Searching for Utopia

Who is the most famous male celeb in Singapore at this moment? I should think it’s Brunei-born actor, singer, model, gym instructor–at least Wikipedia said so–Wu Chun. As I noticed, he’s been visiting Singapore several times in a year. Only less than two weeks ago he and his Taiwanese boyband Fahrenheit came to town. We missed it–not that I’m a big fan though. It’s just fun to meet a celeb, as long as it’s free :p

I remember once Zsolt even had to accompany me to go for Wu Chun hunting at Bugis Junction. But thanks to the traffic jam (who said Singapore had the best traffic?), it took more than an hour for us to go there. By the time we arrived, everyone had just gone to Junction 8. So we quickly went to Junction 8, and we found the place to be so quiet. Only the next day we read online that it was somewhere on level 4. Oh well, no luck. We couldn’t sell his autograph on e-bay.

So what’s the fuss about him? His acting skill is mediocre, methinks. His songs are ok, easy-listening, maybe. Just don’t expect you’d hear something like Michael Buble’s :p But anyway, it’s enough to make teen girls scream his name. Pretty much like Zac Efron in the USA, I guess, his hair is his best feature.

How do you make such hairdo, by the way?–Wondered if I could cut Adam’s hair like that

I know parking can be expensive in Singapore, but what would you do if you’re charged $73,695 for a 1 hour parking like this person?

One thing you could do to avoid paying parking is–don’t use car!

If you can’t resist it, like us, then maybe get yourself a CapitaCard from DBS. Only last week we received free parking for three months after charging our hospital bill to that card. Thanks to the hospital, we even became one of the top spenders–not that we were happy about it though.

Another tip to get free parking is: go out only on Sunday and public holidays, and park only on HDB carpark

These are places which offer free parking for visitors: IMM (only for the first 3 hours), UE Square (on Sunday), Turf Club, Singapore Zoo–oh and HDB, as I mentioned before.

Many girls see models like Kate Moss or Heidi Klum as fashion goddesses. I bet they’d kill to look like them. Funnily enough, I think Kate Moss’ look is average at best. Heidi Klum is better, but I wouldn’t consider her a goddess still.

I don’t have any specific celeb whose fashion sense I wanted to follow. I do drool over those Korean girls on tv though. They have the cutest dresses and the most gorgeous hairdos.

Korean outfit is not really very expensive. For $40 you can already purchase a very good trench coat, which can be $200 in Europe. But Korean hairdo is a different story. Check this girl’s permed hair, for example. Isn’t it simply gorgeous? I’ll certainly go for this look one day. Of course, in Singapore it doesn’t come cheap. Last year I had my hair permed and the total damage was more than $400 :p

What do you think, is it worth it?

Still being in confinement, lately I haven’t followed much news. Two days ago Zsolt passed me this article, and it really breaks my heart to read it:

“After 21 days at the Children’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH), baby Rizal Idris breathed his last.

He was barely a month old.

The baby, who weighed 2.93kg at birth on 27 Nov, had been fighting for his life because of a bacterial infection that his mother had caught while she was carrying him.

His mother did not know that she was suffering from a vaginal infection that affects about 14 per cent of pregnant women here. She gave birth to him at KKH.

Baby Rizal suffered from what is known as Group B Streptococcus Infection (GBS). It was passed on from his mother, Madam Norashikin Latiff, 31, during delivery.”

This could happen to anyone. I was also tested positive for this GBS, but I was more fortunate because I opted for C-section–not just because of this infection, but other complications too.

I did panic when I heard of my test result. I can relate to Madam Latiff. In many cases doctors seem to be too busy to take some time to explain to their patients. In my case, my gynae hardly spent more than five minutes with me — sometimes even less. Fortunately both Adam and I are healthy.

At times I found it difficult to accept than one moment I was told I had an infection, and the next minute I was told to calm down as if nothing happened. I’m sure it’s only because the doctor had too many patients in line, but patients are paying, aren’t they? In general I feel like many of my questions went unanswered as she was always in a hurry to dismiss me, and the nurses were impatient and quick-tempered. I won’t return there ever again, and if all patients think like I do, then she’d lose her cash-machine.

Anyways, my thoughts go with baby Rizal’s family. And perhaps this is an eye opener for the rest of us. It’s very important for us, mommies, to find the right gynae. And even if we have, don’t forget to get second opinion when you’re in doubt.

Last Saturday the gynae confirmed that our baby’s still breech. For some time about getting an External Cephalic Version (ECV) to try to make him turn. A friend informed me about a gynae who would be able to do it. I had almost made up my mind, when I stumbled upon this article.

Many sources state that this ECV is relatively safe, but that doesn’t mean that there is no risk. Here are some of them:
- Premature labor
- Premature rupture of the membranes
- A small blood loss for either the baby or the mother
- Fetal distress leading to an emergency cesarean delivery
- The baby might turn back to the breech position after the external cephalic version is done

The average success rate is about 65%. Even if the procedure works at first, there’s still a chance that the baby will turn back around to the breech position. That may not sound so bad, but mommies should note that this procedure is very painful. The same friend who informed about the gynae said that her friend opted for C-section after trying this ECV, because she couldn’t stand the pain. Another one told me that she did it, and it left her with pain on her tummy for as long as one week, and even then it didn’t work.

Another thing we should consider, being in Singapore, is the cost. Surely we wouldn’t want anything bad to happen, but in the case of emergencu C-section, it would be a lot more expensive than the scheduled one. Here is an estimated bill size from general hospitals here. If you plan to give birth in a private hospital, expect higher price.

So, for now we’re just hoping for the best, and sticking to the good old ways: lots of squatting, floor mopping and crawling with my head lower than my thighs. There’s still time for our baby to turn — and hopefully he will, being a good boy that he is.

Another thing which is very expensive to have in Singapore besides car is property. I cringed at the thought that we might have to move out in December because our contract would expire. It’s a headache to think about the packing and unpacking things — especially with our baby being born in November. We’ll call some reinforcements, my mom and mother-in-law that is, but still —

We’ll need to do spring cleaning in both this flat and the new one, we’ll have to replace all broken things before moving out. Not that we damaged lots of things, but even changing all light bulbs in the flat would cost around $400. Then paying the agent fee would cost at least half-month rental. Of course, we’d need to top up the deposit, because nowadays it’s impossible to rent a condo with the same price like we did two years ago. Anyways, it took months before we made this flat our home, surely it wouldn’t take less time if we moved to a new place now.

Fortunately it didn’t have to happen — yet. We finally managed an agreement with the landlord about the price. Still not the same old price, but at least it’s not far exceeding our expectation. So most likely we’ll stay. Phew!

A question though. How much is good price for a 1+1 condo nowadays in the suburbs? We’ve checked a number of property portals, and most of them list condos which are between $1,800 - $2,000 and below. Not many, but they do exist. But most agents we asked couldn’t give any results in this price range. Instead they usually show places in CBD which cost at least $5,000.

Why is that? I know, the higher the price, the more fee they would get. But isn’t it stated in the law that above $2,500 tenants don’t pay agent fee? Of course, they’d still receive payment from the owners, but even if they get some deals below that amount, it’d still mean money. I mean $2,000 per transaction is not such a bad deal, methinks, especially since they’d only need to check their listing, show the unit to the prospective tenants, sign the contract and pay the stamp duty, that’s all.

Well, we’re not really looking for fancy places in CBD. A small, humble abode in the edge of the island would be perfect for us, since we’re not planning to pay more ERP. According to this listing issued by URA, our expectation is not at all impossible. Why do some agents say the opposite?

They say “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. Is it then appropriate to sound your criticism in public like these:

And it’s not just people with no lives who said such remarks in open forums. Noose’s Michelle Chong had also said her piece of mind about the Grid girls, “They looked as if their faces were langgar (knocked down) by the cars.”

Well, I know Noose was supposed to be funny, and such remaks could be amusing — but it’s a tad impolite, isn’t it?

I was only at the circuit for more or less 30 minutes. Didn’t really have the time to meet any of those girls. Seriously, do they deserve those harsh words?

I was surprised to see this picture of rendorseg car on STOMP. For you who haven’t known, rendorseg means police in Hungarian. Anyone has seen this car for real?

Yay, the Formula 1 Grand Prix is coming to town! Are you ready for the action? Me and my bulging tummy are. With Zsolt, three of us will head to the track next Friday. If you have the same plan, don’t forget to first check this guide from the official website. Just a gentle reminder, you’re not allowed to bring your own food and drink inside the circuit park. See you there!

For Javanese mothers, Baby Slings are must have mothering essentials. They have been around for so long that even nowadays many mothers still prefer them to strollers.

And indeed, in many cases baby carrying not only benefits the baby, but also for the mommy and daddy.

I’ve experienced this with a friend of mine at a shopping mall. We had to wait for at least ten minutes in front of the elevator, before finally giving up — being in Singapore, there was never enough space inside for us two and the stroller. So we decided to take the escalator. And it was our luck that it happened to be stopped for maintenance. At 38 kg, it was quite a challenge for me to carry the 13 kg stroller down from level 4 to level 1. I just couldn’t imagine if I had to carry both the baby and the stroller alone.

Another thing, carrying your baby would give you better bonding with him. Just like when he was still in your womb, he could hear your heart beat, and moreover, it helps you to breastfeed in discreet. It won’t benefit the daddy, of course, unless he too breastfeeds, but it will help the child to become familiar with his movements.

For the baby, to be carried in sling is also more comfortable. He could communicate with you easily, because he is close to you physically. You’ll find out sooner when he’s hungry or needs a nappy change, just from his facial expresions. He wouldn’t need to cry first to attract your attention.

The only disadvantage of it is perhaps you should consider your own fitness. If you have any back problems, for example, then it might not be for you. But then again, carrying a 3 kg baby on an overhead bridge is still better than having to carry 13 kg stroller with the 3 kg baby in it.

Nowadays slings come in many styles, colors and types. They’re not just comfy, but they look good too! Visit this site to purchase yours.

My apologies, I haven’t updated much lately, mainly because I haven’t felt well. I’ve got a little pregnancy complication and will have to spend more time seeing some different specialists in the future. I’ll share the experience with you when all is well, which is soon, hopefully.

Meanwhile, it’s only 13 days left until Hari Raya Puasa. I still won’t be able to celebrate it in my kampung like the old days, but I’m feeling full of anticipation nonetheless. My bulging tummy might prevent me from doing too much cooking and baking, but food is never a problem here in Singapore, not even during Christmas week. We might as well stock up some cookies from the Ramadan Bazaar. Surely it won’t be a bad Hari Raya at all.

The most important thing is that I’ll celebrate it with my hubby, and meanwhile we could watch our baby practicing his no-shadow kick. It won’t be long until he joins us

Who said that extra pounds are ok? Well, not in Alabama at least. Not less than 37,527 state employees there have been given a year to shed their weight, or they must pay $25 a month for insurance that otherwise is free.

Before this policy, the state has actually charged $24 per month for smoking employees. Understandably enough, those who have to pay for both are bound to be unhappy.

The State Employees’ Insurance Board will consider a person to be obese if his/her body mass index is 35 and higher. After given a year without any progress, the person will have to pay the charge.

The board has not yet determined how much progress a person would have to show and is uncertain how many people might be affected because everyone could avoid the charge by working to lose weight.

I think any yo-yo dieters can easily escape the charge though. If you know you’ll have your health screenings within the next two weeks, for example, then you can just ease down on your fried chicken for a while, that’s all. When you’ve passed the screenings, you can munch all you want. That’s not a good advice, I know. I just don’t think such policy will really be effective.

I my opinion, Singapore’s approach in this case will be more fruitful, though no doubt, a bit insensitive. Criticism towards obesity is so high here that you’ll often hear such remarks, “Pig — Some people call us pig. and if you see my name – my name is zul – so if you translate it directly into Chinese it’s pig. So most of the people insult me. ”

He happens to be a sixth-grader with some extra pounds on him. And here’s how it’s handled:

“Of course, such taunting of overweight kids is hardly unique to Singapore. But while schools in other countries try to stop this kind of behavior by telling children that everyone is equal and worthy of respect, Singapore’s program has exacerbated the stigma of being overweight. By dividing the children into two groups – the fit and the fat – the schools impose a kind of segregation. And this segregation can extend outside the clubs, into the cafeteria.”

Agree or not, this program is a success. While in the United States the number of obese children has tripled since 1980, in Singapore it has fallen from 14 to nine per cent in the past 15 years.

I personally think that people in Asia tend to be more straightforward in speaking their minds to others about such things. I didn’t grow up in Singapore. Although nobody ever called me a pig when I was still in school, schoolmates made sure that I knew I was big.

I hated it. Then again, it kept me motivated. It took me years, but it worked. Of course, everyone is equal and deserves the same respect — regardless of size. But if you’re under no pressure to lose weight, naturally you will never make any effort to do so.

Dare to try?

A parent posted that thing in a primary school’s forum in the East. Judging from her diction, s/he must have been raised under the same circumstances in her youth.

There are just way too many things to be prepared before having a baby — not just materially, but emotionally too. At times they can be overwhelming, especially if it’s your first time.

I kinda think that we’re luckier now that the internet is just one click away. Whenever you have a question in mind, you could just google it. Of course, sometimes you end up feeling more confused after reading pages of complicated terms over and over again.

In times like these relatives and friends would be more useful. Just do some cross check for any doubts that you may have. Your mom may be experienced, but don’t forget that some things have changed since she gave birth to you.

Today my pregnancy is exactly 28 weeks. This is the right time to prepare for breastfeeding.

I’ve heard stories from my friends and relatives that breastfeeding is not easy. Not only it requires persistence and strength of mind, it can also be painful — or VERY painful.

This is why, I think, less than one per cent of Singapore mothers exclusively breastfeed their babies.

As for myself, unless I’m advised by the doctor not to nurse my baby, I’d certainly do it. Here I have compiled some useful info from Google:

1. According to WHO, exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months is the optimal way of feeding infants. That being said, don’t give any additional food or drink to your baby during that duration — not even water. It reduces mortality due to common childhood illnesses such as diarrhoea or pneumonia, and helps for a quicker recovery during illness.
2. It also decreases future risk of obesity, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, childhood leukemia and other forms of cancer.
3. Infants who are strictly breast fed are more resistant to tooth decay.
4. For the mommies, it reduces the risk of breast cancer and arthritis, and it can help losing weight.

In short, it’s good! What’s not so good is perhaps the pain. In fact, many first-time mommies experience it. Here are some tips for successful breastfeeding:

1. Preparing for breastfeeding before the baby arrives
2. Breastfeeding problems mothers have after the delivery of their baby
3. More breastfeeding tips

Basically though, I’m not attending any classes for this. There is already too much info online than I can handle anyway. But I guess I can only update you with my own experience after three months. So I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed until then.

Here’s one funny spoof on Singapore’s ERP — by none other than Hitler himself. Warning: Unless you’re in Singapore, you may not understand.