Another project for MCYS?

One of the most prominent feature of the Singapore Botanic Gardens is the "Swan Lake", a pond where Snowylad fell in once.  Now, can't have a swan lake without the swan, so the NPB imported the swans in pairs, male and female.

There're now 3 pairs, 2 whites at the Swan Lake, and a black pair at the Bukit Timah core's pond.  Since I was young, there had always been 2 of them at the swan lake, the other 2 pairs relatively recent additions.

Recent MYCS Baby Bonus talks got me wondering why is it that we never saw the swans having cygnets ... after all, they had been well provided with accomodation and food.

I sent off a letter to NPB asking them about it, and the almost sheepish answer came back a couple of days ago, admitting that probably due to the fact that these birds aren't used to tropical climate, they aren't reproducing.  They hope the swans will reproduce after getting used to the climate here.

Well, as I mentioned before, the park have been having swans for decades now, and obviously, if they really want cygnets around, they got to do more than hope, especially if they know these birds are from temperate climates.

I'm sure there's a lesson here somewhere for MCYS too ... about why Baby Bonus is not getting them the results they want.

Broken toe over a pack of milk ... what a way to hurt the ego

Yup, jumping up to try to get the milk carton packs from the highest shelf of the kitchen cabinet, landed wrong and broke a toe ... swelling like a balloon now ...

Could have saved the trouble by using a chair to step but no .... for some reason, I could never seem to accept that I am just as tall as I am, and I am no barefoot high jumper ...

The difference in my command of English versus Mandarin

It's not secret to myself that my Mandarin is inferior to my English.

That is why I would hesitate doing an English-to-Mandarin translation.

One thing I just realised signifies the difference between my command of English versus Mandarin is that I can quite comfortably apply the art of understatement when using English, but it'd take me close to an eternity to do the same when using Mandarin.

Understatement is an artform that is not unknown in the Chinese language, but as far as my own knowledge, while it shares common ground with the English language when it comes to the characteristic of "excruciating politeness", I have not witnessed the versatility in Mandarin as demonstrated in English by writers such as Oscar Wilde, PG Wodehouse, or even by the American Mark Twain.

I confess my own reading exposure in Mandarin is largely limited to historical subjects or wuxia novels by Jin Yong, and to stretch it a bit, a couple of books by Ni Kuang.  I have yet to delve in to writings of literary giants like Lao She, Ba Jin and Lu Xun, but I did browse through some of San Mao's memoirs.

Yet at the back of my mind, I am already thinking perhaps in history lies the difference why the art of understatement in the Chinese language never quite flowered the way it did for English.

For the English language, it is an art that I am thinking was really developed in expressing anti-establishment thoughts by writers such as Wilde at a time when their society seemed to be at the pinnacle of success, with starting as sarcasms in satires.

Historical China though was less forgiving or accomodating of criticisms, and greater freedom of expression was only possible with the demise of imperial China at a time of unbridled foreign interventions.  Anti-establishment expressions then were riddled with bitterness rather than wittiness.

Or perhaps the art of understatement of the Chinese language is unrecognizable because it is a different totally song from the English language.

Scholarships : priority for less well-off?

While discussing Mr Li ShengWu's topping his PPE class at Oxford, Snowylady mentioned he didn't go on government scholarship, and I said that's good since presumably, his parents could afford to sponsor him, and that leaves the slot available for others to compete for.

"So, you think priority for scholarship should be given to poorer students" asked Snowylady?

"No, I don't.", I said. "It's solely on the discretion of the students from wealthier families whether to apply for scholarship to sponsor their studies if their families could afford it."

"But when it comes to awarding it, it should strictly be by merits."

"Even a student from a rich family can benefit from scholarship - because it gives him independence."

Independence - that's something very real to a young person.

Having a scholarship will provide the sense of independence that is no less meaningful to someone from a rich family than to someone from a poor family..

One of the last thing I'd want from a public funded scholar to return to serve the public without learning independence himself.

There're still strings attached of course - the scholar has to account for his academic performance to the scholarship sponsor.  I can't imagine papa or mama terminating the sponsorship just because junior is only getting Bs and Cs.

Coming to awarding scholarship - on the assumption it is to recruit talent for the country or the company, we'd want to take the best there is, not second best.

When we send out these folks on a task in the future, like winning a contract for the country, the contract awarder will not say "Hmm, both Singapore and USA offer the best deals, but I'll award to Singapore because their economy needs the contract more than USA."

The onus then is to ensure if I award the scholarship, I better get the selection criteria done properly - not judging on current and past achievements, but also whose potential in the future will better serve the company.

Also significant are fortitude, resilience etc., of the candidates rather than their CVs.

It's just terminology, but if priority is for less well-off, I don't consider it as scholarship but as a bursary.

Snowylady and I then talked about financial assistance in government schools, how families misused it, but that's another story, for maybe another day.

Food Opera @ ION - Shaky tables, shaky start to dining experience

http://www.tnp.sg/printfriendly/0,4139,209412,00.html

"SPECIALLY-commissioned animal sculptures worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Gothic European chandeliers.
Philippe Stark-inspired chairs.
Bone china crockery."

Tried the place on Friday, August 7, in the afternoon.

Crowd was there.

Food itself was so-so.

The animal sculptures I'm afraid, wouldn't contribute to recouping their costs.

The chandeliers were so densely spaced together they make the place look like lighting shops along Balestier Road.

No comments about the chairs, but some of the modern design tables were more wobbly than the tummy of Mr. Greedy.

What really turned me off though were a couple of things related to SERVICE.

First, some of the food vendors had dining quarters located behind their stalls, which they apparently reserved for exclusive use of their customers, which mean those sitting there couldn't have food from other stalls.  I don't know if they do pay for these areas, but even if they do, it should have been decorated differently like how it was done at the food court in Jurong Point - each private dining area decked with branding theme of the stall, instead of looking exactly like the common eating area.  The sign "No Outside Food Allowed" are everywhere, including both private and public dining areas.

Second, when I ordered my noodles, the staff asked me to sit in their stall's private dining area, but I didn't want to because Snowylady wasn't eating food from that stall.  The staff then asked if I could bring back the crockery after use, and one even asked if I could get it as a take-away with disposal containers and utensils, for just another 20 cents more.  Out of sheer magnamity, I returned their crockery, but I'll never patronise them again.

10% pay cut for the next 3 months at least ...

Having suffered S$307M loss for the 1st financial quarter, my whole Monthly Variable Component (MVS) will be gone for the next 3 months, as per the agreement with the unions.

What happens after that will depend on the performance of each quarter.

*sigh* pay cut and the anomaly of peak HDB prices at a time when I'm looking for a HDB is not a good combination.

A friend SMS'ed me to ask if I need any help, and I just ask him to help pray we'll find a flat that we can afford in the area we're looking for - not far from where we're currently staying so that it's not far from the primary school for Snowylass next year.