If you think life in this land of sand is harsh and unforgiving, you're right!
World's richest country it may be with a per capita GDP of US$76k (compared to US$24k back in the old kampong), but it is desperately short on creature comforts and not exactly known for its vibrant night life. In fact the raunchiest thing one could get up to in Doha is to tune into Fashion TV.
Sigh...so why did we choose this land of sand to languish in when there is the south of France? For me, it is the excitement of building something new in a strange land. Death is maintenance, boredom is repetition , and sameness is suicidal. While life in Doha is suicidly boring, I get my kicks as midwife and proud parent to a spanking new baby bank. After all, how many new banks are being born (versus biting the dust) these days anywhere in the world amidst these new hard times? The business action, if not the night life, is here in the Middle East, at least for next couple of years.
"No man shall languish alone." Not sure which bard or bird uttered those pathetic words, probably me. I learnt through the avalanche of emails preceding our 40 Years On reunion that I was not the lone languishee in this land of sand. The fateful discovery of alternative life conversation went something like this:
"Josh (Joshua Choo), is that really you?"
"Yup."
"So what are you doing here?"
"Opening a new restaurant"
"Really, where?"
"At West Bay"
"Really! I stay at West Bay. Where exactly?"
"At Ezdan (an apartment complex in Doha) Tower 3"
"...(screaming) Gosh Josh, I stay at Ezdan Tower 3 !!!"
So it came to past that Josh and I reunite forty years on in a strange land at a time in our lives where most people prefer sipping tea or sashaying down the Champs Elysee.
No not us .
Still crazy after all these years.
If you are ever in our neck of the woods (or sand bank to be more exact), accomodation is guaranteed at my pad, so is access and availability to good wholesome Singapore food. There is one catch though, you will have to share my room with my balls (golf) and clubs (golf, what were you thinking!).
No doubt off the beaten tourist trap as tourist traps go but Doha is worth a visit 'cos you get to kill two old birds with one stone or sand pebble. So while the streets may be dusty (ok, ok very dusty with all the construction going on), they are paved with oil and gas. Opprtunities abound but are elusive like the shifting sands. Growth sectors include real estate and construction, financial services and tourism (yes, tourism).
Like the Great Gatsby and Mas Selamat, we languish on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past. And so we beat on until one day ...
we fly higher, run faster, stretch farther.
Friends and fellow languishees wherever you are:
The Best Is Yet To Be
"No man shall languish alone"
.....posted on behalf of Andy Liew
Showing posts with label New Currentalgia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Currentalgia. Show all posts
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
Thank you notes
Posted from an email from Ho Kum Koon:
To the organizers of this gathering: A big THANK YOU.
Seeing shahid dancing was something that was beyond my imagination. For 40 years many of us have gone out to look for that pot of gold and found it. I am not so sure if that is what life is all about. I am told that some of our cohorts were reluctant to come because they felt that they have yet to find theirs. This is terrible, to think that we would be wasting our time gathering to compare numbers!
In the final analysis of the book Forty Years On, Erny has given us some good advice on life. In my own words I think it has to do with 2 words- success vs significance. Success is to add value to yourself while significance is to add value to others through serving others. In the next 20-30 years I hope we will be significant and not be measured by the so called success in $$$.
We may not be around for the 50th anniversary but as Lee Hah Ing puts it , in the meanwhile count your blessings. Time is ticking away towards that appointment everyone must keep. The greatest blessing that one can have and which I believe Hah Ing very much desires for us is to know our Maker before we meet Him face to face.
To God be the glory.
Kum Koon
Sent 8/10/08 10:41 PM PDT = 8/11/08 7:41 AM SGT
To the organizers of this gathering: A big THANK YOU.
Seeing shahid dancing was something that was beyond my imagination. For 40 years many of us have gone out to look for that pot of gold and found it. I am not so sure if that is what life is all about. I am told that some of our cohorts were reluctant to come because they felt that they have yet to find theirs. This is terrible, to think that we would be wasting our time gathering to compare numbers!
In the final analysis of the book Forty Years On, Erny has given us some good advice on life. In my own words I think it has to do with 2 words- success vs significance. Success is to add value to yourself while significance is to add value to others through serving others. In the next 20-30 years I hope we will be significant and not be measured by the so called success in $$$.
We may not be around for the 50th anniversary but as Lee Hah Ing puts it , in the meanwhile count your blessings. Time is ticking away towards that appointment everyone must keep. The greatest blessing that one can have and which I believe Hah Ing very much desires for us is to know our Maker before we meet Him face to face.
To God be the glory.
Kum Koon
Sent 8/10/08 10:41 PM PDT = 8/11/08 7:41 AM SGT
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Fang-Ho Ai Lian
Home Page > About School > Advisory Board
Advisory Board Chairman
Mrs FANG Ai Lian Chairman Great Eastern Holdings Ltd
Mrs Fang Ai Lian has been with Ernst & Young for more than 30 years. She was made Partner in 1981. She qualified as a Chartered Accountant in London in 1973 and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales . She is also a Council Member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore (ICPAS).
Outside the firm, Mrs Fang shares her expertise with government and professional institutions in Singapore as well as international organisations. To name a few, she chairs the Accounting Standards Committee and the Banking & Finance Committee of ICPAS. She is also a Governing Council Member of the Singapore Institute of Directors, member of the Board of Governors at the Institute of Policy Studies , and sits on the Board of International Enterprise Singapore and the Competition Appeal Board.
Mrs Fang is very active in the educational fields. At the Singapore Management University , she serves as the Chairman of the School of Accountancy Advisory Board .
A Justice of the Peace, Mrs Fang's community service includes serving as President of the Home Nursing Foundation and the Breast Cancer Foundation, and as Board Director of NTUC Eldercare and the Singapore Professional Executives Co-operative (SPEC). Mrs Fang was a former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP).
from http://www.accountancy.smu.edu.sg/about_school/advisory_board/fangailian.asp
Advisory Board Chairman
Mrs FANG Ai Lian Chairman Great Eastern Holdings Ltd
Mrs Fang Ai Lian has been with Ernst & Young for more than 30 years. She was made Partner in 1981. She qualified as a Chartered Accountant in London in 1973 and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales . She is also a Council Member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore (ICPAS).
Outside the firm, Mrs Fang shares her expertise with government and professional institutions in Singapore as well as international organisations. To name a few, she chairs the Accounting Standards Committee and the Banking & Finance Committee of ICPAS. She is also a Governing Council Member of the Singapore Institute of Directors, member of the Board of Governors at the Institute of Policy Studies , and sits on the Board of International Enterprise Singapore and the Competition Appeal Board.
Mrs Fang is very active in the educational fields. At the Singapore Management University , she serves as the Chairman of the School of Accountancy Advisory Board .
A Justice of the Peace, Mrs Fang's community service includes serving as President of the Home Nursing Foundation and the Breast Cancer Foundation, and as Board Director of NTUC Eldercare and the Singapore Professional Executives Co-operative (SPEC). Mrs Fang was a former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP).
from http://www.accountancy.smu.edu.sg/about_school/advisory_board/fangailian.asp
Maggie Mason
As you know, Maggie left ACS in mid 1968 during PU-II prior to the HSC exams to study in Canada at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
In 1973, after graduating from the University of Singapore Faculty of Engineering, I had the good fortune to obtain a Ford Foundation fellowship to study Industrial Engineering in Stanford University, California, and found myself there with another Singaporean on the same program - a person who has since returned to Singapore, and being in the public eye, is probably known by name to all of you. In June 1974, both of us went to Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, and after the summer semester, took the road trip back to Stanford. West Lafayette, as you know is east of Stanford, so we started the return trip back heading East and North - which certainly makes a lot of sense ;-) came through Madison, Wisconsin, and met Juzar there at the time. As part of the trip, we went to Montreal, where we visited and stayed with a former lecturer from the Engineering Faculty, who had moved to one the Universities there. (As an aside, he had a young son whom he kept calling Goondoo as a term of endearment, and I am sure some one had given him a bad translation of what it meant.)
On a lark, I found a phone directory of Montreal, and on looking up the M's, came across some Masons, and a couple of Mason M s and don't recall if there were any Maggies among them. So, armed with the phone book and a rotary phone (touch-tone phones were a thing of the future at the time), and several cups of coffee, I started down the list, and hit pay dirt right away. I was pleasantly surprised when she answered. We went for dinner with my colleague, and had a very pleasant visit with her after that.
Around Christmas I sent her a "Snoopy" Christmas card from Palo Alto - at least I thought I did. A few days later I received the envelope I had sent addressed to me, so I thought I must have addressed the envelope to myself rather than to her and put her address as the return address. However, the envelope did not seem quite the same. On closer examination, I noticed that the handwriting was different. It turns out that the envelope was similar to the one I sent, but not the same, and that the card was from her. Our cards had crossed in the mail, and we had both sent each other the same card at the same time!
That is not the end of the story - there was one more chapter. In November 1975, I was bicycling home in the middle of the night from school when an immovable log/beam on the ground had an argument with the front wheel of my irresistable bicycle :-). For those who have been taught that in physics (remember F = Ma) that when an immovable object meets an irresistable force the result is indeterminiate, I found a definitive answer that night. The immovable object won! The bicycle stopped cold. However, Newton's First Law of Inertia (anyone still remember what that is?) did me in. I kept going, my fingers were caught between the brake control and the handlebar. After groping for and finding my glasses which had obeyed Newton's First Law with me and also fallen off, I got up, and dusted myself off. The world looked a little blurry, and I thought I had damaged my head, but it was actually a lens of my spectacles that had popped off, so that was a relief. However, the blurry looking ring and little fingers on my right hand looked strange and had no sensation, and the front wheel of the bicycle did not look straight. With some help I got to the student health center, and next morning was told by the doctor that I needed surgery, and admitted to Stanford Hospital.
After the surgery, I stayed in the hospital one night, too groggy to care, and next day told I would have to stay one more night. Well, that second night, after the effects of the anaesthesia had worn off, I found that the traffic in the hospital room with the nurses going in and out annoying the other patients was so distressing that I could not get any sleep. When the following morning when the doctor came in and wanted me to stay one more night, I objected and wanted to get out of there. While checking out and leaving the hospital, I heard my voice, turned around, and thought I was hallucinating, because, right there ... in the flesh was.... Maggie Mason!!.
Turns out she was checking out the Microbiology program because her boyfriend was thinking of attending Stanford, and she wanted to see what was available, and ran into me most unexpectedly. Subsequently, that afternoon, I had a long conversation with her, but I never got a correct phone number from her, and I did not have my own listed phone, and did not see or hear from her again.
Gentle reader, if you have any later news of Maggie, please post it in the comment section. If there are enough comments, I might be persuaded to look and post that very well composed picture of her taken under the portrait of the Mona Lisa lookalike in that Montreal restaurant by my cohort in crime in 1974......
Maggie, if you are reading this, please make contact with your classmates of 40 years ago.....
In 1973, after graduating from the University of Singapore Faculty of Engineering, I had the good fortune to obtain a Ford Foundation fellowship to study Industrial Engineering in Stanford University, California, and found myself there with another Singaporean on the same program - a person who has since returned to Singapore, and being in the public eye, is probably known by name to all of you. In June 1974, both of us went to Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, and after the summer semester, took the road trip back to Stanford. West Lafayette, as you know is east of Stanford, so we started the return trip back heading East and North - which certainly makes a lot of sense ;-) came through Madison, Wisconsin, and met Juzar there at the time. As part of the trip, we went to Montreal, where we visited and stayed with a former lecturer from the Engineering Faculty, who had moved to one the Universities there. (As an aside, he had a young son whom he kept calling Goondoo as a term of endearment, and I am sure some one had given him a bad translation of what it meant.)
On a lark, I found a phone directory of Montreal, and on looking up the M's, came across some Masons, and a couple of Mason M s and don't recall if there were any Maggies among them. So, armed with the phone book and a rotary phone (touch-tone phones were a thing of the future at the time), and several cups of coffee, I started down the list, and hit pay dirt right away. I was pleasantly surprised when she answered. We went for dinner with my colleague, and had a very pleasant visit with her after that.
Around Christmas I sent her a "Snoopy" Christmas card from Palo Alto - at least I thought I did. A few days later I received the envelope I had sent addressed to me, so I thought I must have addressed the envelope to myself rather than to her and put her address as the return address. However, the envelope did not seem quite the same. On closer examination, I noticed that the handwriting was different. It turns out that the envelope was similar to the one I sent, but not the same, and that the card was from her. Our cards had crossed in the mail, and we had both sent each other the same card at the same time!
That is not the end of the story - there was one more chapter. In November 1975, I was bicycling home in the middle of the night from school when an immovable log/beam on the ground had an argument with the front wheel of my irresistable bicycle :-). For those who have been taught that in physics (remember F = Ma) that when an immovable object meets an irresistable force the result is indeterminiate, I found a definitive answer that night. The immovable object won! The bicycle stopped cold. However, Newton's First Law of Inertia (anyone still remember what that is?) did me in. I kept going, my fingers were caught between the brake control and the handlebar. After groping for and finding my glasses which had obeyed Newton's First Law with me and also fallen off, I got up, and dusted myself off. The world looked a little blurry, and I thought I had damaged my head, but it was actually a lens of my spectacles that had popped off, so that was a relief. However, the blurry looking ring and little fingers on my right hand looked strange and had no sensation, and the front wheel of the bicycle did not look straight. With some help I got to the student health center, and next morning was told by the doctor that I needed surgery, and admitted to Stanford Hospital.
After the surgery, I stayed in the hospital one night, too groggy to care, and next day told I would have to stay one more night. Well, that second night, after the effects of the anaesthesia had worn off, I found that the traffic in the hospital room with the nurses going in and out annoying the other patients was so distressing that I could not get any sleep. When the following morning when the doctor came in and wanted me to stay one more night, I objected and wanted to get out of there. While checking out and leaving the hospital, I heard my voice, turned around, and thought I was hallucinating, because, right there ... in the flesh was.... Maggie Mason!!.
Turns out she was checking out the Microbiology program because her boyfriend was thinking of attending Stanford, and she wanted to see what was available, and ran into me most unexpectedly. Subsequently, that afternoon, I had a long conversation with her, but I never got a correct phone number from her, and I did not have my own listed phone, and did not see or hear from her again.
Gentle reader, if you have any later news of Maggie, please post it in the comment section. If there are enough comments, I might be persuaded to look and post that very well composed picture of her taken under the portrait of the Mona Lisa lookalike in that Montreal restaurant by my cohort in crime in 1974......
Maggie, if you are reading this, please make contact with your classmates of 40 years ago.....
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Guess Who II?
Guess Who? HINT: At least one of them is a cohortGinger Rogers & Fred Astaire, Radio City Music Hall, 1935 ?
Cleopatra & Caesar, River Nile, Egypt, 46 bc ?
Juliet & Romeo, Italy, 1763 ?
Beauty & The Beast, Disneyland, 1940 ?
None of the above ?
---------------------
Select one or Add your own guess by clicking on comments link below
Correct answer and full video to be revealed during the Reunion on August 9, 2008
Great non-prizes to be won!!
Cleopatra & Caesar, River Nile, Egypt, 46 bc ?
Juliet & Romeo, Italy, 1763 ?
Beauty & The Beast, Disneyland, 1940 ?
None of the above ?
---------------------
Select one or Add your own guess by clicking on comments link below
Correct answer and full video to be revealed during the Reunion on August 9, 2008
Great non-prizes to be won!!
Monday, August 4, 2008
Attendance data as of 3:45 pm
Teachers expected to attend :
1) Mr Lee Hah Ing (who is now 94 years old and will be addressing us for about 5minutes)
2) Mr Wan Fook Weng ( who will speak for 2 minutes)
3) Mr Lim Choon Mong
4) Mr Earnest Lau
5) Mr Lenn Wei Ling
6) Mr Wee Teow Kee
7) Mdm Kwan nee Seet Ngoh
8) Ms Yeo Chee Kai
Current list of attendees as of 3:45pm
1) Ang Lian Hua
2) Chan Chu Jan Eunice
3) Chan Kwai Choon David
4) Chen Ming Liang, Maynard
5) Cheng Wee Bin, Arthur
6) Chia Larry
7) D' Silva Edward
8) Foo Kam Cheng
9) Foong Hoh Yee, Vera
10) Geh Min
11) Goh Siew Song, Michael
12) Han Him Fong, Charles
13) Ho Ai Lian
14) Ho Kum Koon
15) Hoe Irene
16) Jen Shek Chuen, James
17) Koe Swee Kiok
18) Kwa Kie Tjiong
19) Kwan Wai Meng, Robert
20) Lai Choon Yong, Jim
21) Law Chwee Kiat, Winston
22) Lee Beng Cheng, Billy
23) Lee Voon Ee, Winnie
24) Leong Mun Kien, Patrick
25) Liew Andrew
26) Low Kee Cheong
27) Noorhayati bte Mohd Kassim
28) Motiwalla Juzar
29) Mujtaba M Shahid
30) Mirza Namazie
31) Ng Guan Soon
32) Ng Hwee Miang
33) Ong Cheong Bee
34) Ong Lay Chuan, Patricia
35) Ong Soo Lin, Michael
36) Pang Puay Koon, Dorothy
37) Seet Mary
38) Sim Lee Ling
39) Singh Gurip
40) Singh Manjit
41) Singh Ragbir
42) Sng Leong Soon
43) Tan Aye Neo, Evelyn
44) Tan May Hua, Linda
45) Tan Oen Tsu, Daniel
46) Tan Poey Gee Peggy
47) Tang Boon Teck
48) Tay Boon Sim
49) Tay Kwang Lip, Willie
50) Tham Kok Hoe
51) Toh Choong Fook
52) Toh Choong San
53) Vivekananda Kuhadas
54) Wong Ong Eu, Derrick
55) Ying Siew Hon, Francis
56) Sum Yee Loong
57) Wee Joo Guan, Robert
1) Mr Lee Hah Ing (who is now 94 years old and will be addressing us for about 5minutes)
2) Mr Wan Fook Weng ( who will speak for 2 minutes)
3) Mr Lim Choon Mong
4) Mr Earnest Lau
5) Mr Lenn Wei Ling
6) Mr Wee Teow Kee
7) Mdm Kwan nee Seet Ngoh
8) Ms Yeo Chee Kai
Current list of attendees as of 3:45pm
1) Ang Lian Hua
2) Chan Chu Jan Eunice
3) Chan Kwai Choon David
4) Chen Ming Liang, Maynard
5) Cheng Wee Bin, Arthur
6) Chia Larry
7) D' Silva Edward
8) Foo Kam Cheng
9) Foong Hoh Yee, Vera
10) Geh Min
11) Goh Siew Song, Michael
12) Han Him Fong, Charles
13) Ho Ai Lian
14) Ho Kum Koon
15) Hoe Irene
16) Jen Shek Chuen, James
17) Koe Swee Kiok
18) Kwa Kie Tjiong
19) Kwan Wai Meng, Robert
20) Lai Choon Yong, Jim
21) Law Chwee Kiat, Winston
22) Lee Beng Cheng, Billy
23) Lee Voon Ee, Winnie
24) Leong Mun Kien, Patrick
25) Liew Andrew
26) Low Kee Cheong
27) Noorhayati bte Mohd Kassim
28) Motiwalla Juzar
29) Mujtaba M Shahid
30) Mirza Namazie
31) Ng Guan Soon
32) Ng Hwee Miang
33) Ong Cheong Bee
34) Ong Lay Chuan, Patricia
35) Ong Soo Lin, Michael
36) Pang Puay Koon, Dorothy
37) Seet Mary
38) Sim Lee Ling
39) Singh Gurip
40) Singh Manjit
41) Singh Ragbir
42) Sng Leong Soon
43) Tan Aye Neo, Evelyn
44) Tan May Hua, Linda
45) Tan Oen Tsu, Daniel
46) Tan Poey Gee Peggy
47) Tang Boon Teck
48) Tay Boon Sim
49) Tay Kwang Lip, Willie
50) Tham Kok Hoe
51) Toh Choong Fook
52) Toh Choong San
53) Vivekananda Kuhadas
54) Wong Ong Eu, Derrick
55) Ying Siew Hon, Francis
56) Sum Yee Loong
57) Wee Joo Guan, Robert
Current Attendance List
The current is an incomplete list of cohorts who have indicated if they are attending the 40th reunion, or have not been able to be contacted.
It may provide guidance on whether to attend, and to reach out to those whose names are not on the list
It may provide guidance on whether to attend, and to reach out to those whose names are not on the list
| Name | Class | Currently in | Attending? |
| Ang Lian Hua | 1a Sc | Spore | Attending |
| Arthur Cheng Wee Bin | Australia | Attending | |
| Chan Chu Jan, Eunice | 1c Sc | Spore | Attending |
| Chan Fook Kay | 1a Arts | Regrets | |
| Chan Kwai Choon David | Spore | Attending | |
| Chen Ming Liang ,Maynard | Spore | Attending | |
| Chew, Fiona | 1c Sc | Regrets | |
| Chong Kim hong | Dunno | ||
| Chou Oon Kee | 1b Sc | Regrets | |
| Chye Kiat | Regrets | ||
| Daniel Tan Oen Tsu | Spore | Attending | |
| Derrick Wong Ong Eu | Spore | Attending | |
| D'Silva Edward | Spore | Attending | |
| Eric Nagano | Regrets | ||
| Fang-Ho Ai Lian, 1b Sc | Spore | Attending | |
| Fong Chong Too | 1b Sc | Dunno | |
| Foo Kam Cheng | Spore | Attending | |
| Foong Hoh Yee,Vera 1c Sc | Spore | Attending | |
| Geh Min, 1b Sc | Spore | Attending | |
| Gn Hiang Chiang | Regrets | ||
| Han Him Fong (Charles) | Spore | Attending | |
| Ho Kum Koon | Spore | Attending | |
| Irene Hoe | USA | Attending | |
| Jen Shek Chuen, James | Spore | Attending | |
| Joshua Choo | Regrets | ||
| Koe Swee Kiok | Attending | ||
| Krisha Kumari Balasundram | Regrets | ||
| Kuok Suon Kwong | England | Attending | |
| Kwa Kie Tjiong (Dr) | Spore | Attending | |
| Kwan Wai Meng, Robert | Spore | Attending | |
| Lai Choong Yong, Jim - USA | USA | Attending | |
| Larry Chia | 1a Arts | Spore | Attending |
| Lau Wan Keong | Dunno | ||
| Law Chwee Kiat | Spore | Attending | |
| Lee Beng Cheong, Billy | Spore | Attending | |
| Lee Voon Ee, Winnie | USA | Attending | |
| Leong Mun Kien Patrick | 1A Sc | Spore | Attending |
| Letty Gaw | Malaysia | Regrets | |
| Liao Yin Yin Kat | 1b Sc | Regrets | |
| Liew Andrew | Spore | Attending | |
| Liew Inn Shean | 1b Arts | Dunno | |
| Lionel Tan. | Regrets | ||
| Low Kee Cheong | Spore | Attending | |
| Low Poh Sim | Regrets | ||
| Lynn Ong | Regrets | ||
| Mark Kan Shik Chee | Regrets | ||
| Melvyn Tay | Regrets | ||
| Michael Goh | Spore | Attending | |
| Mirza Namazie | Spore | Attending | |
| Motiwalla Juzar | Spore | Attending | |
| Mujtaba M .Shahid | USA | Attending | |
| Ng Guan Soon | Spore | Attending | |
| Ng Hwee Miang | Spore | Attending | |
| Noorhayati Kassim | 1c Sc | Spore | Attending |
| Nora Tay | 1a Sc | Regrets | |
| Ong Cheong Bee;Patricia Fu | Spore | Attending | |
| Ong Lay Chuan;Patricia Thum | Spore | Attending | |
| Ong Soo Lin;Michael | Spore | Attending | |
| Pang Puay Koon;Dorothy Aw | 1c Sc | Spore | Attending |
| Ragbir Singh | Spore | Attending | |
| Rose V | Regrets | ||
| Sam Alfreds | Regrets | ||
| Seet Mary (Mdm) | Spore | Attending | |
| Sim Lee Ling | Australia | Attending | |
| Singh Gurdip | Spore | Attending | |
| Singh Manjit | Australia | Attending | |
| Sng Leong Soon - Spore | Spore | Attending | |
| Sylvia Quek | Regrets | ||
| Tan Aye Neo,Evelyn , 1b Sc | Spore | Attending | |
| Tan Chor Kiang | 1b Sc | Dunno | |
| Tan May Hua, Linda | Attending | ||
| Tan Poey Gee Peggy | 1B Arts | Spore | Attending |
| Tang Boon Teck | Spore | Attending | |
| Tay Boon Sim,Michael | Spore | Attending | |
| Tay Willie K. L | 1c Sc | Spore | Attending |
| Tham Kok Ho | Spore | Attending | |
| Tham Seng Hoi | Dunno | ||
| Toh Choong Fook | Spore | Attending | |
| Toh Choong Sang | Spore | Attending | |
| Vivekananda Kuhadas | Sydney | Attending | |
| Wan Lye Tin | Regrets | ||
| William Meyer | UK | Regrets | |
| Wong-Lee Yoke Teng | 1b Arts | Regrets | |
| Yeo Seow Phong | Regrets | ||
| Ying Siew Hon Francis | Spore | Attending | |
| Yong Mee Lian | 1b Arts | Dunno |
Sunday, August 3, 2008
The Art of Dating
A publication we could all have used to advantage many years ago.... co-authored by one of our own cohorts.
http://www.ideamart.com.sg/Artofdating.pdf
http://www.ideamart.com.sg/Artofdating.pdf
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Silicon Gulch Cohort enroute to Reunion
Choon Yong and I were travelling on the same flight and our discussion at SFO airport came to the following conclusion:We were lucky to get tickets on to this flight for $1095 US in May having booked the flight in May when looking for fares. Most travel agents as well as the search engines were quoting higher prices on Singapore and other airlines, and their quotes did not appear to include fuel surcharge and taxes. This low fare was actually found on the Singapore Airlines website. This was a pleasant surprise since we noted that usualy SIA fares commanded a premium.
A bonus was that the trip is on SQ1 leaving SFO after midnight and arriving in Singapore before noon. All round, this is a very convenient flight for departing and arriving. Since it is a direct flight, though not non-stop, there is no change of plane, and less handling of bags and risk of luggage loss or misrouting. The best price offered on the web was $1300 US, and did not appear to include tax. Since SIA did not appear on the fares quotes, it did not appear to be a good viable option. In was in May that Choon Yong found this flight and asked me if there were better flights elsewhere, and since at the time there was nothing that appeared more competitive, even with additional stops, we made reservations on this flight.
The lesson to be learnt - if you are travelling to or through Singapore, check out the SingaporeAir website in addition to all the other travel websites and travel agents you hear or know about. SIA agrees to match any lower price for the same class of travel with same terms and conditions if you get in touch with SIA by 12 midnight Pacific Time of the day on which you paid for the SIA ticket by credit card. Also, SIA seems to be one of the few airlines that has SFO-SIN as a direct flight on the same plane. (Too many times, I have encountered occasions when the flight number is the same but there is a plane change with the corresponding inconvenience of going through immigration and security checks).
See the next post - the flight experience itself
A bonus was that the trip is on SQ1 leaving SFO after midnight and arriving in Singapore before noon. All round, this is a very convenient flight for departing and arriving. Since it is a direct flight, though not non-stop, there is no change of plane, and less handling of bags and risk of luggage loss or misrouting. The best price offered on the web was $1300 US, and did not appear to include tax. Since SIA did not appear on the fares quotes, it did not appear to be a good viable option. In was in May that Choon Yong found this flight and asked me if there were better flights elsewhere, and since at the time there was nothing that appeared more competitive, even with additional stops, we made reservations on this flight.
The lesson to be learnt - if you are travelling to or through Singapore, check out the SingaporeAir website in addition to all the other travel websites and travel agents you hear or know about. SIA agrees to match any lower price for the same class of travel with same terms and conditions if you get in touch with SIA by 12 midnight Pacific Time of the day on which you paid for the SIA ticket by credit card. Also, SIA seems to be one of the few airlines that has SFO-SIN as a direct flight on the same plane. (Too many times, I have encountered occasions when the flight number is the same but there is a plane change with the corresponding inconvenience of going through immigration and security checks).
See the next post - the flight experience itself
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
SQ1 flight from SFO to HK
Not having travelled on SIA for a while, I was pleasantly surprised at the service when compared to other airlines on international flights. Many US based carriers now charge for alcoholic beverages served during the flight. Beer, wine, and other spirits are offered free on the flight, as well as a little pack with a pair of light slippers (sockettes) and a disposable toothbrush with a tiny tube of toothpaste. Also in the restrooms, in the amenities drawers, are individual packs of disposable shavers and shaving cream, and of combs so that weary travellers can freshen themselves before leaving the plane.
As usual, the food was good, but note that on Singapore airlines there is a wide variety of special meals available, to accomodate all diets to accomodate regligious, medical, allergy, and personal dietary restrictions. In fact the number of special meals put together outnumber the number of regular meals - and it is remarkable how the special meals manage to find their correct destination in the friendly skies. And if you are traveling on Business or First Class, it appears you can preorder your meals ahead of time.
And of course, the flight attendants are all well groomed, easy on the eyes, solicitious of the comfort of the passengers, and pleasant and friendly to talk to.
In-flight entertainment is certainly plenitful, and multiple movies and TV on demand programs. Entertainment is plentiful, and for comparison, we will compare side by side the enternatinment programs on SIA and UA (on which another of our cohorts travelled) to illustrate the variety of entertainment. What is most impressive is the number of movies and TV programs on demand, which ire truly on demand so that it is possible to watch what is going on or pausing at any time, rather than waiting for the 2 hour or so cycle on which each program starts individually.
I stayed on the the aircraft while in transit, and found myself, in the company of the pretty and friendly flight attendants, many of whom took the excellent service as a given. They are not above doing the unpleasant job of cleaning the lavatories when required, and found it inconceivable that on such long flights on other airlines this was not done. I confirmed that alcoholic drinks were served at no charge on the flight.
As I write this, I find a lot of activity going on with the ground staff cleaning the plane. This is in addition to the flight attendants coming around and collecting papers and wrapping before the customers deplaned. The ground cleaning crew drag large plastic garbage bags behind them, and go from seat to seat cleaning them, and doing whatever else is necessary to refresh them, loading and unloading all the meal packs in boxes.and running. Blankets are plentyful, and in sealed clean plastic bags to show they are fresh, and replace the used blankets. The ground crew removes any of old blankets, and replaces them with new blankets, and wipes tray tables, and vacuum the floor.
The flight attendant stay in the plane as long as any passengers stay on board. A ground staff came in to check my boarding pass and passport to make sure they accounted for me, and tagged with the green sticker saying "transit". This is differnt from other situations where transit passengers leave the plane with all their belongings and go through security all over again coming on to the plane. Passengers were told they could leave their carryon baggage on the plane, carrying only their valuables with them. I chose to stay on board to avoid the inconvenience of the security checkpoints and lining up again to board.
written on wed morning Jul 30, 2008 in the plane in Hong Kong during transit and posted later .. the post date and time is approximately when it was written.
As usual, the food was good, but note that on Singapore airlines there is a wide variety of special meals available, to accomodate all diets to accomodate regligious, medical, allergy, and personal dietary restrictions. In fact the number of special meals put together outnumber the number of regular meals - and it is remarkable how the special meals manage to find their correct destination in the friendly skies. And if you are traveling on Business or First Class, it appears you can preorder your meals ahead of time.
And of course, the flight attendants are all well groomed, easy on the eyes, solicitious of the comfort of the passengers, and pleasant and friendly to talk to.
In-flight entertainment is certainly plenitful, and multiple movies and TV on demand programs. Entertainment is plentiful, and for comparison, we will compare side by side the enternatinment programs on SIA and UA (on which another of our cohorts travelled) to illustrate the variety of entertainment. What is most impressive is the number of movies and TV programs on demand, which ire truly on demand so that it is possible to watch what is going on or pausing at any time, rather than waiting for the 2 hour or so cycle on which each program starts individually.
I stayed on the the aircraft while in transit, and found myself, in the company of the pretty and friendly flight attendants, many of whom took the excellent service as a given. They are not above doing the unpleasant job of cleaning the lavatories when required, and found it inconceivable that on such long flights on other airlines this was not done. I confirmed that alcoholic drinks were served at no charge on the flight.
As I write this, I find a lot of activity going on with the ground staff cleaning the plane. This is in addition to the flight attendants coming around and collecting papers and wrapping before the customers deplaned. The ground cleaning crew drag large plastic garbage bags behind them, and go from seat to seat cleaning them, and doing whatever else is necessary to refresh them, loading and unloading all the meal packs in boxes.and running. Blankets are plentyful, and in sealed clean plastic bags to show they are fresh, and replace the used blankets. The ground crew removes any of old blankets, and replaces them with new blankets, and wipes tray tables, and vacuum the floor.
The flight attendant stay in the plane as long as any passengers stay on board. A ground staff came in to check my boarding pass and passport to make sure they accounted for me, and tagged with the green sticker saying "transit". This is differnt from other situations where transit passengers leave the plane with all their belongings and go through security all over again coming on to the plane. Passengers were told they could leave their carryon baggage on the plane, carrying only their valuables with them. I chose to stay on board to avoid the inconvenience of the security checkpoints and lining up again to board.
written on wed morning Jul 30, 2008 in the plane in Hong Kong during transit and posted later .. the post date and time is approximately when it was written.
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