Moral courage

I was travelling in the subway, when I heard someone spit. He was seated at the back of the train and when I turned around, he did that again and on the seat this time. I commented loudly on his incivility.

The other commuters were equally irritated by his behaviour but none went up to tell him off. I was tempted to head to the front and tell the driver, but hubby gave me a nudge and advised against blowing the matter up. "You'll never know what he'll do to you." This comment his resonates, even in my dreams,

Out of my dreamland, would I have the moral courage to tell him off? Would I, like the other commuters, merely grumble under my breath? Or would I simply put up with the behaviour and not do anything to avoid trouble?

I had my fair share of “reminding” people against spitting on floors, smoking in lifts, littering, forcing their way into trains before commuters alight etc. Some of them pretended not to hear it, some simply ignored and fortunately, some felt ashamed of their ungracious acts.

Today, I managed to make a litterbug picked up his own litter via my “2-sec icy stare”. He thought no one noticed him “naturally dropping” a crushed Old Chang Kee paper bag and tissue while standing. I was just walking past and caught the act. I stared at him. He saw me, 2 seconds…and he bent down to pick them up.

I hope he did that because he knew it wasn’t right to litter or he realised that the litter had actually slipped his hands…and not because he was worried I could be one of those undercover NEA officer who catches litterbugs and send them for CWO (Corrective Work Order). But I’m glad the litter was no longer a litter.

I don’t have to wait for “the relevant authorities” to empower me to correct such acts. We can, in our own little ways, make things better. It’s not that difficult but it takes courage and…practice? I used to be the one type who would rather keep quiet and tolerate such behaviours. I used to be hesitant in offering my seat to those who need, not because I’m contemplating whether this person needs the seat or I’m not willing to give up my seat, but because I’m shy to do so and what happens if the person rejects my offer?

Perhaps I’ve passed the stage of being overly bothered by what others think of me (thou I still fall into that trap occasionally), or maybe my skin has thickened with age, I’m more willing to voice out and now, I’m more ready to offer seats without taking a long time to decide and feeling too embarrassed. Hopefully, I can be a good example to others and influence them to join me. It was heartening to see some of the responses. Some offered to help me carry my stuff while they took the seats offered, while some even kept a lookout for an empty seat for me during the journey. Well, even if they don’t do all these, a simple appreciative smile is enough for me.

So uncles and aunties, we know that there will be those who just won’t offer their seats to you, but if you behave in a kisasu manner, people would be put off and honestly, I don’t think I would offer my seat to you too. Sometimes standing for a few stops won’t tire you that much and might do some good for your leg muscles.

As for the working execs, I know you have a hard day at work. Well who doesn’t? But seriously, I don’t think you would be that lucky to meet an elderly or a pregnant lady every time you commute. Don't forget you too, will grow old one day.

To my morally courageous comrades, my advice is to depend on your judgement on the appropriateness of the time, place and type of audience before you "do your thing". I wouldn’t recommend doing that to a group of tattooed fellas at a void deck when you're alone. That’s as good as inviting trouble.

A drop hollows out a stone. Albeit these are very little gestures, they make a difference.

Friends from Zurich

Uncle Tan's colleague, Harry and his wife, Bridget, came to Singapore for a short stay a couples of weeks back. It was an "on-route" stay as they went to Australia to visit their daughter who's studying there.

Kinda excited at their arrival for we were keen to play host to them who had never been to Singapore. And also because we miss the Swiss people :)

However it was a mere 2-day stay so we couldn't bring them around much. Generally, the Swiss are very good at exploring around. Within a day, they had been to Little India and Chinatown on their own and from the conversations with them, our local taxi drivers have been very good ambassadors introducing them places of interests as well as providing some interesting "insights" of Singapore :) Our cabbies have indeed an important role to play to foreign friends.

Together with Uncle Tan's colleagues, we took them for dinner at the rotating restaurant Prima Tower for dinner. They were fascinated with the 360 degrees view and so were we, except that I was a little worried if I'd get motion sickness since I'm quite sensitive to even little movements.

It's a chinese restaurant and the food was good. A pity that I had to control the amount I take just in case :p The dishes were light yet yummy and not to mention, healthy too. Of course, it also comes with an exquisite price :> If the restaurant stop rotating one day, I wouldn't mind going again.

They enjoyed the dinner although it must have been an eye-opening experience for them to see how much we eat for dinner since the Swiss usually eat simple meals. They were pretty full by the 5th dish.

As Bridget doesn't take meat items, we ordered one extra veg meal for her in addition to the set dinner. Harry shared with us that his wife adopted a vegetarian when she saw them being cramped up in cranes whilst they were being transported on a truck. I remember seeing a picture of that in the papers recently and I felt bad for the poor chickens. They really have no life as they are bred to be fed...to humans. I bet they must have envied their ancestors, the kampong chickens, who had the freedom to run around before they ended up on the dinner table. At least they had lived a life.

I would like to be a vegetarian too...if not for my weak constitution. Er...maybe not totally abstained from some seafood thou I can make do without shark's fins. I just hope we can be as humane as we can, and perhaps, be appreciative of the food we eat since so many lives have been sacrificed...to satisfy our cravings..yeah, am not even talking about meeting our basic needs.

It was an enjoyable dinner (minus the rotating thingy) and the company was great.

Taking a group photo at the end of the dinner.

We didn't join them at Jewel Box as I had a roadshow the following day to attend. But before they flew back to Zurich, we got them the packaged durian cake from Bee Chin Hiang since they looked keen when we mentioned the pungent fruit to them. Thou we know we won't do any justice to the King of fruits by getting those processed ones but we wouldn't want them to get detained at the airport either :p

They like our Mr Bean biscuits thou and found them similar to their Christmas cookies. Aww...if only we were there to taste it :)

A few days later, they emailed to agree that the durian thingy indeed requires an acquired taste. They tried eating that by spreading them (like jam) on their bread ;p

Learn learn learn

I appreciate my friends and colleagues’ concern when they read my last entry and I thought perhaps the entry may have sounded too emo. Actually it was just a grouse but after hearing comments from some my colleagues and re-reading the entry, I decided to remove the entry to prevent any damage. Definitely it wasn’t meant to be a gossip or a blaming entry.

Seriously, I thought it might turn out to be a positive thing since this might spur me to move out of my comfort zone. I've colleagues coming to me and advise me against making impulsive decision simply because of a funny character. I really appreciate that. Well that person might be part of the reason, but definitely not the entire reason.

I’m feeling much better now really and thanks for all your concern :) I guess learning how to manage and work with someone needs time and adjustments. I should get rid of my personal baggage and biasness and try to see more of the person's positive traits rather than be influenced by previous incidences. It’s not easy after having heard so much thou ;p but if I don’t learn, I may feel even more miserable.

Hmm…I think for future entries that are meant to ventilate, I should save it as draft and read it a few days later to make sure that it is as objective as possible before hitting the "Publish" button. The purpose of my blog is to share my personal thoughts and feelings and not meant to hurt anyone. Even my biasness towards Ah Tiongs has reduced ok!

So pls don’t guess who I’m talking about as it’s a summary of the not-so-nice people I’ve met over the years. I’m sure most companies have these funny characters as well right? I can imagine seeing a smile on the faces of my ex ex ex colleagues :)

In any case, for those who don't know what's going on, it's ok. It's over and let's move on :)

No time to say goodbye...

I believe most of you were saddened by the news on Sat. I was still holding to that a ray of hope when I heard about one Singaporean had been taken hostage. Somehow I had the faith in our government would be able to do something about it. But we are talking about terrorism, they they don't give a damn to anything, there's no second chance.

Bali, New York, London, Mumbai...these places are the places where you and I might have been to. The threat is very real, it can jolly well happen at our doorstep . As I read today's news,
I felt the pain, sadness, despair and grief even thou they were or are not related to me. The fear faced by the victims is unimaginable. The courage of the hotel staff and the commandos shown are admirable. I sympathise with the victims' families who had to face such tragedies. Their loved ones didn't have a chance to say goodbye......

I was angry with the mass killing of innocent people, and was saddened to see how mankind has scarily evolved. It's frightening to think that people have used religion as a means to justify "righteousness".

This reminded me of the seminar I attended yesterday where one of the topics was on work life and family. We know family is important and most of the time we may think we treasure our family. However, our actions somehow show otherwise. I'm definitely one of the guilty ones. When my grandparents commented that they hadn't seen me for quite some time, I told them that I was busy with work. They are nice folks, they didn't nag, just concerned. But I do felt guilty for not visiting them as often as I wished to. But I know they are always in my thoughts...still that doesn't give me the excuse of visiting them often huh :p

I had a taste of how it feels when I tried to arrange an outing with my cousins during their school holidays. It was tougher to book their time than to book my boss'. They have all grown up and their schedules are packed. Sometimes, I think they are even busier than the working adults.

A simple test to see how we value our family - try observing your friends/colleagues when they talk to their spouse or family members (maybe excluding the very young kids as baby language are used by most parents), the tone is somewhat less polite. Why so? It's because they are our family. They don't judge us, they forgive us for the silly mistakes we make, they tolerate our most ridiculous behaviours...we know they'll be there for us no matter what happens.

Maybe your parents will always be there for you. But for spouse, I wouldn't say the same. Relationship needs constant effort to maintain. It's easier said than done, but better to try than none. It's a journey of discovering for me still with lots of trial and error and of course, quarrels and petty bickering.

We are fortunate that we still have our loved ones with us. We wake up every morning having our loved one beside us, we still have someone to nag at and bicker with. We still have a roof over our heads, a job to bring in the bread and butter...

My sincerest condolences to all the victims' families. I grieve for the sudden loss of your loved ones. As the lyrics of the song goes "It breaks my heart in two, to say 'Goodbye' to you..."

For the rest of us, this also serves as a reminder for us appreciate and cherish the people we love and be grateful for what we have or not have. We'll never know whether we have the chance to say goodbye...

To Say Goodbye to You
Wish I could whistle down the Northern Lights
And send them dancing all across the night
Maybe then when all the sky was blazing
Maybe then Id feel you somewhere
gazing at a star,
And you could feel me too
as I say goodbye to you
It breaks my heart in two, to say goodbye to you
Wish time could turn us back to yesterday
The gods above would look the other way
Maybe then we still could laugh together
Maybe then it could be spring forever and a day
But I must face the truth and say goodbye to you
It breaks my heart in two, to say goodbye to you
Wish I could whistle down the Northern Lights
And send them dancing all across the night
Maybe then in my memories for saving
One last time youre on the hill waving from afar
One last glance or two and Ill say goodbye to you
It breaks my heart in two, to say goodbye to you

Maybe...Baby? Seminar

Calling out to all my married friends who are planning to start a family or are sitting on the fence (like me). There's a seminar going on this coming Sat, 29 Nov, at Suntec Convention Centre from 9.30am to 1pm (am session) and 2.30pm to 6pm (pm session).

The morning session will provide practical advice on parenting a newborn as well as insights on how you can continue to grow your relationship with your spouse. For those who have just embarked on the new parenthood journey, you'll know what I mean when all the focus is on the new little arrival. But while all the attention is given to the child, don't forget the older 'kid' (your other half) too :>

Of course financial issues would be the main concern for most of us, especially in the current climate. Well, I have a friend who is preparing for motherhood, requesting for a designer diaper bag from her hubby. I was shocked when I heard the orginal price that I can't even remember the brand name now. She wanna be seen as a modern chic mummy and won't settle for anything less. So, she shopped at ebay for that bag and ended up paying only a portion of the original price. She gets what she wants and at a much lower cost. So clever ;>

Practical tips on fulfilling both career and family aspirations as well as case studies on how couples can effectively make time to experience the joys of raising a family would be shared at the afternoon seminar. I've heard that the speaker for this topic is quite an engaging and humourous so I'm looking forward to hearing him.

Fertility is always an interesting topic for me and my colleagues. You'd be surprised at the facts and myths on fertility being 'unraveled' during the discussion. I've attended a couple of talks by Dr Chew before and each time I've learnt something new that I never knew or thought I already knew.

Most of the time we only start to look for information when we need it, but when it comes to Plan B, it's better to have the knowledge in advance so that you'd be better prepared.

Ok, there'll be refreshments and goodie bags when you sign up for either of the session...if that is what you'll be looking for...tsk tsk tsk... ;p

For more details, you can visit http://www.mediacorpradio.sg/maybebaby.

Walking Tour - Zürich's Old Town

Finally, had some time to get to the last bit on my stay in Switzerland.

We went for the walking tour in Zürich Old Town on our 2nd last day, thanks to Uncle Tan's colleague, Danja, who had given us the walking tour pass as well as the ZürichCARD, that is valid for 72 hours (comes with unlimited travel in trains, trams, boats and cable car, free admission to 40 over museums in Zürich, discounts in some shops and free welcome drink in 20 restaurants).

It's ironic that we went for this tour during the end of our stay instead. Well, perhaps it's a good way to see Zürich one last time with a new perspective as we walk down memory lane.

Lunch

Since the walking tour would only start at 3pm, we had our lunch at HALLO! Appetites at ShopVille, located near to the entrance/exit of the main train station (on the other extreme end opposite of Marché). It offers a wide variety of dishes from soups to salads to sandwiches to pastas and pizzas.

Prices are reasonable and you can choose the portion size - small, medium and large. The panini, with the light, chewy and stringy mozzarella is oomph! The set below (soup not included) costs about CHF 7.90 and comes with salad and chips. A filling and healthy lunch that doesn't burn the pocket :) Four out of five stars for the taste.

Another cheap eating place to recommend is Züri Bistro, which sells cheap kebabs, fries, pide etc. My favourite is their chicken schnitzel where somehow, it tastes different from the other schnitzel I've eaten. Not to mention, the portion is huge too. If you miss Asian food, try Suan Long, which similar to our 'zi char'. Taste is reasonable but don't expect Asian prices. And I didn't know that Singapore is famous for "Singapore style bee hoon" here (aka Sin Chow Bee Hoon). If you like thin crust pizzas, try Joey's Coffee and Kitchen where their pizza's are almost like paper. Love their zucchini pizza, yummm!!!

The Tourist Information Office at the main train station - a good place to gather information on other places of interest with the brochures and maps provided. One could even shop for Swiss souvenirs here which are cheaper than those sold in K-Kiosks (aka Cheers or 7-Eleven in SG).

There are about 130 shops here in ShopVille-RailCity of Zurich which are open year round, including Sundays and public holidays with some shops closed on 25 Dec.

Well, I know nothing of Zürich before that, until Uncle Tan had to be there on an exchange programme for 6 months. Hence the unknown fear and anxiety for me.

Best City to Live In

Rated for the 7th time in succession as the city with the highest quality of life, Zürich is a charming city, rich in culture and surrounded by nature. It has the city's infrastructure and facilities, yet alongside, you'll find parks, museums, nature places, the lake and breathtaking view of the distant alps.

Being a cosmopolitan city, Zürich is Switzerland’s most densely-populated canton where one in six of Switzerland’s inhabitants lives here.

It's actually quite like Singapore, minus the high-rise buildings, huge and still crowded malls, humid weather, limited nature places, less civic-minded people...the transport network is well connected and comfortable (less packed), the place is clean (except for the cigarette butts) and is generally safe. They are also well-known for their night activities given its highest concentration of pubs and clubs.

Well, "Zürich" (pronounced as 'zu-rick') should be written with the 2 dots on top of "u", but I guess for convenience sake, people drop the 2 dots. Hence sometimes you'll also see people spelling it as "Zuerich" as seen in their tourism website www.zuerich.com. A very useful website if you want to know almost anything and everything about Zürich.

The Walking Tour

Our first stop is the city's Police Station. I'd say it's the most unique and perhaps most colourful police station in the world where the ceilings are multi-coloured (mostly reds) with beautiful motifs. You need to deposit your ID/ passport at the reception area unless you follow a tour group where the guide will take care of it. No photography is allowed. It's the police station, so don't wanna be caught snapping secretly ;p

Zürich's patron saints

We've passed by this monument a couple of times along the stretch in old town without actually noticing the significance of this sculpture.

They were the patron saints of Zürich, Felix and Regula, who were members of an all-Christian Roman legion that was to be executed en masse in southwest Switzerland. They fled with their servant, Exuperantius, to the city from the massacre of their legion in Valais. They were beheaded at the Wasserkirche for refusing to pray to Roman gods.

Legend says that they picked up their heads and carried them up the hill to the spot where they wished to be buried, which is where the Grossmünster stands if I recall correctly. The Fraumünster was the repository of the saints’ remains and the Münsterbrücke bridge was built to link all three in about 1220.

From the 13th century, images of the saints were used in official seals of the city and on coins. On the saints' feast day, their relics were carried in procession between the Grossmünster and the Fraumünster. The two monasteries vied for the possession of the relics, which somehow, attracted pilgrims and made Zürich became the most important pilgrimage site. The Knabenschiessen (Shooting Festival) of Zürich originates from this.

Pestalozzi Park

A very small open space between Schweizergasse and Usteristrasse, you can see the statue of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746-1827), an educational reformer who influenced school standards in the U.S. According to our guide, he was the guy who made it possible for the girls in Switzerland to receive education.

A quick walk pass Bahnhofstrasse, we reached Old Town and walking towards Schipfe, a former fishing quarter on the banks of the Limmat River which takes its name from the nautical term schupfen (push) which was used to describe how the fishermen pushed their boats to and from the river bank. One of Zürich's oldest districts, the picturesque cobbled lanes are filled with art workshops, boutiques and cafes.


The house of Swiss craft where you'll find exquisite Swiss handicraft works (with exquisite prices too) here.










Time for a refreshing drink with complements from the Tourism Information Office. The cinnamon flavoured syrup tasted the best surprisingly. I wanted to buy a bottle of the syrup back but well, knowing our luggage limits, we had to give that a miss...

Although we've been to the old town a couple of times, there are still some streets we've missed exploring, like the one above with the wooden house.

According to the guide, the residents aren't allowed to make any changes to the exterior of their houses as these are considered as cultural properties which are to be conserved.

Purple colour lovers Ms Ang and Carol might like to stay in this pretty purple house :)

This 'bumper' that you see at the corner of the street is to prevent horse carriages and vehicles from destroying the facade of the houses.


This shop is said to have a huge collection of whiskeys.

Our tour guide, explaining to us the significance of this monument which gives a little insight into Zürich's history. Well, not a very patient guide but I thought was good for she ensured that we (total of 6 members in the English-speaking tour) don't waste time taking "posey" photos like an Indian couple in our group. We didn't dare to ask her age but we guessed she could be well in her late 60s and that's pretty good for she walks faster than anyone of us while doing the talking at the same time.

Lindenhof

This is a good place to relax and play chess :)

The building on the right is Observatory Urania, with a 48m tower and a telescope for you to observe the stars. You can also go for a drink and enjoy the fabulous view from Zürich's tallest bar. Situated at Uraniastrasse 9, the place is open from 9pm-11pm (Tue-Sat) in summer and from 8pm-10pm (Tue-Sat) in winter. Closed on Sundays and Mondays.

It was said that this stone used to hold the statue of William Tell. However, somehow the statue went missing one night. No one could find the huge sculpture to date. I wonder if anyone would turn up with the statue one day, claiming it's Mr Tell......

Well Uncle Tan's version was that "he" came alive and came over to Singapore and somehow was known as "Sir Stamford Raffles" and managed to develop Singapore into what it is today which shares so much similarities with Switzerland. Ya that's my imaginative Uncle Tan :>

Situated on a hill sits Lindenhof, where one could enjoy a magnificent view of right bank of river Limmat.

The Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) could be seen from Lindenhof.

St Peter's church - the oldest parish church in Zürich with the largest clock face in Europe, which is 8.7m in diameter.


We could have passed by this stretch without knowing that beneath us is actually the ruins of a Roman bath!

This was where we were shown the city of Zürich.



This is the apartment where Lenin(the communist politician who is the first de facto leader of the Soviet Union, well-known for his Marxist theory) stayed while he was here.

The Grossmünster

The Grossmünster one of the famous churches in Zürich and forms a picturesque view against
river Limmat. We've took many pictures of it, be it day or night. Although its interior is rather bare as it was entirely stripped of the statues and paintings denounced by Zwingli (picture on the right), the leader of the Reformation in Switzerland, the architecture of the building is outstanding.





We managed to find the restaurant where we had desert with Eunice and her hubby when they were here since we were quite keen about their dinner menu and most importantly, they have very friendly staff and good service :)

Ah Kin ordered the mix grilled veggy and Uncle Tan ordered rosti with chicken and mushrooms.

Ummm...sedap! Especially the brinjal. The rice is yummy too!

The rosti was good, not too oily and the chicken with mushrooms had a unique taste. It was a satisfying dinner with a reasonable price.

We took a walk to Burkliplatz while allowing our tummies to do the work :)

And we chanced upon an exhibition by the students from ETH University.

It was quite a big-scale exhibition where students from mainly the science faculty displayed their works and had interesting experiments for the public to have a try. The above exhibits show how different species of corn are produced. The person in charge gave a detailed explanation on the experiments they had done to determine how cross pollination takes place.

Some kids were busy getting stamps on their activity card for each experiments they had attempted. I thought that's a good way to educate the public and perhaps a good way of attracting future potential undergrads to study there.

Was sharing with one of my friends who's currently teaching in a polytechnic about how relevant their study is to the real world. Being taught by 3 different lecturers from 3 different ethinc background/ nationality during her masters course, she commented that the Chinese lecturer taught her all the theories and concepts; the Singaporean lecturer zeroed in to show you how to solve the questions and derive at the answers; the ang moh lecturer demonstrated how to apply the theories learnt in real life situations. Hmm.....my 'sine', 'cosine' and Pythagoras's theorem had stayed with my maths teachers after my exams..I probably won't be acquainted with them, unless my future kid isn't as mathematically inclined......

Hmm...maybe that's why I'm more inclined to send my kid to an international school, that is if I have a choice and of course, the money.

It was a cold and windy night where despite our layers, we could still feel the chill.