When my son's favourite friend in school is his sister ...

It's a gender thing, I'm sure, that my son talks very little about his friends or teachers in school when at a younger age than him, my daughter was already narrating all the things they did or imagined they did in school, and how she was best friends with Emilou & Yukio, and how a boy Luca kissed her.

Asking him directly about who his best friend in school is yielded no answer - he just didn't seem to understand that it is a valid question and it is a question he is supposed to give an answer to.

So the previous week, I happened to run into my neighbour and her daughter who was in the same class as Snowylad.  I took the chance to ask the little girl about it, and the little girl in all innocence said it was his sister, 2.5 years older.

I suppose it comes to no surprise, the siblings had been close since he was both, made closer by the fact that we live in a very small apartment.

But whatever worries me and Snowylady might have of him not mixing with other friends in his own class were dispelled on Saturday at a special school function.

I saw him going to several friends from his own group.  One girl's mum said her daughter and my son "are best friends".  I should suppose that her daughter talks to her mum about him being her best friend, and it just never occurred to Snowylad to tell me about this particular girl whom he was holding hands with in my presence.

As the function progressed, there were a couple of boys here (one even named Luca too) and a couple of girls there that Snowylad demonstrated he liked playing with.

Yet ultimately, I won't be surprised that he still loves his sister best and even look for her over other friends in school.  After all, his sister is probably the person who doted on him most.  When she started joining the school's swimming programme, she told her brother she won't be in school for a couple of hours and won't be able to look after him, and ask him not to miss her.

It might change eventually as they get older, but as of now, it comforts me no end that my two children love each other a lot, even if the older sister complained about his rough behaviour.

The most useless argument from Beijing Olympics 2008 - ranking system

Which ranking system should be used?

By most number of gold, then silver, then bronze?

By most number of total?

By medal per capita?

Jeez, get a grip, whoever thinks it's a worthwhile topic.

IT DOES NOT MATTER AN iota.

It makes absolutely no difference to anything, anything of significance that is.

It's not going to affect the stock market.

It's not going to make it easier or harder for the countries the next round.

It's just numbers.

There was this joke about an exclusive high end upmarket jewellery store - if you have to ask about the price, you can't afford their stuff.

Well, I think if you have to ask or argue which ranking system is better, you're missing the point of the Olympics and you're going into something totally irrelevant as far as the Olympics is concerned, IMO.

When I was in competitive swimming during my schooldays, schools were ranked by points, not medals.  The top 6 finalists gained 8 to 1 point(s) for their school, according to position.  And the top school got a special trophy.

There isn't any such trophy in the Olympics.

So this argument is just a lot of bull and egos.

For me, it's just a matter of tradition that the ranks followed gold, silver then bronze.

There were always differences in the events from one Olympics to another, and different rules for the same events, so comparisons between performances from one Game to another can only go so far.

To someone who'd been into sporting competition before, it's sportsmanship first.

Pet hates : Little loose ends in life ...

Gone ... vanished ... disparated without a trace ...

Just when I was in the mood for a sinful slice of beefsteak, my favourite stall at S-11 near Tampines Regional Library was unblushingly bereft of human presence amidst the bustle and hustle of the lunch hour today.  Everything had been packed away, including the signage, and nary a note to explain the outrage that offended every sense in me of propriety, fairness and justice.

It must have been less than a month ago since my last patronage, wasn't it?  I was feeling rather peckish then and asked for rice instead of fries.

Admittedly, since I resumed my fitness regime, I went out a lot less for lunch, and hence might have unwittingly compromised my status as a regular, but I just couldn't help but feel miffed and let down.

For years now, given the lacklustre offerings at my office canteen, I had the perfect excuse to lunch out by visiting the National Library branches around my office, the term around being somewhat loosely used.  My office is at Upper Changi Rd East, but I could range the libraries from as far west from here as Geylang, as far east as Paris Ris and as far north as Sengkang, taking advantage of both private motor transport and MRT.

Once or twice, I did the extreme to go as far as Jurong, but only because because of certain hard to get titles.  Fuel prices the way they are today, it probably "pays" to reserve the books instead and exercise a little patience to wait for my turn and have it delivered to a nearer branch.

But I digress.

This is not the first time, nor I suspect will be the last, that a regular store I patronise just shut down without me finding out its fate.  Here yesterday, gone today, and I would never know what happened to it even tomorrow.

My childhood haunt at Serangoon Gardens, the corner bookshop NIB, the cornerstone of my primary school days, which I visited less from secondary school onwards, just closed shop.  My colleague who is a Serangoon Gardens native knew when it happened, but did not know if they moved or were picked up by UFOs.

There's just some chapters in life where the loose ends will never be tied up.  It just isn't fair.  Shouldn't there be some cosmic sense of accountability?

At least when I found the best char kway teow stall in Singapore no more after several years of not visiting it, I was able to find out from the neighbouring sugar cane juice stall operator that the old chef had passed away.

At least I was given a chance to mourn for the loss of grand dame National Library @ Stamford, as well kiss goodbye her sassy god-daughter Library @ Orchard.

Where would the plague of the ephemeral strike next?

Progress report - fitness drive 2008

After breaking my fitness programme sometime end of 2007, I managed to restart mid 2008 in May.

Started with jogs & swims in May/June.

Progressed to jogs, weights/swims in July.

Kicker was the bicyle crunch which helps trim the sides of my abs, but no 6-pack yet.

So far, extended my jogs to the main gate at Napier Road, and then took a longer route back.

Managed to move up to 2 circuit rounds at the Sports Club weights, and 4 pull-ups in a go.