15 May 2011 – Bislett Stadium

Sat: a beautiful day for the neighbours to spring clean in Krafts gate neighbourhood! May & Bjørn drove off camping as it is a long weekend and also to avoid the crowd on the National Day on Tue. If the weather holds, they will return by Tue evening.

The world’s largest relay race took place yesterday when 33,880 registered runners ended their race@Bislett Stadium, 2mins walk from where my accommodations are for a few days before moving up to the house. Thanks for Mette’s company to yesterday’s dinner. Decided for a walk to the stadium to support and cheer in the runners on this lovely afternoon.

1. Children’s Race@Bislett Stadion ………………..1200 m

2. Bislett Stadion – Wolffs gate ……………..1140 m
3. Wolffs gate – Wilh. Færdens vei …………..600 m
4. Wilh. Færdens vei – Forskningsparken …1700 m
5. Forskningsparken – Vindern ……………..1035 m
6. Vindern – Slemdal…………………………..1300 m
7. Slemdal– Besserud …………………………1790 m
8. Besserud– Gressbanen …………………….1800 m
9. Gressbanen – Holmendammen …………….650 m
10. Holmendammen – Frognerparken………2800 m
11. Frognerparken – Nordraaksgate ……….1520 m
12. Nordraaksgate – Arno Bergs pl. …………390 m
13. Arno Bergs pl. – Camilla Collets vei ………1060 m
14. Camilla Collets vei – Maratonporten……….850 m
15. Maratonporten – finish@ Bislett Stadion…600 m
Total……………………………………………..18425 m

The only reason I would take up jogging is so that I could hear heavy breathing again – Erma Bombeck

13 May 2011 – Happy Bday Susannah LAM. Another Friday the 13th in Norway!

Quite a contrast here in Norway with a pop of nearly 5mil living on area of 385,252 km2 /148,746 sq mi. SIN also has the same pop of nearly 5mil (36% foreigners!) living on an area of 710.2 km2 /274.2 sq mi. Kim Beng asked if they have GRC & SMC here, answered him that… am out of the SIN acronym world. But we do have plenty of SPACE here, LOL. And yes you are all welcome to visit and stay with me (as long as I am in the house and you can be an independent tourist!) in this most beautiful and expensive country in the world… 🙂

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2011-05-11-4131184763_x.htm
Grete Waitz honored at tribute in Oslo – Marathon great Grete Waitz was remembered Wednesday as a modest champion and trailblazer for female runners at a tribute attended by hundreds of fans, sports officials and some of her former competitors… who won nine NYC Marathons between 1978-1988, more than any other runner in history and is the greatest female runner died of cancer, age 57. Condolences to her family and may she RIP. The tribute was held at Oslo’s Bislett stadium on Wed and it is just down the road from May & Bjørn’s rented apartment.

http://amylamsg.com/2010/08/13/2010-paraskevidekatriaphobics
Fri 13 Aug 2010 – comment then, it is strange to be back in a country which was also onetime my home and in many ways, still is my home in other ways!
Fri 13 May 2011 – still has that strange kind feeling whenever the plane lands here 🙂

http://amylamsg.com/2008/06/13/paraskevidekatriaphobics
Fri 13 Jun 2008 – Korsvoll

Third time being here on a Fri the 13th! since 2008. Norway has been over-blogged here with places of interest; check out pix posting under ARCHIVES from 13Jun-8Nov 2008 (about 5 months) and 13Aug-9Sep 2010 (about 1 month). Am really here this time round to tie up loose ends for the house and to welcome the 6th grandchild. If energy permits might take a hike some day somewhere…                       

Someday is not a day of the week – Author Unknown

12 May 2011 – Safe & Sound in Oslo

Tue: got to the budget terminal for breakfast in time to see the sky open up pouring cats and dogs but cleared up for the plane to take off in time. Another journey from SIN to Norway started Tue 10 May 0945hrs with TigerAirways Airbus A320/1hr flight time- S$48.

Arriving KUL 1040hrs on schedule in hazy weather but had a yummy local lunch with mango juice- S$5 and for once had some time to explore the airport. Departed KUL 1500hrs with Air Asia AirbusA340/13hrs 40mins- S$302.

Arriving STN/London Tue 10 May 2240hrs local time. Wed: Beautiful sunrise at the airport, breakfast- S$20. Departed STN 0825hrs on RyanAir Boeing 737-800/1hr 40mins- S$94 for Moss, Norway.

Wed: arrived RYG/Moss, Norway 1104hrs, local time, 20mins ahead of schedule. No train service, bus from Moss-Oslo/1hr NOK164- S$36. Snacking on a hot dog and a soda cost S$12! Appreciations to Mette for meeting me at the bus/train terminal and spending the afternoon and thanks to May & Bjørn for picking me up at the terminal. The reasons for this posting are that there have been questions as to how much would this kind of travel cost? Quite affordable with all 3 budget flights on schedule. Not a direct flight, but like everything in life, you get for what you pay! You do not even get served peanuts on any of these flights unless you pay for them 🙂

The top pix is from Oslo S, the central train and bus station. It is an arch of an old door in the old building and at present under renovation. Looking forward to see the completion.

http://amylamsg.com/2008/07/12/ckristiania/
Stortorget/Large Market is a square in the center of  Oslo. In 1736 it took over as the city’s central square after Christiania old square. Market is Oslo’s flower square and is represented in the Norwegian edition of Monopoly! On the square stands a statue of King Christian IV, where the king is pointing with his right hand: ‘Here lie the city!’. Today 2011, in good company of Mette, peeping at pigeon & sparrow bathing and watching life goes by thru’ the fountain with Oslo domkirke/Oslo Cathedral in the background…

9 May 2011 – Family Dinner

Thanks to Les & Ivy, we had a nice familydinner gathering for Mother’s Day and also to wish so long for now! Wish Lawrence & Mabel could be here too.  Clem, Sue, Pat & David represented the orange generation and Lucas for the purple generation. Imagine the size and numbers if every one of the green, orange and purple generation are living in the same city… 🙂

But for now, bye-bye SIN, heading to the land of the fjords, mid-night sun, northern Lights, Vikings and the most beautiful & expensive country to live! Just in time to celebrate their National Day, 17 May!

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_666543.html

May 9, 2011 – Car slams into Chijmes, part of roof collapses: By Leow Si Wan

A car, which was involved in an accident with a taxi, crashed into the Chijmes complex at the junction of Bras Basah road and Victoria Street on Sunday morning. —  ST Photo: Alphonsus Chern

The impact caused part of the Chijmes roof structure to collapse…

This was the old school, Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus/CHIJ where I attended and looks like the damage was to the part of the roof which is near the old orphanage and the Gate of Hope! Thank goodness no one was injured!

Hope, deceitful as it is, serves at least to lead us to the end of our lives by an agreeable route – François Duc de La Rochefoucauld

8 May 2011 – Happy Mother’s Day to all Mothers

Sat: combined celebrations for grandnephew Andrew 4th Bday (10 May) and Mother’s Day@Vince & Ann’s place. Good to catch up with bro Steven & family (10 of them) and to meet up with Ann’s family. She has 7 siblings and most of them (except for 2 of her brothers) were present with their families. It is confusing enough to remember who everybody is but am getting there with the help of these pix! Thank you Vince & Ann who are staying in Woodlands, just across from JB/Malaysia for including me. Appreciations to her sister, Anna KOH and friend, Irene LEOW for giving me a ride back to town.

Tonight, family dinner@Les & Ivy to wish them a Happy Mother’s Day, A Happy Summer and A Happy rest of 2011! Tomorrow is the most dreaded day- to pack, seal and close up the apartment… procrastination!

You know you are getting old when it takes too much effort to procrastinate – Author Unknown

Singapore opposition make ‘landmark’ election gains

The governing party in Singapore has won all but six seats in parliamentary elections, but the opposition has made significant gains…

Lee Hsien Loong said the result would prompt some soul-searching and expressed willingness to work with lawmakers from the opposition... and let’s hope that he will keep his words and hopefully the PAP will get off their high horse!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13313695

6 May 2011 – So Sad

The below text was forwarded by another fellow SIN. Unfortunately and sadly there is much truth in it but with the other choices, it will certainly be a change and different but is it going to be better???

Hey, buddy!
Let me tell you truly
I realized lately
That I also dislike PAP
It is really a Perfectly Arrogant Party

They have turned our country
Into their company
Everything is about money
COE, COV, GST, ERP
Extraordinary charges aplenty

A tiny dot with 30 ministers drawing the world’s highest political salary
Paid millions of dollars annually
Yet they are still greedy
Always chasing after GDP
Making S’poreans live miserably

People say, S’poreans are lucky
For our country is corruption free
But when it is ruled by only one party
Can we really trust there is total honesty?
Remember, “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”

Kiasu and kiasi, PAP came up with the GRC
So that more MIW can enter by the back door to become MP
Mistakes after mistakes due to incompetency and complacency
Yet there is no accountability
All because they need not answer to anybody

Only a small country but foreigners there are so many
Government welcomes any Tom, Dick or Harry
And proudly call all of them FT
Giving away PR papers so freely
Hoping they will become citizens and vote for the PAP

Companies happily tell S’poreans to accept low salary
For they have cheap foreigners available readily
FT also took away S’poreans places in the universities
Even in sports we are represented by FT
To win glory for our country shamelessly

Exploiting the government stupidity
Many foreigners become PR just to buy flats by HDB
Resale flats have sky-rocketed due to pro-foreigners policy
So high is the value of COV
That young ordinary S’poreans have delayed starting up a family

S’pore uniquely
A paradise it will be
If you have ‘guan xi’ with the PAP
Never mind you and me or how many are unhappy
Someone already told us we can always go and die in JB.

Very sadly, this is no longer my once beloved country
It is now no more than just a money making company

3 May 2011 – Hookah/Shisha

After visiting Arab St yesterday, the hookah is something that has attracted the attention and always wanted to know more, perhaps due to childhood memories of Alice in Wonderland 🙂 Depending on locality, hookahs or shishas may be referred to by many name but is a waterpipe with a single or multi-stemmed (often glass-based) instrument for smoking in which the smoke is cooled by water.

Have never smoked and have no intentions to try but some of the hookahs have such beautiful glass base and one cannot help but admire them.

Shisha smokers in Baghdad Street. Some cafes in the Kampong Glam area have been flouting regulations that state that only 20 per cent of an establishment’s total outdoor refreshment area can be used for patrons smoking cigarettes or shisha. — ST Photo

Shisha smoking has become a hazy issue for visitors to the Kampong Glam area, some of whom have reported that shisha cafes are openly flouting the rules…

a 15- to 90-minute session using this waterpipe can deliver more than 20 cigarettes’ worth of nicotine, the Health Promotions Board has warned…

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_660888.html

Got up at 0400hrs to send Lori off on a cab to the airport today. Was hoping to get a few hours of zzz before the 0800hrs dentist appointment. No such luck as the mind was over tired and over active with overwhelming info on the elections and the candidates. Too many choices and not satisfactory info…

Decided to have a few hours of rest before heading to the local library to catch up the missing links during my absence. But only got into a total state of TMI/too much info. Conclusions again and again are that there are no clean or noble politics or politicians. The intentions are usually good in the beginning but somehow get caught in their own webs sooner or later! Gone are the days where we were convinced that we could change the world by burning the mid-night lamp with the idealist ideas and discussions 🙁

Really tired with empty promises and cheap talks. Show me one person (besides the saints or martyr who have died) without ulterior motives and that person will get my vote. What is this that SIN Ministers get paid with figures that are so monstrously out of proportion, even when compared to the whole world; the reason is so that they will not be bribed into corruption!! Helloooo is this political semantics or did something get lost in translation or hallucinations after the shisha???

The blog was and never will be focused on politics, but sometimes even 2cents worth of honesty is better than hypocrisy!

So many roads. So many detours. So many choices. So many mistakes –
Sarah Jessica Parker

2 May 2011 – What Comes Around Goes Around…

US forces kill Osama bin Laden in Pakistan – Al-Qaeda founder and leader Osama bin Laden is killed by US ground forces in Pakistan, President Barack Obama says… http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/

Imagine the kind of repercussions from the Arab world after yesterday’s news about Gadhafi’s son killed and today news of Osama bin Laden who orchestrated the 9/11 attack ten years ago??? This morning, we were walking around Arab St completely ignorant of the news! There will be consequences 🙁

Today is Lori’s last day before heading back to the USA. Safe journeys to her for tomorrow. Did a tour on Arab St, Bugis/Intercontinental Hotel, Orchard Rd/Orchard Central and Parkview Sq. This is the first time pix are taken of Parkview Sq, an office building situated along N Bridge Rd. One of the more expensive office buildings here, houses the embassies of Austria, Mongolia and the United Arab Emirates and was built at a cost of S$87mil!

The open plaza is reminiscent of Piazza San Marco in Venice with sculptures and famous statues surrounding the open plaza.

Specially designed in the classic Art Deco style, following NYC’s Chanin Building/1929 with a lobby also designed mainly in the Art Deco style. The bar in the lobby has a unique 3-storey high wine chiller!

History fades into fable; fact becomes clouded with doubt and controversy; the inscription moulders from the tablet; the statue falls from the pedestal. Columns, arches, pyramids, what are they but heaps of sand; and their epitaphs, but characters written in the dust – Washington Irving

1 May 2011 – Labour Day…

Benghazi, Libya (CNN) – Artillery units loyal to Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi pounded rebel positions in Benghazi and Misrata on Sunday after his government announced that one of his sons and three grandchildren had died in a NATO airstrike... and your guess with the consequences, not good 🙁
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/05/01/libya.war/index.html?hpt=T1

With the SIN General Elections due on 7 May, campaigns & rallies have been taking front page and headlines in the news here. Being neither politically nor religiously inclined but it is time to watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17qhGIwyGj0 as objectively as possible and there are some valid points made. Can thus understand why people are reacting the way they are.

Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely – Lord Acton

Will not be fair to make comments as am away from SIN much of the time and unable to experience fully what it is like living here with the political parties or their candidates. Amazing that there are 7 political parties on this tiny red dot! The parties in alphabetical order:

National Solidarity Party

People’s Action Party

Reform Party

Singapore Democratic Alliance

Singapore Democratic Party

Singapore People’s Party

Workers Party

May special dates

1 May – Happy May Day
5 May – Happy Cinco De Mayo
6 May – Happy Bdays WONG Wai Kit & Jan SOSA
10 May – Happy Bday Andrew LAM
13 May – Happy Bday Susannah LAM
17 May – Happy Bday LAM Poh Chee, hurra for 17 mai & Happy Vesak Day
18 May – Happy Bday Helen VICKERY-YEO
23 May – Happy Bday Yasmine AMEEN
27 May – Happy Bdays LAM Sui Chang & Karen LIM
28 May – Happy Bday Vanessa LAM
30 May – Happy Bday Hans Kristian HUSTAD

Grant me the courage to change what can be changed,
The serenity to accept what cannot be changed,
The wisdom to know the difference – Reinhold Niebuhr