Formula 1 and Zika in Singapore

The Formula 1 starts today. I am not a fan and have no interest in the event which is being organized almost every year around this time. What I dislike about this event is that many areas in the city will be closed to traffic. The event is only for a few days over the weekend but the preparation takes another couple of days including post-event (the putting up and dismantling of barriers etc).
I would like to drive to the Marina Bay area but it is closed at the moment due to the F-1 and will remained closed until after Tuesday. Taking train there is another option but why should I when I have a car? Anyway, the train service in Singapore isn't that efficient anymore. There are frequent breakdowns and the trains are overcrowded.
According to the news this morning, the Zika mosquitoes have found another home in the northern eastern part of Singapore. They have found the clusters near block 272C of Sengkang Central, bring up the number of Zika infected victims to 369 including 8 pregnant women! 

What are you going to do if your washing ......?

Ever wonder what's gonna happen if your washing machine is out of order? Yours and your family's clothes could not be washed. To get the washer repaired or replaced, it may take a few days and so meanwhile what are you going to do with the clothes? Getting the clothes to the laundry may cost you a lot of money.
We are in this dilemma since yesterday. Our washer broke down and the technician  is only available in 4 days time to repair it. However, fortunately for us there is a laundromat nearby (5km away). Below are pictures of our washing machine (not even 2 years old) and the laundromat.

We chose the medium machine which washes up to 10 kilo of clothing. It took 38 minutes to wash and cost us $5 (includes detergent). There are 2 coin changers whereby one can change the notes for the dollar coins.

Dinner@ Pizza Hut..food is good but not service

Was at Pizza Hut for dinner. Food was good but a little expensive. The 2 meals ( pizza and seafood pasta) cost about $50 with service charge and gst included. Service wasn't good as they were understaff.

Greenwich Mall Seletar Kopi ...

Was busy doing some work in the city. On the way home, stopped at Greenwich Seletar Kopi for our ban mian lunch and coffee at Toast Box.
Was surprise to hear from a worker that Seletar Kopi which is owned by The Kopitiam chain is going to close down towards the end of the year or January next year.
The place is usually deserted with many of the stalls closed for business. I will definitely miss the place.
Fortunately, Toast Box which is situated next door will not be closing down.

The cabby is a retired chief steward

I hopped into a cab and before I could tell the cabby my destination, he addressed me by my name. "Hey Lim how have you been?" I asked him. He told me he had retired from flying and is a full time cabby. He said that flying was still the best thing that ever happened to him. He missed the salary, the 5 star hotels and his favourite stations. Lim wished he is still flying for the airline. The airline did not extend his retirement due to mediocre work performance. He was booted out at age 58 and compensated with a $80,000 gratuity. That was a year ago.
We chatted all the way to my destination. On arrival, I gave him $20 and asked him to keep the $3 change.
Below is the new meal and incentive flying allowances Lim gave to me. He got them from a crew. Lim praised the current union people for negotiating the new payment. According to Lim, he was drawing an average salary of around $6,000 whereas as a cabby his income is about $3,000 per month and that's 8 to 10 hours of driving, 6 days a week.


The amount a cabin crew is paid at the stations per day in SGD

IFA or Incentive Flying Allowance per duty hour

Since we like the western food at 472 Sengkang, we went there for lunch this afternoon. On top is the pork chop ($8.50) and below is the sirloin steak ($12.90 or Yen 1,000) we ordered. The place was quiet with few customers as it was about 3pm.
Must say the meat was delicious and well prepared.

Hari Raya Haji/ Baby born to couple in a lorry.

Today is Hari Raya Haji, a Muslim holiday. The Muslims believe that on this day 4,000 years ago Abraham obeyed god's instruction to sacrifice his son Ishmael. It turned out that since Abraham was sincere in obeying god's instruction, god stopped him from taking Ishmael's life and provided a ram instead.
However, according to the Old Testament, the son was Isaac and not Ishmael. Read here
I do not want to dwell on the controversy but want to say that it is a holiday whereby most people of all religions and races are enjoying themselves and not having to go to work.
In fact, we in Singapore are enjoying a long weekend and the September school holidays (12 days).
By tomorrow, most will be back at their work places or schools.

Homeless couple welcomed baby
SINGAPORE - A couple who lived in a lorry for two years because they could not afford to rent a flat have welcomed a newborn son into their lives, a report said. Rice delivery man Ong Poh Hwa and his Vietnamese wife had made the news because they weathered the elements in the lorry Mr Ong drives for work. Read more.

Today's lunch at Chong Pang Village

Our lunch was Hong Kong congee and some roasted meat from a coffee shop stall at Chong Pang today. The food is cooked by HK chefs and it is authentic although a bit expensive ($21) relatively speaking.

Yesterday, I talked about the free tablet which was given to me because of the mouse pad ($5.90) which I've paid in addition to the desktop. The brand of the tablet is Lenova which is manufactured in China. It's definitely a good bargain.

Fruits and tuna/tomato spaghetti today

My desktop is unstable and so I got the above one which is also Acer Desktop for about $1,400 today (23.8 inches).
The old one has been in used for 4 years and it was a very good set. I got a free China made tablet for buying a mouse that cost $6. Hopefully, this pc may last as long as the old set. I am a heavy user, using up to 18 hours a day. It is a good investment.

We had our breakfast at Tampines Ikea just before proceeding to Courts to buy the computer. The restaurant was quite crowded but as crowded as most Saturdays as most people would have left the country for vacations. The school holiday will end this coming Tuesday.
The above dish was the salmon which I felt was not fresh ($9.90). The pasta was so so but the chicken wings were good. Total damage was $23. Believe it or not we had hot dogs at a kiosk before we left for Courts.


Had this ice-cream last night

Got this box of Magnum ice cream from a 7-11 store last night for $11 (box of 6). I ate up 3 of them and truly enjoyed it so much. It was supposed to be a dessert after my dinner of spaghetti.