Musical journey (117)

The wait is finally (almost) over as Victoria and Singapore both ease lockdown restrictions from tomorrow and the day after tomorrow respectively. The most important thing to me about this first stage of relaxation here is the ability to dine out again. To make it worth their while with the 20-person maximum rule, restaurateurs will inevitably have to introduce things like a dine-in duration limit, pre-payment, reduced menus, minimum spend, leaving of credit card details in case of no-shows in addition to having all patrons provide their particulars for contact-tracing purposes. This is a new world we're all living in and I don't know how well these rules will or can be enforced (especially observing the 1.5m-distancing) but until there's a vaccine, I guess this is the only way to survive the virus.

I've also been working out at home since my gym closed on 23-Mar with a suspension in membership. In Victoria, gyms will only re-open from 22-Jun. If I don't see a huge difference in my body from not doing weights in a gym for three months (which is likely the case), does this mean that I don't need gyms in my life? That's such an outrageous thought right?

On the work front, there's a rumour that my company will only allow people back in the office from mid-July and even then it'll be at a reduced 25% capacity. I'm sure in their never-ending pursuit to cut cost, management will very likely consolidate office space and convince themselves that this working-from-home experiment has been a great success no matter how much it bombed (I've been doing it since 19-Mar). The bottom line is I'm not going to go back to the office if not 100% of the people are allowed back because to me, that lack of cross-team face-to-face collaboration is what's killing productivity.

On the eve of lockdown restrictions being relaxed (which means we've been cooped up at home for the maximum possible duration), how sick and tired everyone is feeling must be at a peak level. Hence it's the perfect day to release a new composition about my time during lockdown. Many of you will be able to identify with the lyrics as my experience is surely not unique. This song was not only fun to write, the process of creating it also gave me an avenue to vent my frustrations.

This piece is ultimately a story about two lovebirds separated by COVID-19 coping with their desperate need to see each other again. Having the proper tools to thrive in the digital world has certainly made life during isolation much more bearable and thus the clip features a digital tunnel. Unfortunately the light at the end of tunnel however doesn't seem to get any closer as you move forward. Tell me how can one not grow impatient with it all.

[!nsanity]

Walls are closing on me here
What are all these voices that I hear
Am I going crazy
Tell me will they disappear

Day and night become a blur
A single second passes like a fucking year
Trapped and spinning round in boundless boredom
In a lifeless world where nothing spreads like fear

Baby I want you near
And I know it doesn't get easier
Patience running low
Why can't I come right now to see you dear

These empty shelves
These empty streets
This empty life
Away from your kiss
Let me go so I can breathe
And set me free from shackles of !nsanity

Endless tedium deepens
And I'm getting delirious
There's no immunity 'gainst this numbing experience

Restless, madness, fatness
Working in my pyjamas
There's only so much my right hand can deliver

Running out of loo paper
Twenty seconds of soap and water
A social butterfly now a social distancer

Lockdown rules so damn unclear
Isolation tantamount to torture
Boozing up just doesn't cut it anymore
It's time to try something much harder

Miscellany through Facebook (part 2)

As the other states in Australia ease lockdown restrictions ahead of Victoria, the worst-hit state with the highest number of cases and tightest rules, and the state I'm in, time continues to pass. This "time" post-pandemic however, is not the same as time before the global crisis. The world now living in a new normal looks back to a mere few months ago and realises life back then was like from a different era.

In this second part of my "Miscellany through Facebook" series (part one is here), you can see a map showing COVID19 cases in Singapore. The screenshot of that map was taken on 7-Feb when there were only 33 confirmed cases and Singapore had the second highest number of cases in the world. Contrast that with the more than 31,000 cases as of yesterday, you can better grasp how quickly this virus and time moves. This is a scary and highly-contagious enemy we're facing.

That being said, I look forward when restrictions ease from next month. I just hope a new cluster doesn't emerge before then and throw Victoria's recovery into disarray, shoving us back to square one.

A typical prop for the first scene of a pandemic disaster movie. #NoticeSeenAtPharmaciesNationWide #SadlyThisIsNotAMovie

PS: That being said, the experience was totally different when I explored the same malls with Mummy.

PS: That young Asian is totally not cute by the way.

Feel free to tag anyone whom you think would love shopping here.

So it has finally happened. The virus has hit Grindr.

How freaking complicated can arcade games get nowadays? Jeez.

This ad should be one that sells the services of a photo editor. In this day and age how can anyone still not think such ads are nothing but a simple photoshopping exercise?!

Who says there's nothing much at Turf City? I'm pleasantly surprised by this Thai night market today! I came during dusk so it was still bright and now the queues for food are so long - glad I arrived early completely by chance! #ExtraLongFriesWithTruffleMayo #FriedPorkBelly #SweetPotatoCakeWithDurianFilling

 PS: There are a LOT of hot guys here, don't ask me why 'cos I don't care, I simply enjoy!

With my favourite macadamia nut ice-cream in hand, it's time to explore somewhere I've not been to for a really long time to see how much it has changed. #HaagenDazs #ILoveWanderingByMyself #FreeWithoutACare

Crazily expensive produce imported from Australia which I can enjoy soon again at a fraction of these inflated prices!

Accurate as of today... I think I should be fine. That being said, you're never far away enough from fear if you let that overwhelm you in the country outside of China with the second most number of infected. #TheMoreYouKnowTheMoreYouWorryAbout #TuneOutNegativity

PSA. In case you're unaware, you might find this constantly-updated coronavirus infection map of Singapore useful. #DontLetItControlYouThough #ParanoiaSpreadsFasterThanTheVirus

Wise words, though I can't say I'm not glad leaving Singapore tomorrow. #MelbourneIsTheLesserOfTwoEvils

Old (left) and new (right) passport photos. I like the new one better and I rarely like my passport/ID pictures.

Miscellany through Facebook (part 1)

OK, the Victorian state of emergency has now been extended to the end of May with no relaxation of any restrictions. That being said, as new clusters emerge, testing has also been stepped up, and it's this high testing rate that will enable the restrictions to be eased. Excitingly, it's just been announced this morning that cafés, restaurants and the dining area of pubs will be allowed to have a maximum of 20 patrons for each enclosed area (1 person per m²) from 1-Jun. This will then be increased to 50 from 22-Jun and to 100 from mid-July. Contact details (name, number and address) need to be provided though for contact-tracing purposes and 1.5m social distancing needs to be observed. Finally I can eat out again from next month and I can't say I'm not missing that even as a not-very-social person.

There will be more government announcements to come regarding another thing I'm very concerned about, which is the re-opening of gyms. Whilst I'm surviving for now with my home workouts using an exercise band as well as my regular jogs around the neighbourhood, the yearning to resume this love-hate relationship of going-to-the-gym-versus-procrastination is growing rapidly. Good news from the government is predicated on the results from the recent tests becoming available (and of course coming back as negative) and so my fingers are crossed.

In the mean time, here's the next post of my "Through Facebook" series. In my trips back to Singapore, I spend most of the time wandering around alone listening to music which is something that gives me peace. I do that a lot also because my friends are all working during business hours and so I'm left on my own. While exploring the new parts (e.g. shopping centres) and re-connecting with the old and familiar (e.g. my favourite eateries), I document what I feel on Facebook and below is part one of those posts (part two is here). The most significant one is the witnessing of a solar eclipse for the first time in my life but alas both my phone camera and vantage point weren't good enough to do it justice.

It wasn't as dramatic as I expected because the halo was too bright and obscured the moon's shadow but here you go, a solar eclipse for your viewing pleasure. I guess there's a first time (and likely last time) for everything.

I always get a tinge of sadness when I'm here. The brazen opulence barely within the reach of most locals yet is what these rats running on their wheels are constantly striving for. And the just-legal models sporting the crazy-expensive gear are totally not in the age group of those actually buying the stuff. Alas in this ultra-unrealistic setting festers the very real issue of rising income disparity between the rich and the poor.

PS: For those unaware back in Australia, Marina Bay Sands is The Crown on steroids.

Wow. For those who are into everything Japanese, this place must give them orgasms. #JapanInSingapore

Only in Asia I guess where spam is considered "normal" food. #SeenInSevenEleven

PS: Thank goodness I had my beauty sleep that night.

Topped up $30 on my Singtel prepaid to buy 5GB of data without knowing that a $30 top-up entitles me to 35GB of free data!!! Now I have 40GB of data for the rest of my 19 days in Singapore!!! How am I going to finish using it up?!?!

I feel great every time I manage to avoid spending money but holding a bag containing a freshly-shopped non-essential purchase while walking in public makes me happy too. This happiness has nothing to do with material-ownership and everything to do with the fact that I can finally fit in with the rest of the materialistic populace.

"Best" Grindr message ever. #LeftWasProfilePic #RightWasTongueInCheekIHope

PS: At this rate, maybe in 20 years' time, Singapore might be a good place to retire in? I hardly doubt so though.

PS: Nothing in Singapore will take off without government support and of course that applies to PrEP-education as well.

"Giving old folks no choice but to continue working past retirement in the face of rising cost of living" repackaged in a feel-good campaign poster. #EverywhereInSingapore #IsThisEvilOrTheBestWayToDealWithAnAgeingPopulation

I'm in multiple long beaureaucratic lines now to renew my passport. I know I can do it online and save $10 but I'm old fashioned and prefer to do it over the counter and get it within the same day. #IGotTimeToBurnButThisIsStillAPain

I was at Jurong Point yesterday and was pleasantly surprised at their Mongkok section and Japan Street which are both new to me.

PS: I was so thankful I did all the required recordings before this happened. It took me quite a while to recover my voice fully (it's still not 100% recovered even now!).

I'm very impressed by these new public buses with the charging ports (only on the lower deck though), stop display screens and two wheelchair spots. Strangely there is minimal advertising on the bodies of these new models which means the company is consciously forgoing advertising revenue and this doesn't seem right. Anyone knows why?

Observations through Facebook

It's Mother's Day today (Happy Mother's Day Mummy!) and another month into this strange new world. The current Victorian state emergency expires tomorrow when updates on lockdown restrictions will be announced. I'm not holding my breath for any relaxation though as Victoria has seen the strictest measures in Australia to control the spread of COVID-19. I believe they are justified seeing that we're still having the highest number of daily cases of all the states after a new cluster has sprung up.

As I get more used to working from home and letting my hair grow uncontrolled everywhere, lockdown restrictions don't really bother me anymore. Other than some work stress arising from long hours as a result of inadequate planning by management, I'm actually comfortable if this were to drag on for half a year more (or even longer). At the end of the day, I'm still gainfully employed and that's the only thing that matters. Fingers crossed it'll stay this way.

This month continues my "Through Facebook" series and this time it features the more interesting, intriguing or amusing things I've observed throughout my nearly 2-month trip back to Singapore earlier this year. I really miss those happy-go-lucky days where I could wander anywhere I wanted and not be restricted by anything. It'll be a long time before I can experience that again as it's a different landscape now with the pandemic and the surge in cases there. Hopefully things settle down soon and some form of normalcy is restored. Stay safe and I'll see you in a week's time for my next post.

A Dyson shop that doesn't have a vacuum cleaner in sight (a successful rebranding perhaps?). Galaxy Fold that's designed to be too fragile to have a unit for shoppers to touch (talk about not trusting your own design). Exercise cream that is highly sexually-suggestive (but I like friction and unrelaxed tightness).

Rows and rows of CNY goodies found everywhere this time of the year but at least they don't appear months before like in Australia's Easter. Bicycle parks near bus stops without locks intrigued me initially but I realised later they were meant for shared bikes. A new train station named after a road near it called Canberra Link, further connecting Singapore to Australia though I'd very much prefer a local name.

Western Mormons praying (or dozing?) in busy MRT stations are just plain creepy. Fancy a cider float anyone (later confirmed by the purchasers to be gross)? Just like you're greeted by communist propaganda everywhere when you go to communist states, the Singaporean nanny-state version are public campaigns littered with motherhood statements.

How much more Singaporean can you get than putting a chicken satay sausage in a oddly-shaped puff? A very unfortunately-named CNY goody, unless it's done on purpose. Bubble tea-inspired spin-offs that really border on the grosser side of things.

Thai grilled pork skewers that cost 5 times more than the same thing in Bangkok. The "alkaline stick" that is clearly a dildo. And that phallic implement doesn't turn me on as much as the name of this food stall.

A great idea for a McDonald's dessert but sadly underwhelming. A warning that makes me want to poke even more. Poor translation on a CNY decorative piece (平安 <> Peace).

Very interesting Pringles fusion (potato + rice) flavours. A sign that always confuses me in Singapore (free WiFi or WiFi-free?). Mouth-watering chiffon cakes in longan and lychee flavours that I REALLY want to try.

Evidence that money can't buy good taste. But it can buy all the available advertising space in an MRT station if you're as well-resourced as the Jay Chou fan club out to celebrate his 20th career anniversary. It can also buy the original Issey Miyake bags which have been copied endlessly and selling at more than hundred times the price.

How cool is an axe-throwing range? Perhaps strawberry Coke is cooler to you? And I didn't know I've released my own brand of seaweed snacks.

The first neighbourhood designated smoking point I've seen which is such a good initiative. How many different iterations of the same thing can fast food restaurants churn out? And "everything must go" doesn't make sense for a shop that's not closing for good.