I overheard on the radio today that researchers have found out that the very act of having a mental picture of your loved one, i.e. spouse or partner, has the effect of lessening physical pain felt by a person.

The DJ jested that we should place a photo of spouse in the working environment so that we can enjoy this psychological benefit.

Being the sceptical person that I am, I do believe that the photo, of me and my wife, placed on my office desk has subconsiously got me through emotionally painful and stressful moments when handling certain people at work.

I have just changed the ‘lock screen’ picture of my handphone with a photo of me and my wife too.

In slightly more than 3 weeks, I will be moving out of my comfort zone into the unknown. Perhaps that’s an exaggeration since it’s simply a physical shift from having my own place to living with the in-laws.

To be honest, my wife’s parents are easy to get a long and they both dote us. According to my wife, her mother has a soft spot for me. Well, I can only hope that the ’spot’ remains soft when we stay under one roof. That’s when she will see all my good and, mostly bad, habits, which only my wife is aware of.

I really do not know what to expect since I have never stayed with my in-laws for extended periods of time. That said, I am prepared to lose some of my much treasured privacy and freedom to do whatever I like.

Spending countless hours in front of the PC monitor, for a nice game of WoW, or the telly, to watch my Korean dramas, could be a thing of the past. Perhaps the only positive thing is that I got to keep my current tv in our future bedroom. That means watching movies or tv programmes while lazing on the bed would finally be a dream come true.

Guess you can say that you win some, and you lose some.

On hindsight, the fact that I thought about this in this manner means I am a self-centred person who only cares for my own needs. Spending time with our parents should be a gift treasured and not something to dread. With that said, I think I am ready to transit to that new lifestyle with its new set of house rules and expectations.

Wish me luck!

Lots of things are happening in my life now. Just by looking at me, most people would not be able sense that I am undergoing some fundamental changes in my daily life. People, including myself, say that change is good. I still think this classical adage is still true. But being the person experiencing the changes sure give one a whole new perspective.

All that I no is that life will be dramatically different, just like watching EPL on Singtel’s Mio next year, come the end of the year. Well, at least change is coming at a time when change is expected. Don’t you sometime just feel that life changes at the turn of the year? 2010 will indeed be a brand new chapter, or phase, in my life.

I share something common with those young couples who chose to get hitched today because the date 9/9/09 denotes ‘longevity’ when read in chinese. Today could mark a key turning point in my life. Well I am not certain what the change will bring, but I am certain that it will definitely be a change for the better.

This is one of the rare shots where I managed to capture a butterfly up close. Not sure what species this belong to, but the photo was taken at the butterfly enclosure at Korea’s Everland themepark.

Butterfly from Everland

My daily habit, good or bad, of reading The Straits Times from cover to end has finally paid dividends in the form of spotting advertorials for warehouse sales held at the Expo.

While most Singaporeans thronged the main thoroughfare of Orhcard Road seeking the best offerings from the Great Singapore Sale (GSS) 2009, I took a less well trodden path to the Singapore Expo for my GSS shopping fix.

More specially, what attracted me to this godforsaken place to the ‘far east’ were the warehouse sales by Robinson’s and MPH.

Last I remember of the Expo was the jaunt there to scoop up handfuls of old library books during the NLB sale some years back. Since then, I have decided to give the place a miss since the time taken to travel there from my place just doesn’t make any economical sense.

I am still thankful for being one of the ‘early birds’ when I reach Hall 6 of Expo, the place where Robinson’s are hawking their fares. Being early meant shorter queues at the dismally inadequate number of fitting rooms as well as more elbow space to look around the rows and stacks of items on sale.

As I was looking for reasonably priced, well, just call it cheap, office and casual wear, I immediately made a beeline to the Men’s section. The countless stacks of clothing can easily overwhelm most people. The more notable brands worth a mention here are Ashworth, Thomas Smith and Daniel Hecther. Other common brands were available, but I didn’t take much notice since I don’t usually go for their stuff.

After shopping for close to 3 hours, I trudged with a satisfied smile to the cashier, with 2 polos tees, 2 office shirts, 2 pairs of shorts and a memory foam pillow all happily tucked in the ‘trolley’ shopping bag provided at the sale.

Forgot to mention that my wife also had a great shopping experience there. For the ladies, check out the ESPIRIT and FCUK sections. Worth a look since stuff are going for pretty low prices.

Have not been posting recently as I have been suffering from some form of writer’s block. Anyway, just to update my friends, I came back from a tour to Korea in in early May, then I got myself a new set of wheels (for the first time in my life) and now my wheels are guided by a spiffy GPS system, which only means…

• I still have three packs of 1kg kimchi in my fridge (woohoo!)
• Loads of Jeju chocolates in the fridge (bleh…)
• Friends are likely to see more of me now
• Gone are the days of furiously flipping the street director (Woot!)
• I still need to get my licence :P

Yeah, Life’s Good!

Temperatures around the world has risen a notch since the last weekend. I am not talking about the warmer weather due to climatic changes. Rather, I am referring to the number of people getting temperatures after being infected with the swine flu, if that’s the aapropriate name for it.

Perhaps it is fortuitous that the swine flu struck instead of the more fatal, unless proven otherwise later, H5N1 avian flu strain which the world has been preparing for over the last few years.

While deaths related to the swine variant of the flu is still contained to people in Mexico, the speed and extent of its spread is astounding. No thanks to the highly connected network of international air travel these days.

Since the time I first heard of the outbreak in Mexico, last Sunday, countries across the globe have started to report cases of infection. US, Canada, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, are just a handful of countries with ‘confirmed’ cases while a dozen others are awaiting results on tests conducted on suspected cases.

While I would normally be concerned with such adverse developments, this potential flu pandemic is more worrisome since I will be flying off to South Korea later today.

Well, there’s only so much one can do. Just need to ensure that my hands are properly washed before touching my eyes, nose and mouth. It’s surprising that one will unconsiously touch these body parts multiple times within an hour. I know since I have tried refraining such contact in preparation for the more stringent ‘efforts’ once I enter the airport and board the plane.

It’s gonna be a painful experience.

Well, my bags all packed. I am just looking forward to a nice holiday over the next couple of days.

Being a male, the ferocious catfight (pun intended) amongst the new and old Aware Ex-Co have little to no impact on me.

However, I still follow the Aware ruckus with some interest since there’s some hints of an underlying conspiracy in the ‘brazen’ power-grab by the ‘new team’.

Allegations that the coup was ochestrated by people belonging to a particular religion is of particular interest. While I am a Catholic, I always believe that some things are best left to secular decision-making and that the Church can always deliver its differing message or teachings through its own formal channels.

Thus, I find it rather inappropriate, and dangerous, if a group of persons with similar religious inclinations, not to mention, attending the same church, takes over a secular organisation, with the objective of imposing their religious values/beliefs on the organisation, if that’s proven to be true over time.

While the verdict is still out. I find myself drawn towards the arguments of the ousted so-called ‘old-guards’.

The new Ex-Co members have so far failed to account, unless simply worded replies are to be taken at face value, for some of their actions/deeds. Nor their allegations that Aware is turning into a single-issue organisation, read pro-homosexuality/lesbianism, is clearly elaborated nor justified in their latest press releases.

Aware’s in-fighting problems are unlikely to end quickly nor amicably.

 Despite many stating that the election process in Aware as democratic, I would liken the current situation to a country being suddenly flooded by foreign immigrants, whose enbloc voting powers unseats the government that welcomed them. Imagine Singapore being governed by ‘citizens’ who had entered the country for only months/or weeks.

The lesson for the old guards perhaps is to give new members a period of assimilation as a “PR” before deciding if these new member truly buy into the values of the organisation. Those that disagree should (a) voice their concerns, and (b) move on, i.e. get out, and form their own organisations if their views differ greatly from those of the organisation’s.

Below is a photo of a Chinese wedding taken by Scottish photographer John Thomson sometime in the 19th century. I think it is a beautifully taken shot. It captures an era when it is actually improper for the man, in this case, the husband, to even look directly at a woman, his wife.

The photos are being exhibited in Beijing’s Art World Museum till 18 May. Would be great if the exhibition makes a stopover in Singapore. Check out the rest of the photos on BBC.

Photo: Courtesy of Wellcome Library, London