Hi,
When I was having my dental check-up in January this year, the dentist asked me if I grind my teeth when I sleep.
I was quite puzzled as this is the first time that I am asked by a dentist....
Apparently, she could see that there is some wear and tear due to possible grinding of my teeth!
Yes, I used to grind my teeth when I was in my late 20s and 30s. I remember hearing my wife commenting about it then.
So I google about it recently, out of curiosity.
Guess what I found?
There is a name for it.......Bruxism!
The cause is likely to be due to stress....!
I am not surprised as I was near the peak of my career then and work was indeed stressful.
I believe this is quite common as I have heard people talking about grinding of teeth in their sleep.
So if you are now experiencing it, I strongly suggest that you look into the possible cause and try to do something about it.
Not only for your mental health but also, for your dental health.
Take care!
David
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
The Straits Times Forum Writers' Dialogue
Hi,
I was invited to The Straits Times Forum Writers' Dialogue on Mon 16 Feb 2009 evening as I wrote to their forum occassionally and one of them got published.
This is my first invite but they have been hosting this for the past 7 years to meet their readers who have written in to them and their letters were published.
I found the dialogue interesting especially when we have the Q&A session and also a short briefing on how they got the news together, edit, print and distribute them to the readers daily.
I have better appreciation of their effort and no longer take it for granted whenever I read the papers now.
It is my habit to read the papers everyday and can easily spend an hour doing it as I read a few of the papers that I subscribe and a few that are free but still delivered to my house.
This is the Q&A session when I learned more about the passion of the other writers and also the appraoches adopted by the editors. Very informative indeed!
I typically write in to express my opinions on certain subjects that were posted in the Forum. Honestly, as I also write to other papers like TODAY and The New Paper, I cannot remember what I wrote to the ST Forum that got published.
Most likely, on my passionate topics like parenting and dogs related discussion........?
For those of you out there who may have written to your papers but they did not get published, do not stop writing.
Our contributions are important to the papers and also give them an dimension of how the public see things.
Have a nice day...
David
I was invited to The Straits Times Forum Writers' Dialogue on Mon 16 Feb 2009 evening as I wrote to their forum occassionally and one of them got published.
This is my first invite but they have been hosting this for the past 7 years to meet their readers who have written in to them and their letters were published.
I found the dialogue interesting especially when we have the Q&A session and also a short briefing on how they got the news together, edit, print and distribute them to the readers daily.
I have better appreciation of their effort and no longer take it for granted whenever I read the papers now.
It is my habit to read the papers everyday and can easily spend an hour doing it as I read a few of the papers that I subscribe and a few that are free but still delivered to my house.
This is the Q&A session when I learned more about the passion of the other writers and also the appraoches adopted by the editors. Very informative indeed!
I typically write in to express my opinions on certain subjects that were posted in the Forum. Honestly, as I also write to other papers like TODAY and The New Paper, I cannot remember what I wrote to the ST Forum that got published.
Most likely, on my passionate topics like parenting and dogs related discussion........?
For those of you out there who may have written to your papers but they did not get published, do not stop writing.
Our contributions are important to the papers and also give them an dimension of how the public see things.
Have a nice day...
David
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
42nd War Memorial Service
Hi,
Here are a few photos taken of the 42nd War Memorial Service, where Jason was one of the 8 students representing all the educational institutions for the ceremony.
Also, Total Defence Day falls on February 15 - the day Singapore fell to the Japanese in 1942. It reminds Singaporeans of what they stand to lose if they are unable to defend themselves.
We are proud of his involvement indeed and he also appeared in Channel U news, according to one of his friends. We missed it though.
Also, Total Defence Day falls on February 15 - the day Singapore fell to the Japanese in 1942. It reminds Singaporeans of what they stand to lose if they are unable to defend themselves.
We are proud of his involvement indeed and he also appeared in Channel U news, according to one of his friends. We missed it though.
The banner said that it is "The 42nd War Memorial Service In Commemoration of the Civilian Victims of the Japanese Occupation".
Praying with joss sticks and burning of offerings by some of the older folks.
Jason in his school uniform; all white with a tie, walking down after the students have laid the flower wreath and bowed 3 times.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Singaporeans No. 2 Gadget-Owners Worldwide
Hi,
I am not surprised that gadget-mad singaporeans have propelled the country to 2nd place in a global survey on entertainment technology ownership!
This is taken from The Straits Times Thursday, January 8 2009.
Singapore also has the 'highest rate of mobile phone ownership in the world' - a mobile penetration rate of almost 130 per cent!
Singapore came in behind Ireland and ahead of Australia, UK and New Zealand, followed by NOrway, Sweden, Hong Kong and the US.
You know what?
I am not surprised at all..!
The mobile is also a fashion statement for the teenagers and they changed it so very often when there is a new model in the market.
I have come across some students working part-time to fund their frequent upgrades of their mobiles.
I must also confess that I used to upgrade my mobile almost every year when there were promotions etc offered by telco.....ha...ha....ha
David
I am not surprised that gadget-mad singaporeans have propelled the country to 2nd place in a global survey on entertainment technology ownership!
This is taken from The Straits Times Thursday, January 8 2009.
Singapore also has the 'highest rate of mobile phone ownership in the world' - a mobile penetration rate of almost 130 per cent!
Singapore came in behind Ireland and ahead of Australia, UK and New Zealand, followed by NOrway, Sweden, Hong Kong and the US.
You know what?
I am not surprised at all..!
The mobile is also a fashion statement for the teenagers and they changed it so very often when there is a new model in the market.
I have come across some students working part-time to fund their frequent upgrades of their mobiles.
I must also confess that I used to upgrade my mobile almost every year when there were promotions etc offered by telco.....ha...ha....ha
David
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Relatives Cannot Be Chosen But Friends Can
Hi,
I was talking to my brother on some family matters and he casually commented that we cannot choose our relatives but we can choose our friends.
Well said and how true it is...!
No wonder there is a saying that blood is thicker than water ......
Generally, whatever the cirumstances, we will always stand by and help our relatives because of that family link or bond.
Why we cannot choose our relatives?
Well, we are born into a family and then you have your parents, siblings, uncles, aunties, cousins, and so on.....
But for Friends, we meet strangers in our lives and if we can get along and 'click' well we become friends; eg. childhood friends, school friends, working colleagues,.......
Such friendships may last or may just slowly disappear over time.....
Importantly, we have to choose our friends wisely and then it will last forever and they will always be there for you in times of need or just be there too to share your joy.
Though having said that, there are circumstances that some of us may be closer to a few selected friends than our own relatives and there is nothing wrong with that.
Life will definitely be lonely without relatives and friends..............
David
I was talking to my brother on some family matters and he casually commented that we cannot choose our relatives but we can choose our friends.
Well said and how true it is...!
No wonder there is a saying that blood is thicker than water ......
Generally, whatever the cirumstances, we will always stand by and help our relatives because of that family link or bond.
Why we cannot choose our relatives?
Well, we are born into a family and then you have your parents, siblings, uncles, aunties, cousins, and so on.....
But for Friends, we meet strangers in our lives and if we can get along and 'click' well we become friends; eg. childhood friends, school friends, working colleagues,.......
Such friendships may last or may just slowly disappear over time.....
Importantly, we have to choose our friends wisely and then it will last forever and they will always be there for you in times of need or just be there too to share your joy.
Though having said that, there are circumstances that some of us may be closer to a few selected friends than our own relatives and there is nothing wrong with that.
Life will definitely be lonely without relatives and friends..............
David
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Teaching as a Career
Hi,
I just saw the advertisement on recruitment for teachers by our MOE on TV.
I applied for a teaching position with MOE after seeing their advertisement and attending their recruitment talk, about 7 years ago.
I have always wanted to teach as I have an affinity to share what I know and I believe I can also provide some guidance to the student lifestyles too.
I was not successful and I think it is partly due to my age as the successful applicant has to undergo 2 years training and then bonded for 5 years; that was the T&A then. I would be in my 50s and most likely, MOE thought this is a bad investment...ha...ha.....
Another friend also applied and got interviewed but was also rejected. He was a few years younger than I. He told me that during the interview, he was told that they were curious why he wanted to change his career.
BTW, I was a Parent Volunteer in my son's Primary school and was teaching a character building programme bought by the school. Once a week but was assigned to a class where the students were quite a challenge to manage. After that, I realised the difficulties and problems some of our teachers face daily and if you are not passion about teaching, I think you will not last long as it is very very challenging and stressful.
I noticed that my son was not taught PowerPoint in school but it was done by a few other schools or they arranged for them to pay and attend such classes during school holidays.
So I spoke to the principal and I developed a PowerPoint training material to teach the students. It was popular as I was supposed to teach P4 and P5 A - C classes but a few other form teachers also wanted their classes to attend it. Jason was my assistant and he enjoyed the training sessions too. I also learned something from these students and have exposure to better students in the school. I believe the teaching material was still used after I left.
Finally, I managed to get into a polytechnic to teach as a part-time and then full-time but this only lasted for a year, much to my disappointment! I was very enthusiastic about my lessons and tried to make my classes interesting and shared as much as my working experience to those who were interested. This is a different mix of students and I also learned a lot from talking to them and I believe this interaction has also help me understand my teenage son better too.
I believe Teaching is a very noble and challenging career but you must have the passion for it and not treat it just as a job.
I am glad I have been given the above mentioned opportunities to teach but I wish I could have stayed on teaching in the polytechnic.
David
I just saw the advertisement on recruitment for teachers by our MOE on TV.
I applied for a teaching position with MOE after seeing their advertisement and attending their recruitment talk, about 7 years ago.
I have always wanted to teach as I have an affinity to share what I know and I believe I can also provide some guidance to the student lifestyles too.
I was not successful and I think it is partly due to my age as the successful applicant has to undergo 2 years training and then bonded for 5 years; that was the T&A then. I would be in my 50s and most likely, MOE thought this is a bad investment...ha...ha.....
Another friend also applied and got interviewed but was also rejected. He was a few years younger than I. He told me that during the interview, he was told that they were curious why he wanted to change his career.
BTW, I was a Parent Volunteer in my son's Primary school and was teaching a character building programme bought by the school. Once a week but was assigned to a class where the students were quite a challenge to manage. After that, I realised the difficulties and problems some of our teachers face daily and if you are not passion about teaching, I think you will not last long as it is very very challenging and stressful.
I noticed that my son was not taught PowerPoint in school but it was done by a few other schools or they arranged for them to pay and attend such classes during school holidays.
So I spoke to the principal and I developed a PowerPoint training material to teach the students. It was popular as I was supposed to teach P4 and P5 A - C classes but a few other form teachers also wanted their classes to attend it. Jason was my assistant and he enjoyed the training sessions too. I also learned something from these students and have exposure to better students in the school. I believe the teaching material was still used after I left.
Finally, I managed to get into a polytechnic to teach as a part-time and then full-time but this only lasted for a year, much to my disappointment! I was very enthusiastic about my lessons and tried to make my classes interesting and shared as much as my working experience to those who were interested. This is a different mix of students and I also learned a lot from talking to them and I believe this interaction has also help me understand my teenage son better too.
I believe Teaching is a very noble and challenging career but you must have the passion for it and not treat it just as a job.
I am glad I have been given the above mentioned opportunities to teach but I wish I could have stayed on teaching in the polytechnic.
David
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Weather Changes
Hi,
My friends in US are telling me how cold it is up there and my siblings are also emailing me about their heat waves down under in Australia.
These have also been reported in the newspaper and on TV.
Back home here, we have a few days of cool and cloudy weather; like autumn in Australia. We enjoyed those few days and even my Filipino housekeeper started to wear long pants and sweater to keep herself warm as she is very sensitive to the cold!
January has been the driest month here and we saw many patches of dried or dead grasses in public places.
Lately, it started to rain otherwise it is back to the sunny hot days again........
I think I will still settle for the weather here than the extreme cold and heat elsewhere....
David
My friends in US are telling me how cold it is up there and my siblings are also emailing me about their heat waves down under in Australia.
These have also been reported in the newspaper and on TV.
Back home here, we have a few days of cool and cloudy weather; like autumn in Australia. We enjoyed those few days and even my Filipino housekeeper started to wear long pants and sweater to keep herself warm as she is very sensitive to the cold!
January has been the driest month here and we saw many patches of dried or dead grasses in public places.
Lately, it started to rain otherwise it is back to the sunny hot days again........
I think I will still settle for the weather here than the extreme cold and heat elsewhere....
David
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Operational Efficiency & Customer Service
Hi,
More than a week ago, we went to one of our local banks to change an account status from single to joint account.
it must be our unlucky day, as we were given a wrong queue number so we waited until there was no one in the queue and we were still waiting....!
Fortunately, we were Priority Customers so we were entertained with coffee and newspaper + a large LCD TV during that short duration.
I was telling my wife that going to the normal counter queue would have been faster though no free coffee.
When we highlighted it to the service staff who issue us the queue number, he was apologetic. So ok lah.....
When we were being served at the special counter, we were asked to update some personal particulars. I updated some personal info but refused to indicate my source of fund and also how do I intend to use this account. I told the staff that it is an existing account and also I am not borrowing money from the bank . None of the bank's business and walked away.
( I checked with a friend working in a bank and I was told that this is the requirement when a new account is being opened due to money laundering. Do you think such people will tell you the truth on the source of funds and what the account is used for....? )
Back home, we were not able to see this joint account through the Internet.
So about a week later, we went to another branch and the counter staff and an officer retrieved the record and confirmed that the account status have been updated, as requested. No action required but for us to go home and customised our account linkages.
Back home, we were not able to customise the account linkages as that account was not shown!
This time round, we went back to the 1st branch we got our account status changed.
Guess what we were told......?
Sorry, your account status was changed but was not link up yet!
Naturally, we were upset and almost blew up as we were told otherwise by a staff and an officer only the day before......!
So this staff linked it up and got a PC for us to verify that it is done properly this time round.
Finally, it works...!
So what happened....?
There must be some flaws in the operational and customer service areas in this bank ........
Or did we have a BAD day....?
David
More than a week ago, we went to one of our local banks to change an account status from single to joint account.
it must be our unlucky day, as we were given a wrong queue number so we waited until there was no one in the queue and we were still waiting....!
Fortunately, we were Priority Customers so we were entertained with coffee and newspaper + a large LCD TV during that short duration.
I was telling my wife that going to the normal counter queue would have been faster though no free coffee.
When we highlighted it to the service staff who issue us the queue number, he was apologetic. So ok lah.....
When we were being served at the special counter, we were asked to update some personal particulars. I updated some personal info but refused to indicate my source of fund and also how do I intend to use this account. I told the staff that it is an existing account and also I am not borrowing money from the bank . None of the bank's business and walked away.
( I checked with a friend working in a bank and I was told that this is the requirement when a new account is being opened due to money laundering. Do you think such people will tell you the truth on the source of funds and what the account is used for....? )
Back home, we were not able to see this joint account through the Internet.
So about a week later, we went to another branch and the counter staff and an officer retrieved the record and confirmed that the account status have been updated, as requested. No action required but for us to go home and customised our account linkages.
Back home, we were not able to customise the account linkages as that account was not shown!
This time round, we went back to the 1st branch we got our account status changed.
Guess what we were told......?
Sorry, your account status was changed but was not link up yet!
Naturally, we were upset and almost blew up as we were told otherwise by a staff and an officer only the day before......!
So this staff linked it up and got a PC for us to verify that it is done properly this time round.
Finally, it works...!
So what happened....?
There must be some flaws in the operational and customer service areas in this bank ........
Or did we have a BAD day....?
David
Saturday, February 7, 2009
TOTO S$10 Million Hong Bao Draw
Hi,
I am sure most of us living here in Singapore could not resist trying our luck at the TOTO $10 Million Hong Bao draw last night.
I queue for 1/2 hour at my favourite TOTO stall in Bedok Central to buy one of the $10 hong bao packets on Thursday morning.
You could have read my earlier posting on buying 4D and TOTO on the types of bettors. You can read it again at http://pcwthoughts.blogspot.com/2008/03/4d-toto-lottery.html
All I hope is to win S$100K and I will share it equally with my family members from both sides; each getting S$10K.
Mathematically, winning 4D is easier than TOTO...........
In 2008, we have won small amounts from 4D and most likely, the net effect is a loss! But we are playing small and take it as some form of entertainment only.
So until the next big draw .......... good luck to you too!
David
I am sure most of us living here in Singapore could not resist trying our luck at the TOTO $10 Million Hong Bao draw last night.
I queue for 1/2 hour at my favourite TOTO stall in Bedok Central to buy one of the $10 hong bao packets on Thursday morning.
You could have read my earlier posting on buying 4D and TOTO on the types of bettors. You can read it again at http://pcwthoughts.blogspot.com/2008/03/4d-toto-lottery.html
All I hope is to win S$100K and I will share it equally with my family members from both sides; each getting S$10K.
Mathematically, winning 4D is easier than TOTO...........
In 2008, we have won small amounts from 4D and most likely, the net effect is a loss! But we are playing small and take it as some form of entertainment only.
So until the next big draw .......... good luck to you too!
David
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
My Personal Hair Stylist
Hi,
My Filipino housekeeper just graduated from her Cosmetology course which taught her how to style and cut hair including make-up and facial treatment.
I decided to be her first 'customer' and let her trim my hair this afternoon.
Well, job well done so I should not have the need to go to the barber for as long as she is still working for us.
Jean even has the aprons for her and I, bought for use during her classes last year.
Neater look now......!
BTW, Jason asked me to trim his hair last evening as he was told to have a haircut by his school. He wanted a trim so that he can go to his regular barber next week. My trim was to buy him some time.
The school accepted my trim on his hair this morning.
When I was studying in Melbourne, my brother and I used to cut each other hair but it was not too difficult as we used to have long hair style so mistakes were not so glaring. I even once cut my younger sister hair and her classmates commented that it was well done too!
So anyone need an appointment with me or Jean...?
David
My Filipino housekeeper just graduated from her Cosmetology course which taught her how to style and cut hair including make-up and facial treatment.
I decided to be her first 'customer' and let her trim my hair this afternoon.
Well, job well done so I should not have the need to go to the barber for as long as she is still working for us.
Jean even has the aprons for her and I, bought for use during her classes last year.
Neater look now......!
BTW, Jason asked me to trim his hair last evening as he was told to have a haircut by his school. He wanted a trim so that he can go to his regular barber next week. My trim was to buy him some time.
The school accepted my trim on his hair this morning.
When I was studying in Melbourne, my brother and I used to cut each other hair but it was not too difficult as we used to have long hair style so mistakes were not so glaring. I even once cut my younger sister hair and her classmates commented that it was well done too!
So anyone need an appointment with me or Jean...?
David
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