Mindfulness in a crazy busy world

There is way too much adrenaline in Singapore. Have you ever enjoyed a beautiful vacation overseas, only to have your carefully crafted bubble of peace burst once you leave Changi Airport? The feeling of kancheongness seeps into your life and you start thinking of the 101 things to do once you reach home, do the…

How do I know my child is suicidal? What can I do?

Losing a child to suicide is one of the worst experiences a parent can go through. Is there a way we can protect our children from such thoughts, and get them the help they need? There is quite a bit of information found online on how to spot a suicidal person and what you can…

How do you cope with your weaknesses?

Today, I’d like to briefly explore the subject of weaknesses. I’m not talking about weaknesses in the sense of having a weakness for chocolate or cute animals, but chronic, unresolved issues you and I struggle with. Source: Pinterest I previously wrote about struggling with low emotional intelligence and my son’s struggle with his condition. I don’t know if I’m…

Should we teach our kids about racial issues?

When you live in Asia, we are already born deep inside racial issues, even in Japan where their population is relatively homogeneous. It’s a really painful issue to talk about because it’s not something you can exit from, like teenage awkwardness, poverty or being fat. Even talking about it can be more taboo than talking…

The Secret Service of Mr S R Nathan for Singapore

Mr S R Nathan, who was Singapore’s President from 1991 to 2011, passed away peacefully yesterday night. May he rest in peace. Mr S R Nathan is well-known and respected for his many contributions to Singapore, such as: his negotiations to rescue hostages during the Laju ferry hijacking maintaining US-Singapore relations during the Michael Fay…

The Most Important Schooling In Life Joseph Gave Singapore

At first, we didn’t really take notice. Olympics again ah? So fast? Live telecast or not, does it even matter since I get my news off social media anyway? But on Saturday morning, many Singaporeans were tuned in to watch Joseph Schooling beat 7 respected competitors, including the superhuman Phelps, with an Olympic record no…

The curious case of Singapore’s diversity

What makes us special? What makes us strong? Singapore is not a perfect country, but to me, we’ve come quite a long way from the racial riots more than half a century ago, which messed everything up. Religious diversity in Singapore vs other countries (Source: Pew Research Centre) Today, in an increasingly Islamophobic world, Singapore, its…

5 Reasons Pokémon Go Is Good for Singapore

Don’t snort, there’s actually some good stuff going on here. Pokémon Go was released today in Singapore and it has totally taken over many people’s lives, and handphones. Here’s why I think Pokémon Go is actually a good thing for Singapore, even though this game comes with its own set of pitfalls (like tired arms)….

Someday my dreams won’t come

If you ever want a drama series that doesn’t make you feel good, watch Mr Robot. It’s one darn depressing, introverted, sceptical, false hope-kinda show. You can be brilliant, but you’re still a pawn of this world, tossed around by bigger things, stuck in quicksand of debt — money, time, sleep, self-love etc. You never had many…

Stanchart Robbery and The Importance of Security Assessments

The recent robbery of $30,000 from Stanchart was big news among my friends, while the countless reminders about being vigilant against terrorist attacks are already relegated as background noise (yawn!). Source There wasn’t even a security guard at the Stanchart branch yesterday when the robbery happened – CCTV enough meh??? This is unheard of in…