Work in the day… work in the evening… work at night. Bah! I am almost going down… from a graceful swam to a sinking submarine.

Life had literally took a sharp turn downwards since about a month ago, when I ended up holding more than 7 jobs at one time. Now, really, I mean 7 different roles, but then again, it doesn’t make much of a difference anyway.

Today is a rarity for me to blog because the COE @ $2 is something really close to my heart… and my pocket. You see, because of this slip, I would be spending another $13,000 on a piece of paper for nothing. Sigh. That’s the reality of life in Singapore. Nonetheless, since I didn’t get my COE, I might as well do some speculation on what could have caused the fall.

Firstly, a lot of dealers (particularly parallel importers?) could be holding back their cars because the Singapore dollar has fallen against the Yen. By doing so, they may be able to sell these residual cars with the new imports, which will probably go at about $4,000 extra due to the exchange rate. So, if they have 10 old imports, these can probably sell for an extra $40,000 in all? I am not sure; just pure speculation. Now, because of this holding back, the number of bids would thus be lesser and hence the $2 COE.

Secondly, a lot of loan applications could probably be under processing due to the large number of defaults. Banks may be more careful of who they lend money to now and perhaps more stringent checks may be done. Damn, my bank knows every single detail of my credit history. I wonder what else they store there.

Thirdly… well, it is a recession now, isn’t it? Then again, everyone’s still going on holiday, buying cool stuffs, flying here and there, and all. In fact, I see more Ferraris and Lamborghinis on the streets then I ever did. Maybe… just maybe, someone just bought those at 50% the original owners who were desperate enough to get some cash out.

Anyway, I am still figuring out… Honda Fit or Honda Airwave?

COE crashes to $2

The other categories all ended much lower too

By Christopher Tan, Senior Correspondent

WHAT is thought to be impossible in an open bidding system has happened: COE has crashed.

At the close of the latest tender on Wednesday, COE premium for cars up to 1,600cc - the mainstay of car buyers - closed at an unprecedented $2.

Motor traders were shocked. All said the market was soft, but no one expected the price to crash.

The number of bids submitted exceeded the COE supply of 1,851 by only one.

The other categories all ended much lower as well.

COE for cars above 1,600cc closed at $4,889 - almost half the previous value. The Open COE, which can be used for any vehicle type, ended at $6,889 - down from $10,490 before.

COE for commercial vehicles finished at $6,189, from $8,889; and motorbike COE dipped to $1,012, from $1,509 previously.

It is the first time that a COE premium for cars has fallen to rock-bottom. The last time car COE came this close was in December 1997, when the premium for big cars plunged to $50.

Observers, however, pointed out that that was during a closed bidding system, when bidders could not see what the prevailing bids in a tender were. In a way, they were bidding blind, they said.

Soon after the $50 result, the system was changed to an open-bidding platform. In this system, bidders could see the value of bids being submitted, and thus could base their decision on the prevailing demand.

The other time when the market witnessed a COE crash was in early 2007, when premium for commercial vehicles hit $1 for six consecutive tenders.

This was because many commercial vehicle sellers could not get their supply of new models that would meet a new emission standard the Government pushed through.

Sales of new commercial vehicles almost ground to a halt, resulting in the COE crashes.

The latest crash may not benefit everyone though. Car owners planning to sell their vehicles will have to stomach much lower resale values. Used car dealers, already jittery over a high inventory, will not be willing to take in more cars.

This will create a viscious circle, as folks who cannot sell their existing cars won’t be looking for a new one any time soon.

Source: Straits Times Interactive, http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_304229.html

Article extracted on 19th November 2008

Life this year had been more difficult than usual, with many things happening everyday. I just hope that things will be smoother for the years to come. =) In the blogosphere, this probably means more endorsements, more ads (*gasp*!), more activities like… driving up to Malaysia, going to places of interests in Singapore, more bloggers outings… and of course, writing about it after all of it. =P

Anyway… HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!! =)

Now, even the Archbishop of the Catholic churches have came out to condemn euthanasia, citing that it’s suicide and hence immoral.

As a doctor-to-be in the not-too-near future, I am torn in between. Perhaps I had been struck by this topic when I was in secondary school education – that euthanasia may be a solution for suffering patients; and I sort of grew up with that thinking. The argument back then was that a doctor’s role was to alleviate pain from a patient, and if death does that, then it should not be ruled out as a viable option.

Then again, as an impressionable teenager, I believed everything that was told to me, and death didn’t seem like a bad thing back then; of course, until I witness the passing of my friends from road accidents.

Even then, putting someone, or something to sleep for good is a really tough choice. I had a critically ill kitten once and although I knew it was suffering, I begged the vet to try different medications on him. Eventually, I was told that my kitten will not be able to make it, but yet, I let it die a natural death. There was no euthanasia administered to it because… I didn’t know if it was prepared to die.

Of course, legalizing euthanasia will come with its own set of problem as well. There’s of course, fear that there will be misuse by the doctors and worst of all, some smart guy might think that euthanasia is a good way of controlling the ageing population! God forbids if that ever happens!

I thought it was a little strange that the minister were to bring this topic up in such times of financial crisis. However, if historical data were anything to go by, then it would seem that there’s a chance that euthanasia would be legalised viz-a-viz the legalization for the compensation to kidney donors.

So, will this soon be a quick solution to our ageing population? I am not sure, but I am not expecting anything to change drastically anytime soon.

I think Obama will win. Definitely, without a doubt. Uh-uh. Not even a single doubt, not even a single speck of dust on a black board.

I mean, it’s so obvious, isn’t it?

Just a trivia, the Democrats are typically economically driven while the Republicans tend to look inwards. George Bush is a Republican and concentrates a lot on how to get rid of weapons of mass destruction and bring about world peace; although there are people thinking that it’s because of the oil.

The Democrats tend to look at economic activities, and at a down turn like now, it’s probably a good choice to look at a Democrat instead of a Republican because there is a chance that the Republican will just incur more debts in beefing up their military.

Well, Obama is a Democrat while McCain is a Republican, so who do you think will win? No doubt, the people of the United States deserve a change.

Anyway, on a separate note, I saw MM Lee this afternoon. He seems to be quite well and able and was apparently here at Raffles City for some event. Well, I had to go off first, and so didn’t get to see much of him. A pity I didn’t get his car number, else it will be a good time to buy 4D. =)

Yup, that’s about all from me. I guess it’s just a bimbotic moment that I decided to write this post. =P

However, a down trend in economy does not mean that you have to go with the flow. In fact, it may be such times that opportunities arise and with properly planning, you may be able to ride through and succeed through the crisis. I am not going to talk about positive thinking and all the hocus pocus stuffs, I am going to talk about how you, or for that matter, I, can ride through the recession comfortably.

To survive the recession, you can either pray that you will not lose your job, or you can start looking around you and understanding the dynamics of this challenging duration and how you can learn to ride on it. If you are thinking of establishing a business and feel that you might be affected by the current economic turmoil, you may wish to take a look at the Challenging Times and Managing Challenges organized by Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE). If you are holding on to a job and looking to establish yourself, there can’t be a better time. After all, in the unforeseen event that you decide to stick to a salaried job, you are at least, still holding on to one.

Some people would wonder if they are too young to start a business – to this, they should just scrap this misnomer out of their minds. There’s no right age, or right situation. If there’s a business idea, the person should start assessing it and work towards getting it started. One of the more popular computer forums (creating various, ahem, zones of hardware) probably started off as a simply idea, but look at where it’s at now? If you think you are too young to start a business, you should seriously consider attending the MoneyTree Entrepreneurship Workshop. However, it’s limited to the first 30 registrants and it’s particularly hot as many of the younger generation are already toying with the idea of starting their own business. Here, you will not only learn about starting a business, but also understand why most businesses fail within the first few years.

If you have already established a business, you may also wish to consider attending the workshop on Recognizing the Challenge of the Times. This workshop will help you to not only recognise the hot soup that you are potentially walking into, but also to cover various aspects that you may not have considered previously. After all, no business is too small to be ignored and this workshop will help you reassess whatever that you have now to move on and brace through the trying times.

Lastly, if you are still exploring prospective areas to start on, why not explore the women consumer market? Renowned cosmetics company Shiseido will be talking on the latest topics and trends in the cosmetic industry, as well as challenges that they face. They may not be able to give you a piece of their market, but they may be able to share with you ideas that you can perhaps pick up through the workshop.

Of course, these events are happening during the Global Entrepreneurship Week 2008 which is held from the 17th to the 23rd of November 2008. The entire calendar of events can be found here and locations may various between workshops. So, go on and find out which of the many events catch your fancy. Remember, if opportunities do not seem to come to you, then you should just go out, reach out and grab them!

Global Entrepreneurship Week 2008

17th to the 23rd of November 2008

Today turned out to be a rather quiet day. No visitors and all. Then again, it’s a reflection of how little, or no friends I have. And again, perhaps I like it this way. It’s quite pointless to trouble people to visit you in hospital. It wastes their time and they might not know what to talk to you about.

Today happened to be a rather gloomy day as well and it rained slightly in the afternoon. I like the smell of rain somehow. It relaxes and freshens me up a little. Of course, i won’t say the same for the visitors to the Istana, which is open to the public since it’s Deepavali today. Speaking of which…

HAPPY DEEPAVALI TO ALL MY HINDU READERS!

Hmm… not too sure if that made sense. I always get confused with race and religion and am often not too sure if a festival is celebrated by people of a certain race of if it’s celebrated by people of a certain religion. It’s just like Chinese New Year and Christmas. Everyone just celebrates regardless of race, language or religion, but I am sure it helps to build a democratic society, based on justice and equality, so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation!

Sorry for the rattling. Staying in hospital makes your mind wander more than it should.

Yes, so day 3 is rather quiet. So quiet that I ended up on a spending spree on clubsnap – not a good thing, I tell you. I probably bought a whole bunch of useless things that I am going to sell of at the end. Consolation is, they are bought second hand price and I hope I can still sell them at the same price later. =P

Alice came during dinner… after my dinner. Dinner was coney dog for me, with meat sauce on the side. It tasted… ok, but I had to dip the corney dog into the sauce. In the end, I gave up and just ate the bread, then the hot dog, then the corn in the vegetable sides and left the onion soup for Alice. I am not a great fan of onion soups. =P

Today, Alice brought a 3-pin plug along and so there was no need to deprive someone of his or her defibrillator. Heh… and we spent most of our time searching for stuffs on clubsnap. Sure, it’s cheap little things but it may just add up if we are not careful. If you are wonder, we follow the 2/3 rule – that all used stuffs should be at most 2/3 of their new counterparts – and be of condition 10/10. Ngiao hor? Ya, I know. =) I am a poor student.

So basically, that’s what we did the rest of the evening – surfing the net. Then again, if not, there’s nothing much we can do except staring at each other, which is not exactly very healthy. So yeah, and I didn’t manage to inform people that I won’t be home tonight. Oh well, no one will miss me any way. =)

Breakfast this morning was nice, but the IV drip wasn’t. Yeah. My right hand is swollen from the bite while my left hand is hurting from the IV. It isn’t exactly a nice thing though. Alice drop by some time during lunch with her own food. Hmm… speaking of which, hospital food seems to be getting better – as long as you stick to either the Chinese or Malay menu. The Western one can barely make it, but it’s edible. =)

It’s been a while since I had been in a hospital setting with 5 other people. I preferred the B ward with 6 people because I think I enjoy the company of more people – non-screaming ones, at least. Yeah. There’s at least one other patient in the next section that kept screaming in pain. I really pitied him. I used to think that there’s nothing that morphine can’t do, but perhaps I am wrong.

There’s also a stark difference between the nurses now and the nurses when I was born. I remembered that as a kid, nurses don head dresses and are usually very… senior. There seemed to be no way that a patient can defy a nurse and the head dress in itself seemed like a Captain rank to a new recruit. Nurses nowadays, however, are more friendly, more chatty and joke a little more; which is good to loosen the tension.

Hmm… the IV insert is beginning to hurt and I wonder how long more my veins can take it before it starts turning red and bursting. Sigh…

Anyway, the same friend visited me again in the evening and brought with him more Qian4 Bian3 Wen4 Da2 Ti2 to amuse me. Heh. Nothing beats a cold joke to bring my attention away from the pain on my left and right hands. In the meantime, Alice had to… ahem, borrow the power plug from another bed by plugging of his defibrillator.

Heh. Of course, I am kidding. The bed’s empty.

The Western food dinner was so-so, but not too bad. I might have preferred Chinese food, but it could be worse. =P So, I should just count my blessings for edible food since as far as I can remember, it’s better than the last hospital food. Oh, did I mention it’s prepared by the same company that does your airline food? =P

Not to mention Lotte biscuits – which is a popular brand in Seoul and a popular brand of biscuits that I had been feeding my friends with since my return overseas is also found to contain melamine. Although they have only mentioned one type of biscuits that should be avoided, I am just wondering how deep will the hole get to.

Then again, the media/AVA seemed to be downplaying the effects of consumed melamine – that you’d probably need one helluva melamine before it can cause any harm. I wonder if the media will run a report on what happens to consumed melamine.

I am not sure, but I foresee a potential market if people are able to make portable melamine tester. Imagine – being able to determine if a particular food contains melamine by just placing a sample of that item into this yet-to-be-invented portable melamine tester (or for that matter, any other tester). With all the manufacturers taking all the fast-routes to QC OK, it won’t be long before our food are filled not just with anti-retardants, but anti-freeze as well.

Just like the strawberry that goes not freeze and go mashy.

20 more products found tainted with melamine

Julie’s products banned; Malaysia-made Khong Guan items also affected

By Tessa Wong

MELAMINE has been found in 20 more food products, making it the biggest batch of items discovered by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) to contain the potentially harmful chemical.

They include well-known products such as Lotte Koala biscuits and Julie’s crackers.

Three of them are from China while 17 are from Malaysia, making this also the first time that non-China products available here have been found to be tainted.

Also among them were Khong Guan biscuits made in Malaysia. Khong Guan biscuits made in Singapore are still safe to eat, as well as other biscuits made here, the AVA said.

Two of the China-made products, the Lotte Koala’s March Cocoa Chocolate Biscuit and Hello Kitty Strawberry Cream Filled Biscuit, should have been removed from shelves by now.

The third, an unbranded non-dairy creamer meant for re-export and never sold in stores or used in food production here, has been sealed in the manufacturer’s warehouse.

On Sept 19, the AVA banned all China dairy and other products which may contain China dairy, such as confectionery.

The made-in-Malaysia tainted items, which comprise 12 Julie’s products and five other brands, are to be withdrawn immediately from shelves.

The AVA has also imposed a ban on all Julie’s products. Test results for other Malaysia-imported biscuits have proven that they are safe to eat for now.

The AVA has urged those who bought the tainted products not to consume them.

It has said that the levels of melamine in the products are low. For example, an adult weighing 60kg would have to eat 378 pieces of Julie’s Golden Kaka Crackers every day of his life to be in any danger.

Melamine, a chemical more commonly found in plastic, has been at the centre of a worldwide food scandal which originated in China.

It was added to milk to artificially boost its protein content, and has since caused four infant deaths in China and thousands of others to fall ill with kidney-related sicknesses.

Dozens of places including Hong Kong, Canada, France and India have pulled China dairy products as a result.

As of yesterday, over 3,200 types of milk and milk products, chocolates, biscuits, non-dairy creamers and other products have been taken in for analysis.

The number of tainted items here has now more than doubled, from 13 to 33. They include ice-cream bars, milk candy, flavoured milk and crackers.

twong@sph.com.sg

Source: Straits Times Interactive, http://www.straitstimes.com/Singapore/Story/STIStory_294578.html?sunwMethod=GET

Article extracted on 25th October 2008

Well, I plugged out the power for the defibrillator – not too sure what it’s there for; and plugged in my laptop power adaptor. *ta-dah* Heh.

Life on the bed is definitely different from life walking around and pretending that I know everything. =P At least, for a moment, it seemed like I will be getting a lot of rest, but sadly, I am not. Deadlines, deadlines and more deadlines.

So, what really happened to me? Well, what I thought was a mosquito bite turned out to be really “toxic” and caused my index finger to swell. Then the swelling progressed towards the back of my palm before going to the tip of my finger. By the evening, my entire arm was red and mildly swollen because the infection has gone to the lymph nodes and that’s like sending the bacteria/toxin to the CTE via the Braddell Road slip road. Heh. No need ERP some more.

Hence, it was after much deliberation that I decided to go to the A&E and after 6 hours, they decided best to ward me. I also realised that people who are warded tend not to want it while people who are free to go from the A&E tend to want to stay longer. It’s no feat to guess which group I belonged to.

I had to be put on intravenous drip for a couple of days until the swelling goes down or until the doctors know what’s wrong. Yes, apparently my blood test was “ambiguous” and there’s no clear indication of what’s wrong. The next thing I knew. I was put on every single broad and narrow spectrum antibiotic that’s known to man.

Well, I do hope to get some rest though, since I had been having 3 hours or less sleep for the past few days. However, work is piling up quickly and I can’t wait to finish them all. Sigh. That means work-in-bed.

Editor: Please send all white gold to Alice of Simply Jean

Me: Hello

Bank lady: Hello. May I speak to Miss XXX?

Me: Yes, speaking.

BL: Hi, Miss XXX, this is YYY calling on behalf of bank ZZZ. Can I have a moment of your time?

Me: Yes, how can I be of service to you?

BL: Erm, our bank would like to offer you a zero percent funds transfer program. You can transfer up to $A from your personal loan account with just a 2% processing fee for 6 months.

Me: Oh, ok. So it’s effectively 4% interest p.a. on upfront loan amount

BL: Yes.

Me: Hmm… I understand that I have a positive balance in my account. So, do you charge your processing fee on that amount as well?

BL: *a little lost for words* Please hold on while I speak to my supervisor

*meanwhile, I buffer my nails with the new $50 thingie that I got from one of those standalone cart stores – yeah, I got ripped off*

BL: Hello Miss XXX, thanks for waiting. I have checked for you, because it is a processing fee and not interest, your positive balance will also be charged a processing fee.

Me: So, you are saying that I have to pay a fee to withdraw my own money from my account?

BL: Erm… yes.

Me: Does this sound right to you?

BL: Ya… because this is a processing fee and not interests on the principle sum, that’s why there’s a fee for it.

Me: It’s ok. Thanks. I am not interested.

*click*

Personally, I am amused that the bank actually bothers to call someone who has a positive balance in the loan account to offer a fund transfer program that charges the account holder for money that belongs to him or her. What the above effectively means is that, if I have a personal loan account of $50 and I have $30 on top of that $50 personal credit account (meaning, I can withdraw a total of $80 – with the first $30 belonging to me and the next $50 belonging to the bank that I have to pay interest for), and if I were to take up the fund transfer program, I would have to pay a processing fee for the $30 that belongs to me. This is all because it’s a “processing fee” which is based on the amount of money that the bank transfer out for you.

Kinda ridiculous, isn’t it? Perhaps they are not expecting people to put money in a loan account (which also acts conveniently as a checking account that is also conveniently tied to a personal credit just in case there is not enough money), and I am not expecting them to change any of the rules they have. However, they should perhaps assess their clientele data properly before dishing out loans to everyone out there.