+ Vicinity | Sports Sunday

Today was not such a bad day after all. It was a Sports Sunday.

While Wify was at her shop in the afternoon, my son and I went for some exercise. I know, not a fair deal it seems, but us guys need sports to keep us sane.

We did not get off so easily though. Wify had me go over to scout a place she thinks has a good deal for a shop. We need a bigger shop than we have now to expand our collection and range. The need for more display space.

My son and I left home in the afternoon to ICON @ Bugis Point. There is a shop on the 6th floor that is for rent.

The building is just opposite Parco Bugis Junction and beside the DHL Balloon. At 50 Square feet, it sure is too small for the collections we have in mind to display.

Further more, each shopping floor is accessible by either staircase or elevator only.

With about 12 cubical shops of about the same square feet, it did not seem to be a good idea for expansion, since not many people will actually casually wait for the only elevator, go up to do window shopping.

The walk-in crowd is just not there. We have to give this space a miss.

So off we went back to Tampines Central where we finally can do some exercise. A first visit for me since I bought the home-gym set last year.

Tampines Swimming Complex has been revamped to facilitate resort style fun pool with water falls , mushroom fountains and water slides, amongst 3 other adult and competition pools.

There is also a sun-tanning deck right in the centre, elevated two stories high. Cool!

This swimming pool now has a second story catwalk with a big fitness gym overlooking the pools. The fitness club was moved from Tampines Sports Hall to this location for all-family fitness life-style.

The place was buzzing with family and happy kids. Fun screams and the loud waterfall sound gave it a fun resort and theme-park atmosphere. I got excited just looking at it from the entrance alone.

Bought the ticket from the vending machine for my son to enter the swimming pool area. It costs S$0.70 per entry for children and S$1.20 for adults.

I paid S$2.50 per entry to work out at the gym.

Impressive ample space with the full floor to ceiling glass panels on both sides over-looking the swimming pools as well as the football field and Tampines Millennia Roller-skating Ring.

The gym equipment are the ones moved from the Sports Hall and the number of equipment available is much to be desired given the ample space.

Though enough for now with multi-gym sets and free weights available for weight training, treadmills and stepper machines are lined and more than enough to satisfy everyone without having to wait for your turn.

It however lacks a calf-machine and cable rows for flying pecs and deltoids which I prefer. I had to use free weights for these instead.


Overall, I was quite impressed with the revamped facility and the amenities comparable to health clubs and small-scaled theme-parks. All these for residents of Tampines. Another silver lining we get when we chose Tampines New Town as our home.

Life is good!

+ GE2006 | Polling Parents

Done my bit for the nation in the morning yesterday, casting my vote for Tampines GRC.

The scooted off to my parents' place in Woodlands after lunch, to accompany them to cast their votes for their constituency - Sembawang GRC, between People's Action Party or PAP and Singapore Democratic Party or SDP.

Mom in her wheelchair, Dad pushed it from their block 101 all the way to block 123 where the polling station is, while I just walked beside them. Kind of awkward with all the stares I got from the passers-by.

What an insensitive son that person is! Is the feeling I always felt whenever I accompany them anywhere we go. Passers-by seem to be thinking and "saying" with their facial expression out loud.

Understandably, here I am, an able-bodied man walking by their side while this poor old man had to push his wife's wheelchair around.

It is just that Dad insists to do it every time we go out. Not because he does not need any help, but he uses the wheelchair to help him balance as he walks.

So he wheels my Mom everywhere we go. He says it is good exercise for him. I have to agree.

He is a very strong person for an 80 year-old man.. physically and mentally, though he is hard of hearing nowadays.

He was my hero when I was little, he is my hero still, only more magnificent nowadays.

Coming back to the polls.

It was nice that the officers there "took-over" Mom from Dad. Both of them were guided by an officer each from registration, to the casting post where they left them in privacy to mark their choices, then to the ballot box and out to meet me.

I would have taken a photo of them casting their votes, but unfortunately cameras were not allowed... will compromise the voting secrecy... blah... blah...

We went straight to Causeway Point Shopping Mall and had a late lunch at Long John Sliver, my second lunch of the day. Yikes!

We did some shopping since Mom had several stuff to buy. We went to Metro department store to buy her medium cooking pot, then off to Courts Superstore to buy Dad's, well it was Mom who wanted a portable radio in her bedroom.

Dad ended-up buying a portable an Enzer VCD Player model GA1548VCD with radio, CD and tape player in one for S$69.90 and Mom bought a Moulinex Food Processor for S$84.90 after using a S$5.00 discount coupon.

Then off to HomeFix hardware store for where Dad got his Osram 15Watts energy-saving light bulb for S$12.90 for their kitchen bathroom, while I got a halogen light bulb at S$3.50 to replace the a blown one in Wify's shop.

Walked back to my parents' home. Fixed their new VCD Player to her bedroom LCD TV and taught them how to use the player. Gave them their monthly "allowances" for their expenses like always and headed home.

Not before taking some picture of their corridor garden as their potted plants are in full bloom. Since it was already dark, the pictures did not turn out so good.

I left my parents' home with 2 big bags of groceries they bought and already packed earlier for me. They always do that whenever they know their children are coming over.

Big hearts with wonderful gesture, but the best one is when you get to see them with their warm smiles bidding you goodbye at the door until you turn the corner. Always warms the heart.

I wish to do be able to do that with my son when he has his family later in our lives.

Parents... so selfless, always thinking of their children first. Their unconditional love. I vote for their love anytime, love them back forever.

+ GE2006 | Polling Day

Its polling day today!

Polling opens at 8:00am and ends at 8:00pm today. We are casting our votes at our polling station in Poi Ching School. So I get the "bird's eye view" of the going-on from my bedroom window.

At 8:45am, the school was very much still empty, as people are still waking up, but much of it was due people waiting out the morning heavy rain.

At 9:45am, there were still very few people, but I could see cars start to fill-up the road behind my block. And about 10 minutes later, I could now see people with umbrellas scattered all over, converging to the school's main gate.

My wife and I cast our votes at about 11:00am - PAP or SDA party... X marks the spot on the ballot paper.

No major delays at all. The elderly and those on wheelchairs were given priority to cast their votes first. This is a thoughtful idea. The balloting went smoothly as expected.

We got to meet our neighbours as they queued behind us.

We also got to see PAP's Mah Bow Tan and his 4 other candidates coming into the polling area, observing the exercise.

They stayed there for less than 2 minutes before left the school. As they passed our queue, they gave everyone a nod and a smile.

With our polling card and our ID card, we were verified against a register and passed over to receive our ballot papers.

Our serial numbers and names were called out for the voting auditor to also verify our eligibility.

Our polling card serial number was written on the ballot tab before the ballot paper was detached off the tab and handed over to us to poll.

The ballots are thus traceable to the tabs as each ballot paper and its tab has a serial number. With our polling card serial numbers written on the tabs, it is no secret after all, but traceable if need be. Hopefully for "verification" purpose only.

Wify has left for her shop at 11:20am. I will be heading to my parents' place to bring them to their polling station in Marsiling.

The results will start to be announced starting 10pm tonight. My gut feeling is that there will not be any surprises specifically in my Tampines GRC - Group Representation Committee of 126,142 voters.

More to come later today.