on there is also the possibility of me defaulting from swimming into floating, which I have to confess I am quite good at. So the future holds a lot of maybe's about this latest effort to reduce weight and hence my pains. I hope we manage to get me at it regularly.

Weekend Pleasures & Pains

I do like my alternate two day weekends, they seem so much longer than the other ones, although I do try to get away from work by mid afternoon on the working Saturdays. This weekend Alice and I went up to Kent Ridge Park for a walk on Saturday morning, leaving George still lazing at home. We took a stroll along the canopy walk which is not all that long, being about 300m I'd guess, and yet is immense fun. Too much fun in a way since as we chatted and ambled I forgot to take any pictures. Still we have definitely agreed to walk there again so there may be some appearing in the near future.

In the afternoon we were off to the Esplanade where George was to perform with others from his music classes. Most of the Asians seemed nervous, but he had no visible qualms, although he did perform inunsmiling mode. I suggested to him afterwards that a smile would help and also that a check of the zip was best carried out before coming on stage. Just for a moment he wondered if he had played while providing an exciting additional view for the audience, but he knows me too well to be fooled for long. He can be seen (minus smile) above. While a great lad he does not actually have a halo, it is just a reflected light just above his head.

Sunday was less good. I woke with some small pains in the stomach and not only that the bowels failed me. An ominous start to the day. However Alice and I set off for the Botanical Gardens where we had a wonderful walk. Alice had brought her video so we wandered through the Evolution Garden taking shots and enjoying ourselves. Then to the fruits and the lake with the black swans, where we added more memories. Here Alice is inspecting a lizard that seemed to want to be friendly.

For me the highlight was videoing Alice shoeless and tottering on the reflexology path. I managed to get a gentleman striding barefoot on the sharper stones to show the difference with Alice's wimpout on the rounder ones. Mind you, anyone seeing the video will, just seconds later, be able to see me really wimping out as I kept my shoes on!

However by then the stomach was being rather unpleasant and we decided that instead of the intended visit to the Seafood place at UE Square we would go back to Zi Yean to get plenty of fibre through me. You can see that Alice was not unhappy with the decision, here she is steaming into a "signature dish" of whole chicken in Chinese wine. It was great, and I was firing into peas and scallops, which gave plenty of fibre to ensure that Monday at work I will not be in pain (mind you, pretty knackered). Unfortunately the rest of the day was spent clutching a hot water bottle to the stomach to reduce the pain. However listening to Nigel Planar reading "Guards, Guards" was quite fun when I was able to concentrate.

Drug Deaths

There are times when I wonder if people get overexcited about some things. The Aussies were quite upset about the model in Bali, and even more so as yesterday the convicted Aussie drug smuggler was executed here in Singapore. Apparently they thought (amongst other things) that as a first conviction the sentence was too harsh and the thought of him slowly strangling was anathema to many. Actually the idea of hanging is to break the neck swiftly, the weight tables being used to ensure that the drop is sufficient for that but not to rip the head off. Strangling does not occur.

In fact, I used "sixties" drugs back in the sixties, but as I started work I realised that taking things that led to criminal records was not really so sensible, and when a "legal high" (don't you think Peter Tosh was the best Wailer, without in any way intending to denigrate either Bob or Bunny?) is so easily available then stick with it. Mind you, it's probably not done my liver so much good, but at least I'm still on my first unlike the other recently deceased that has hit the news this week. What is so nice about Bestie is apparently all recollections of him showed a pleasant guy, although I have heard that when he had drink taken there were some (very) few occasions when he was not quite such a nice guy.

However getting back to what set me writing, I really think that if Singapore has laws then outsiders should not interfere. I like living here, it's a great place and by far safer than anywhere else that I have been. Mind you, that does include Nigeria and London. Even Saudi had its difficulties, talking about which I suspect that a visit to Chop-chop Square would let the Aussies know that there are worse ways to go if you are a law-breaker.

Food, lah

I am rather fond of outside Chinese restaurants, this was taken way back in 2001, in Nilai at one of my favourites. I put it up for historical interest and the fact that one person here was later rather too free with a knife and her lover. A dark tale not for here. But just around the corner from our condo we have had the Zi Yean to give us equally good food. About two weeks ago we decided to pop round and enjoy a feed. To our horror there was only a sign saying "We have moved". A quick search on the map showed that the move was not too far and we drove round. The place was heaving with people, the airconned area completely full and people queuing, the open area almost as bad, although we were recognised and allocated a small table; the staff were rushed off their feet, with corresponding lowered standards. And the food was OK, but only OK, not the usual level of pleasure. The next day I found out that it had just been recommended by the Sunday supplement and consequently had most of the Chinese population of Singapore trying it out.

But rather than just cross it off the list as having declined in standards we tried it again recently, gaining access even to the aircon. I am not a great fan of the aircon sections in most places since they tend not to be much different to the outside, i.e. basic tables and plastic chairs, but rather more expensive. The Zi Yean is not like that at all as it was very pleasant and gave a feeling of a restaurant, not just a place to eat.

And, I am glad to say, the food was great, bearing little resemblance to the food the first time we tried after their move. I guess they were not prepared for that many customers. In fact, even in the aircon as it began to fill later a waiter, who remembered us, confided that unless the customer numbers declined he would be seeking a place elsewhere. But you can see from the picture above that Alice enjoyed it, her great smile flashing as she gave the ultimate Philippine accolade "I'm so full". And she informed me that I had too, since she both had photographic proof and I apparently brought it up in conversation a few times in the ensuing days. I suspect she will not be surprised when I ask can we go there again this weekend.

I heartily recommend it, but don't go too early, so we can feed and leave before it gets crowded!

Sister Snow

I can't seem to get away from the cold, cold weather of more Northern climes, thank the Lord no-one reads the blog and hence I spread no boredom. But just this morning the above photo came from my sister. I mentioned that she thrives in the cold, the opposite of me. Sometimes I wonder if she and I should have had the "temperature liking" gene spread better between us. Anyway divagations aside, here she is close to their second home in Sweden. No doubt a lovely place but not quite for me, enhanced by my only recollection of visiting Sweden being eating some garish green ice-cream and subsequently being extremely sick. Also, if memory serves me well, increasingly unlikely these days of course, they have extremely high prices for alcohol which very definitely excludes it from my list of good places to live, quite apart from the cold.

The photo below, sent to the Beeb by Eifion Bedford, shows ice (snow?) on a barbed wire fence in Wales and rather tickles my fancy. I have no idea who EB may be but am most impressed by the eye that could spot how to get such an evocative picture.

Yep, UK's too cold

Andy Roxburgh and Paul Johnson sent these two photos to the Beeb, in late November. As I mentioned earlier, it is recollections of such things that remind me why I avoid UK and prefer warmer parts of the world. When Alice and I were living in UK, quite some time ago, we had a few jaunts around the country, and she was a little disturbed in the Yorkshire moors by the lack of people and habitations. Eventually she got used to this but the bleakest that we saw was in heavy rain. Notice here how the snow has built up on the wires. A great photo that confirms Christmas in Singapore is preferable! And the above photo is also great, very clearly recording both the nasty chill and the interesting bridge. This type of bridge may not be immediately recognisable by non-Brits, and indeed in this late (and debased?) century, perhaps not even always by the younger ones among us.

In fact this is a canal pathway bridge, horse drawn canal boats would be towed along the canal with the horse on the path at canal side and a bridge like this would allow the horse to spiral up, walk over the canal and come down on the opposite bank ready to continue without problems to the tow rope.

I am very fond of such elegant yet simple (once the brain works) solutions.

Winter is here

I recently woke up in our usual cold (air-conditioned ) bedroom, and for the period of day-dreaming before my morning shower turned the air-con off. Imagine my surprise to see that the clock settled down to tell me that it was but 77 degrees (or 25 to the modern amongst us). No wonder I was cold. In fact, of course, the weather here has been pretty damn rainy recently and Alice has missed her tennis on more than one occasion.

The good part about this is that although chilly we are not suffering like UK, where they have had early snow and blocked roads and various other such problems. I do feel that being here is far preferable to being there. My sister has the opposite problem, she cannot bear heat, elegantly collapsing in a very Victorian faint (she is entitled to do so, she suffers from some unfortunate illness) when overheated. But I am very definitely happy to be in hotter climes and concur with the guy who so eloquently expressed his feelings thus.

It's UP!

Well, in spite of my protests, as I said earlier, our tree is up and ensconced in the window. However you can see from this photo that the lights do have a little competition from the sky. Just to make it clear perhaps I should point out that there is no flying saucer up there, just a reflection in the window of a light in the living area! Sunsets like this may not arrive as regularly as the ones I viewed when I was looking out over Manila Bay (I used to like sitting on the balcony of a suite in the Euro-Nippon, until it burnt down, viewing the beautiful sunsets) but it is surprising how many days we get a sight like this to lift our spirits at the end of a long day.

However you can also see that probably the decoration is to our benefit alone and that from ground level the tree is probably hardly noticeable. Obviously the flashing lights will be visible, but the full glory will be seen only by us in the Condo. But so what, we are (or strictly, Alice is) doing the tree for our pleasure and it can certainly give us that.

Now we have that horrid problem of getting some presents together to put under the tree for opening after lunch on Christmas Day. I suspect that Alistair is going to be the one to benefit most from this exercise! (and I must try and remember to call him "George" as he prefers - at the tennis tournament that he was in yesterday I noticed that Alice and I were the only ones to call him Alistair!)

Too early, surely

While phoning the charming Alice yesterday, from work, I found she was engrossed in putting up the Christmas tree in the condo window; although as we are on the 36th floor I am not sure how well it will be seen from outside.

Every year I complain at the earliness that the tree goes up, but I have learnt it does no good at all. The first free moment after mid-summer's day (or so it seems) the damn thing goes up. There was one good thing, as the day darkened, I ambled up to the window and saw that over the other side of the pool there was a tree in another condo window also with sparkling lights.

So my biggest concern, that we would be the first to put up the tree and turn on the lights, is no more. Next comes the big fight on 12th night, since this marks the official downing of the tree - everywhere except where we are, that is.

But let's all hope for that other well-known Xmas sentiment, which is held by all sensible people of whatever religion and, one hopes, throughout the year and not just at certain times.

. . in the grass, and elsewhere

Remaining on the subject of toilets, something we are all interested in at least once or twice during a day, I came across the photo on the left. This reflects the sort of nightmarish thought that passes through my mind as I quietly move to the loo twice a night, trying not to turn lights on or otherwise disturb Alice. I always lift the lid with some trepidation! This aging business is a pain and I suspect that the prostrate stuff that I take could do with a review. But that is by the bye, the real reason for this post is just to show a few shots from Malaysia on the lovely snakes that abound.

There are times when I feel a shade concerned about the fauna around the place. Long wriggly things are not my most loved animals.

Although in the past I have shown photos of my family very casual around snakes I am rather less enthralled with the creatures, how some-one can be as relaxed as this charming lady I cannot understand.

I suspect that this is her son taking over the cleaning duties.

As for me I am the usual wimpy westerner with my own fears and I have no intention to become a meal for anyone. I recently saw a photo of an exploded snake which had tried to swallow an alligator. While I suspect anything eating some-one as wide as me would have the same problem, I note that the alligator also died so I feel I would prefer to avoid such tribulations.