This evening saw the family having our dinner at the Oasis Taiwan Porridge at Toa Payoh Park. As we were walking towards the restaurant, the Black Knights flew and roared above us, reminding us that National Day is just 2 weeks away. We were given a table on the second floor overlooking the pond in the park.

Fortunately we were there early coz we were greeted by hordes of people queuing at the entrance when we left after the dinner. I have never been a fan of taiwan or teochew porridge like my father or sister so the dinner did not blow me away. The food is just average. You can definitely get the same stuff at a better price and quality elsewhere. 

Dinner crowd outside the restaurant

I nearly lost it when I saw this….

Then reality set in and I snapped out of it.

That’s it. There’s no turning back. I just signed up. Time to pick up the much neglected running shoes to prepare for the running season.

Sweet angelic voice of Connie Talbot as a perk-me-up. Got this as a belated gift from the men in my branch. MRB was trying to inject a sense of mystery by saying that they have a ‘puffy’ gift for me. I thought it was chocolates but I was pleasantly surprised.

Anyway, the word ‘puffy’ is now a popular adjective used by MRB and Wilfred ever since someone at work commented I looked puffy when I wore my uniform over my clothes for a photo-taking session out of sheer laziness. Totally regret it now.

Watched 赤壁 Red Cliff Part 1 late last night with sis and the BIL. I had read 三国演议 Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and even watched some Japanese animation on it many years ago but I do not remember much of the history of the battles. So tactics like “草船借箭” or “火攻水军” and the saying “万事具备只欠东风” are the only things I remember from reading the novel and watching the animation but I do not know it’s related to the battle of the red cliff until I watched the movie and did some reading on the internet.

We went to the movie with high anticipation and it did not disappoint. It refreshed sis and me how the Three Kingdoms were borned and the famous characters that shaped the history. I must admit I am still no history buff after watching the movie and the reason that made this movie a must-watch was not just the hype and positive reviews it had received but because of……

Takeshi Kaneshiro as 诸葛亮!

Perhaps I am biased but I personnally thought he did a good job potraying a young, witty and at times humorous 诸葛亮. He is alway saying “略懂” when people questioned his knowledge but 周瑜 sums it up well by describing him as 深藏不漏. I think the two of them really admires each other but the fact that they are serving different masters meant that they are destined to become enemies as history develops.

Another charater that I like a lot is 赵云 who is the epitome of loyalty. However, the real battle of the red cliff took place when 赵云 was fifty plus years old so the reel 赵云 is not consistent with the history.

Despite the inconsistencies with history, the epic movie was one of the best Chinese movies that I have watched in recent years. I just watched the trailers and I can’t wait for 赤壁 Part 2 to be screened.

I think no one expects the family to meet again so soon in JB. I am now nursing a very bad headache. I almost always get a headache when I go JB. Don’t know why? It could be the jam at the checkpoint or the weather. Or perhaps because we were lost on our way to the memorial hall (they don’t call it a funeral parlour but it’s the same thing) today.

At the wake itself, we had a rather zealous Christian guest who tried to convince my father to convert to the religion. Half of the family is Christian and everyone is ok with each other’s choice of religions. It’s not like we are 2 feuding family factions divided by religion here.

I am not anti-christian but personally I found it rather distasteful and insensitive to do such a thing at a wake, even though she did not put down our religion. A wake is definitely not a place to do this. What ever happened to offering your condolences to the bereaved family? If there is any chance that my father might contemplate a change in religion, it would have been dashed by this insensitive guest.

Met my insurance agent this morning to go through a financial health assessment exercise. Through the exercise, I discovered the following thing about myself:

1. I don’t know my exact gross and net salary
2. I don’t keep track of my monthly expenses
3. I don’t know how much monetary liabilities (car, study loan etc) I have

Scary.

The fortunate thing is:

1. I adhere to a strict monthly savings regime
2. I contribute to my parents a fixed sum of household expenses monthly
3. I pay my monthly credit card bills on time and in full
4. I don’t default on my monthly repayment of study and car loan
5. I cover myself adequately (I believe) in terms of insurance and investment
6. I review my coverage on a regular basis with my insurance agent
7. I don’t default on my annual insurance and endowment premium
8. I always have extra cash on top of my savings at the end of each month

The above although are good financial management practices but it has also unfortunately caused me to develop this nonchalant attitude towards my finances. So for now, I have to wait to see if my financial health is in the positive territory. I am also contemplating to do a will.