World Expo 2010 @ Shanghai (Part 2)

Queues, queues, people, people...

The Expo mascot.,, Haibo!

Some of the corporates' pavilions at Puxi

World Expo 2010 @ Shanghai (Part 1)

Some pictures from my trip to the World Expo 2010 @ Shanghai. There were long queues almost everywhere, waiting time for the Saudi Arabia Pavilion broke the record with 8 hours. This is crazy... Nevertheless, it was an interesting experience and I would recommend people to go and take a look. By the way, the pavilions over at the Puxi side are more interesting and more related to the theme, "Better City, Better Life".

The Singapore Pavilion looks better than the pictures; but still there are other more interesting pavilions in the park. 

Our Asean neighbors are located near to the Singapore Pavilion. 

Some performance going on at the Asia Square.

I kind of like the design of this pavilion, simple and nice. 

Canada Pavilion looks good, too bad the queue was too long. As a matter of fact, almost all pavilions have long queues.

This pavilion has straw mats covered all over it; a lit cigarette will definitely set the place on fire.

The design of the Egypt Pavilion is quite cool too... look at the curves... 

Because of the long queues, many visitors brought along their own stools/chairs. 

iMAT?

This is Funny ~ ~ ~

City Harvest Church Saga

Wow wow wow... things are getting interesting in Singapore. First there were the MRT jumps, the dead bodies found at Sentosa and Marina Sands IR, a teenager got his fingers chopped off by some Malaysians and now the CHC Saga is ballooning - bigger and bigger. 

The public, including myself, has always been mindful of this organisation. Many years ago, I went to CHC once when it was still located at Paya Lebar. I remembered the people there were very friendly and warm to me. It felt like we were friends for a long long time... it felt good but at the same time, a little eerie... I couldn't help but thought to myself, "something is strange here". I went twice but that was it. 

Then, CHC produced a pop singer, Sun Ho who is the wife of the CHC's pastor Kong Hee. Never really like her, partly because I couldn't relate to her songs and partly because she is from CHC. I am not sure if she is really popular or if her supporters are only from CHC. She tried her lucks to venture into Taiwan but I guess the result is so-so. Then, she went to the USA and produced a few singles; one of which is "China Wine". It sounds alright but her MV was not what people expect from a pastor's wife or rather, from a Christian.

With the investigation still going on, there have been a lot of voices from both sides - the general public and CHC's supporters. One side is cheering that the organisation is finally being looked into while the other side is showing their support for their leaders. There is no sign that the comments on forums, facebook and twitter are slowing down. The comments by CHC's supporters are getting scarier too.

Look at this guy's comment, "CHC is half as the strength of the SAF regulars combined. Some regulars will even join us. If we want to build an army, we can. We want to buy arms, we have the money given to us by God to buy. No weapon shall form against us. CHC will be victorious, no matter what."

"When he arrived, the king asked him, "Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?" "Attack and be victorious," he answered, "for they will be given into your hand." - 2 Chronicles 18:14

God will give us victory if we are willing to fight in the name of the LORD."

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=401892991219&comments   

I doubt he will do what he said but we never know. Why are these people brainwashed till this stage? They must recognize that the government is not against Christianity but are checking on the church's management. They must calm down and think sensibly, can they? Religions don't teach people to kill or hurt one another; humans are the ones who look into it too much and made it complicated. 

Honestly, CHC has been around for a long time, why now? I mean, why is the investigation been carried out now? Is somebody trying to score points? He has not achieve anything significant and if the election is going to be held this year, he has to show that he is the best man to lead Singapore. Or is he not? Fishy fishy fishy... 

   

Yummy Su Su Su Sushi!

I got these sushi from a shop that opened one week ago. Looking at the crowd during the dinner hours, it sure is tempting. This packet of sushi cost me RMB$20 (SG$4) and I can say I am very satisfied with the taste and quality. Well, it turned out that 10 sushi are not enough for me, I need more!!

12 suicide cases at Foxconn, Shen Zhen (China)

Seriously, these people should think twice before jumping. Even if the work is stressful, there bound to be ways to solve it. 

Think about your family, your friends... Or perhaps they thought about all these: the compensation paid out by the company is huge, did they jump so that their family members can get this sum of money? I don't know but I think it is really foolish for them to do so. 

次数	跳楼事件综述
第十二跳	5月26日晚11点富士康深圳龙华厂区大润发商场前发生第12起员工跳楼事件。死者是C2宿舍一位男性。
第十一跳	5月25日凌晨，富士康科技集团观澜园区华南培训中心一名员工坠楼死亡。
第十跳	5月21日凌晨4时许，富士康一名21岁的男员工从宿舍跳楼，伤重不治身亡。
第九跳	5月14日 21岁的岳西小伙梁超在深圳富士康龙华厂区宿舍楼7楼楼顶坠地 。
第八跳	2010年5月11日，龙华厂区女工祝晨明从9楼出租屋跳楼身亡，24岁。
第七跳	2010年5月6日，龙华厂区男工卢新从阳台纵身跳下身亡，24岁。
第六跳	2010年4月7日，观澜樟阁村，富士康男员工身亡，22岁。
第五跳	2010年4月7日，观澜厂区外宿舍，宁姓女员工坠楼身亡，18岁。
第四跳	2010年4月6日，观澜C8栋宿舍女工饶淑琴坠楼，仍在医院治疗，18岁。
第三跳	2010年3月29日，龙华厂区，一男性员工从宿舍楼上坠下，当场死亡，23岁。
第二跳	2010年3月17日，富士康龙华园区，新进女员工田玉从3楼宿舍跳下受伤。
第一跳	2010年1月23日,凌晨4时许，富士康19岁员工马向前“高坠死亡”。

It's Vegan-Day!

Today is Wednesday and I declare, "Every Wednesday shall be Vegan-Day!"

The following tables indicates the CO2 production in kg CO2 equivalents per kg of meat depending on the animal:

1 kg of meat from	produces kg CO2e
beef	34.6
lamb	17.4
pork	6.35
chicken	4.57

Source: Environmental Impacts on Food Production and Consumption. http://www.defra.gov.uk/science/project_data/DocumentLibrary/EV02007/EV02007_4601_FRP.pdf

Less meat + dairy products = Reduced personal carbon footprint. 

Hello Hello Durian

I finally bought one durian seed today!! 

Yum Yum ~ ~ ~ 

Win a Condo

Wow... this sounds good huh... win a condo... who doesn't want?

Bad habits in PRC

Have you ever seen a PRC Chinese spat on the floor?

Have you ever seen a PRC Chinese dug his/her nose in public?

Have you ever seen a PRC Chinese dug his/her ear in public?

Have you ever heard a PRC Chinese talked loudly?

Have you ever seen a PRC Chinese mom helping her child to pee in public?

Have you ever seen a PRC Chinese man wearing bermudas and leather shoes with long white socks?

If you have, then I can assure you that all these habits are very common in their country, PRC.They grew up with such habits and not surprisingly, they brought it to Singapore when they came along. To us, it is totally unacceptable and uncivilized. But to them, it is very normal; their grandparents did it, their parents did it so now they do it. 

Of course, not all PRC Chinese are like this, but I dare to say most of them are. 1.3 billion is a very huge figure and PRC is a big country. People differ from the north to the south, from the east to the west. I think it will take forever for them to change. But then, I think they feel that there is no need to change and hence, don't want to change. And with so many disasters happening to this big Asian country one after another, there are more important issues that need more attentions. 

I am very sure that I wouldn't want to stay in such a place for long. Yucks...   

Oh My...

I had McDonald's for lunch last Friday and I upsized my meal to get the free World Cup 2010's glass (see picture below). 

I couldn't finished my fries so I packed it up to go and headed to the supermarket to get some fruits. 

Oranges didn't look good but I was desperate for some Orangy Vitamin Cs so I just got a few. Think the bad weather previously resulted the bad harvest - there were no local oranges and the local apples didn't look good too. 

At the cashier's counter, I placed the bag of oranges, my World Cup glass and my fries down as I searched for the $10 bill. The cashier picked up and scanned the oranges, then she tried to scan my french fries! She flipped the bag of fries over and over to look for the code to scan but couldn't find. Obviously she could not find the code as my fries was not from the supermarket. I repeated thrice to her that that was french fries from McDonald's. She took a while to realize the message that I was trying to bring across. 

That was not the end, she took my World Cup glass and repeated her actions all over again. "Oh my... " was all I could say... I told her once again that the glass was from McDonald's and not from the supermarket. Then did she 'wake up' suddenly. 

Strange huh... Maybe she was too tired from the work... maybe she was trying to play a trick on me... maybe it was really my fault for placing the glass and fries on the counter... maybe...  

Goodbye PTIs

Wanted to post this the other time but I forgot. Physical Training Instructors (PTIs) or what is now know as Fitness Specialists (FS) will be officially stepping into history. I wonder if this move has anything to do with the decreasing population - lesser citizens = lesser physically fit guys to serve the nation = decrease redundant positions to make way for more effective ones. 

Who will the army outsource the job to? Will we see Foreigners conducting exercises for us? Will we see Foreigners "punishing" us? I certainly do not hope so. 

I shall always remember that I used to be a PTI and the memories at the School of Physical Training.  

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking...ry_514368.html

Apr 14, 2010 
Civilian trainers for SAF 
Outsourcing non-core services frees up soldiers for combat jobs
By Jermyn Chow 



The Basic Military Training Centre's physical training instructors, like First Warrant Officer Mohamed Suhaimy Abdul Rashid (right), 48, are being replaced by civilian fitness instructors. The civilians will conduct gym training, aerobics, endurance runs and the military's IPPT. -- PHOTO: MINDEF

THE days of the much-feared physical training instructor of the Singapore Armed Forces are numbered.

That taskmaster in a white singlet who puts every chrome dome through punishing physical training will be replaced by civilians, as physical training throughout the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) is outsourced to commercial fitness outfits.

The Straits Times understands that the PTIs, known as fitness specialists in the SAF, will replaced by the end of next year. 

Read the full exclusive in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times.

Testing Testing...

This post is posted via email. 

Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore

The annual marathon is back!


http://marathonsingapore.com/

Although at first look, the name is the similar, it is not!! It used to be called the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon. But Singapore Sports Council (SSC) decided to do it without the Singapore Athletic Association (SAA); hence, they renamed it by changing the order of the 2 words.

Nonetheless, I will still sign up this year and challenge myself to run 42.195km.

Hello Blog... I am back!!

Dear gohsteven.blogspot.com,

I am sorry that I neglected you for quite a while. How have you been? I hope you are not mad at me for not posting any stuff during this period of time. But hey, I am back now!!

I promise to fill you up with lots of posts, pictures and videos!!
That is a promise that I will stick to, please believe me.

Thank you!

Regards,
Steven

PS: Back to blogging!

wah wah wah...

For the past week, it had been thrilling for me.

Last Friday, I got a call from Jetstar Asia to inform me that KS and I were selected for the JetSaver Light Challenge!! Woo hoo ~ ~ ~

So that means a free trip to Kota Kinabalu from 29th Sept - 1st Oct!! It was a good surprise to win this as I suddenly have the urge to fly in a plane.

Then today, I was just trying my luck to call into 987fm for the Mediacorp Subaru Impreza WRX Challenge - The Asian Face-off. As usual, the "line is busy" messages kept popping out. Just as I was about to give up, my call got through. As it rang, I wonder if Ms Vendetta will really really pick up my call!! A little sceptical about it and just before I pressed the "end call" icon, my call was picked up.

Honestly, I really doubt if I can last the whole contest and be the last man standing. I need my sleep. However, I think I will still give it a go!! Wish me luck ~ ~ ~

Breaking NEWS!!!

Print this mailer and present it to enjoy a 1-for-1 offer!!

ICT is coming!!

I gave my unit a call and was glad to have more ideas about the upcoming ICT (11-22 August 2009). I am actually looking forward to it but then, information is lacking. What do I have to bring along, what is the programme going to be????? Tsk tsk... this is definitely something SAF should consider improving on.

ION Orchard is OPENED!!

Today is the day ION Orchard Opens!! We dropped by for lunch and was surprised to see a queue forming up. A nice uncle told me, "Queue up for the free ice cream..." I thought to myself, ""Is it really free?" It turned out that the ice cream is really free and without further hesitation, we joined in the Q at the Gusttimo di Rome!

The green tea and the cheese ice cream were very very good. The tiramisu was so-so only... The whole place is big, bright and nice. It is linked to the Orchard MRT Station, so there is no reason why you will never step into ION Orchard. They do have a lot of shops which are not common in the other malls. But Basement 4, where the food stores should be, was not ready yet. A bit disappointed as we wanted to lunch there. But well, our office is just a stone throw (must use strength) away, we will be back again. For the ice cream and for lunch.

Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon

The Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon will be held on 6th December 2009 this year and New Balance will be replacing Adidas as the apparel sponsor.

The official lanuch for this marathon will be tomorrow, 16th July 2009 @ the Raffles Place Park; just right above Raffles Place MRT station. It will start at 11.30am all the way till 5.00pm. For the first 500 people who sign up at the launch, they will receive an additional goodies bag. The year before, I signed up during the launch and I got the "special" goodies bag which was pretty good.

Therefore, I am looking forward to signing up tomorrow and be one of the first 500 to do so. For people who didn't run last year, it will costs $65 before 5th August, otherwise 2008 runners need to pay only $45. For more race information, click here!

Stand Chart credit/debit cardholders will enjoy 15% off if they register online with their cards. If you sign up for Stand Chart credit card during this period, $50 will be given to you to offset the registration fee for the run.

And interestingly, the organisers have selected 150 runners who ran during the last few marathons and put their photos on the website. If you are among them, you can run for free this year!!! Isn't that awesome?

JB outing: 1st July 2009

Via Ferrata @ Orchard Central

KFC Waffles!! Yum Yum!!

Yum yum!! I had KFC Waffles for breakfast again. There is a promotion going on, so it costs $2.50 for the waffles and egg which are quite tasty. If only the portion of the egg can be a bit more, it would be better!

Click here for the coupons to enjoy this promo!

Goodbye and Hello!

My Converse shoe has walked miles and miles and it is time to say goodbye! Thank you Converse shoe, you have served me well.

Penang Dragonboat... Part 2

Ooops... I forgot all about the part 2 of the Penang Dragonboat Race.

Anyway, we started Day 2 with some training at the beach. The Thais were already up and running by the time we strolled there. And we passed by the cafe where we were supposed to have our breakfast... ooooo.... the cereals... the breads... the omelettes... I was tempted not to go for training and go for breakfast... But I did not succeed.

We started with a run, a short run, very very short. Then, we did some kind of telematch, everybody had to do some burpees, pushups, crunches and more pushups. Then, we did some exercises with the elastic bands. Training ain't tough but it was torturous as images of the food kept floating across my mind. I was really glad when the training ended and we could go for breakfast.

Time was short as we needed to rush down to the dam for the opening ceremony. We had 1.5 hrs to wash up and eat our breakfast. So, we "chop chop" showered, changed and rushed to have breakfast which was really really good. Ok lah, I could have been hungry hence the food tasted great to me.

Next up in the schedule was the opening ceremony. We reached the dam early, around 11am and waited for the guest of honour (GOH). We waited. And waited. And waited and waited and waited and waited... By 12.30pm, the GOH was still nowhere near the dam. It was hot, tremendously hot. With nothing much to do but waiting and more waiting... I was impatient. Everybody was.

The local host even suggested to us that it was possible for us to leave and not attend the ceremony. That certainly appealled to a lot of us and we were all for that idea. However, we were representing SAFRA and hence we have to think about her reputation as well. Dilemma? Yes, we were. Some thought that we should go and some thought that we should stay.

And we stayed. At about 1.30pm, there were finally traces of the GOH. We waited 2.5 hours for this GOH and did he apologise? Of course not, he is the GOH mah, Chief Minister for Penang, don't pray pray...

Once the ceremony was over, we evacuated as well. We returned to the hotel and changed; we were all sweaty and stinky and.... Shopping and lunch was next! Hurray!!!

Fast forward a bit... after shopping and dinner, we had to rehearse for our performance. Why did we agree to perform during the closing dinner? WHy?? But it turned out well and I must say, it was good memory!

Penang International Dragon Boat Festival 2009

It was my first overseas race with Safra Dragonboat team and I must say, it was a fantastic one. The trip to Penang started on 22nd May morning. I had dragged myself out of bed at 5.30am so that I won't be late. Yup, the time to meet is 6.30am, it was kind of early for me but I still made it in time.

The bus left Toa Payoh stadium at 7am and from there, we headed off for Senai Airport. Traffic was okay for a Monday morning, but then, we were heading towards the Second Link and hence, maybe that was the reason for the smooth traffic. It took about an hour plus from TPY to get to Senai. The airport was under some renovation, but it still looked pretty much the same as the last time when I was there.

After we checked in, we had Mary Brown for Breakfast. I had the French toast set but it was not fantastic. The toasts were cold and the coffee weak. Luckily for me, Dunkin Donut saved the day. I had the peanut butter jelly which was superb! Yum yum.

After filling up our stomach, we were all ready to go. We were given face masks, an instruction from the management I think. And I think, we were the only group of passengers who wore the masks. Kind of fun though.

The flight was short, too short for me to truly enjoy it. It was great to be at Penang after the travelling in the morning. And our guide was on time, or she could have been there much much earlier. With our bags and stuff transported onto a lorry, we got onto a coach which has comfy seats and cooling aircon.

It took about 45 minutes before we reached our hotel. The journey was pretty rough and traffic was bad. Lots of cars on the roads and there were many winding roads. Hence I was glad when we reached Holiday Inn Penang.

We only had an hour to have lunch and to prepare for training. Time was tight and hence, we walked to a nearby coffee shop to "da bao". We were on time and so was the bus. The scenery of the training ground, Teluk Bahang Dam, was great. But then, some how I still prefer Bedok Reservoir to it.

The water was heavy as it is freshwater. Unlike the saltwater in Kallang, the water did not provide much upthrust force and hence, it was more challenging to paddle in it. I was glad we had the training as it gave us a better idea of the conditions of the water. Longer pulls will definitely worked better than faster stroke rates + short pulls.

Training was short and shopping was next. YEAH!!! We headed for Northam Beach Cafe (诺登美食坊) for dinner and it was SHIOK! We ordered a lot of food, and it was really good. We had Fried oysters, German sausages, Char Kuay Tiao, Apom, Dim sum, Rojak, Po Piah, Prawn noodle and more... Although these are items we can find in Singapore but some how, they tasted much better. Either we were really hungry or the food was really good.

Then we headed for a shopping mall but as it was late, most shops were closed. The Giant supermarket was the only exciting choice we had. We stocked up water and tibits!! Chips, biscuits and more chips. Then, we returned to the hotel to rest.

Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day

Long time no blog. Seriously, there are so many things that I would like to blog... but some how... my fingers just would not type them out.

Anyway, something to cheer about, tomorrow is Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day! I think I might be there... it's free, it's nice, i will be there...


http://www.benjerry.com.sg/freeconeday09/

@ Changi Airport T2

I woke up at about 5am to get ready to go to the airport with my mom and sis. The night before, I had booked the flight to Xiamen for them. Everything seems so rush and as a matter of fact, it was a rush.

I struggled with the SIA/Silkair Customer Service Officer (CSO) on the phone for 40 minutes. My hand was cramping from holding onto the phone for that long. It cost $50 more per passenger to book a flight via the phone, seriously I think they should pay passengers $50 to book via the phone. It was torturous.

From getting the correct name to payment, I have to repeat myself again and again. "Yup, Alpha, India, New, York, United, Kingdom..." Honestly, I think the problem lies with the CSO. Most of the time, she repeated the wrong details that I told her. And then, I have to repeat and repeat myself.

After enduring the "effective communication" with her, she put me on hold for 10 minutes and I have to tolerate the "wonderful" music that was played. "Singapore Air.... A Great Way to Fly..." sang the music player. A great way to fly? Maybe not.

Then the funniest thing happened - the CSO overcharged the amount to my card. I almost cried. After 30 plus minutes on the phone and this shit had to occur? I can't believe my luck.

And so, we reached Terminal 2 at about 6.50am. It was pretty crowded over at the Silkair's counters. They made everybody queue in a line leading to many counters; in a way, this is faster than having many queues at the counters. And we saw a Mediacorp artiste in the queue. Not excited just surprised to see her. Guess guess guess: She is a host from Taiwan and recently, got divorced. Easy huh...

Nike Expo Sales

Nike Expo Sale
05 February 2009 - 08 February 2009

Event type : Retailer & Sales
Venue : Hall 6B
Admission : Public - Free Admission
Event Schedules :

5 - 7 Feb 09: 10am to 7pm

8 Feb 09: 10am to 6pm

Got buy got Hope!

I don't usually buy 4D nor Toto. However, this year I think i shall make an exception and try my luck on this Hong Bao Draw.

The economic downturn is here and most "experts" portrayed the worst scenario. This year of the Ox definitely looks too gloomy for comfort.

As what my Dad always says: "If we buy, there is a possibility that we might win. If we buy, we will never win."

So I guess, I shall buy myself a hope to win the prize!

HUAT AR ~ ~ ~

新年新习惯

"播下一个行动，收获一种习惯；播下一种习惯，收获一种性格；播下一种性格，收获一种命运。"

Saw this from Mypaper(28th Jan 09), it was quoted from William James, a pioneering American psychologist and philosopher trained as a medical doctor.Somehow, I can relate to this phrase; it is easier to do something than to give up something.

If a person wants to quit smoking, it will be easier for him to jog or swim or other types of sports than asking him to stop smoking all of a sudden. With other activities to distract him from the "seductive" cigarette, he will not be tempted to light up one.

Ripple from next door brushes her teeth everyday after lunch; I think it is a good habit and I have since bought another set of toothbrush and toothpaste. Not that I want to quit anything, I just want to start this Year of the Ox with new habits and hopefully things will turn out good.

Happy 牛 Year: 大年初四, 事事顺心!