There’s a light art festival going on at Marina Bay, and it is absolutely free for you to feast your eyes upon!
i Light Marina Bay 2016 is happening 4 to 27 March 2016, 7.30pm to 11pm daily with an extension to 12 midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, around the Marina Bay waterfront promenade. For more information, visit www.ilightmarinabay.sg.
Photo source: Pixabay
This Chinese New Year, I made an effort to get to know the neighbours staying above and below me. All it took was a pack of 6 Mandarin oranges in a brown paper bag (so that it’s environmentally friendly) with an awesome sticker featuring a paper-cut of a monkey.
It did take guts to knock on the door to start a conversation with a stranger, but I felt that it was something I had to do. I have given out Mandarin oranges staying on my floor in the previous year. And, I really wanted to again this year. But, with a tighter budget, I could not really do so, given that there are five families that I now know. Therefore, I decided to prioritise how on to use my resources.
I remember reading an article about important it is to know the neighbour above and below us, as we will often have to discuss things like plumbing issues and noise levels (his ceiling is my floor…that kind of thing) in the long run. It’s always better to get to know another person when there’s no matter to resolve yet. So, I set out with my $9 box of 12 Mandarin oranges in total, to build those bridges. It does not cost much to get to know your neighbour, but it does call for sincerity and courage.
I guess my parents trained me well. As a kid, I visited our neighbours’ houses during festive occasions. This meant that our families could talk easily whenever there were matters that come along with daily living. As kids, we often played like elephants, stomping around as we ran, and jumping from bed to bed like pirates on the high seas. As the neighbour below my house worked the night shift. He badly needed the sleep in the daytime. So, he’d politely come up to remind us to be less of elephants.
I think that’s the best way of going about HDB living. There are many things we can resolve and negotiate, if only we stopped living behind closed doors the whole year through, only to emerge when a pipe bursts or a bomb falls and we are left in our columns of bomb shelters.
Imagine the scene, our tiny rooms are stacked one on top of the other, we are near the end of the world, and we have never met each other before.
Well, even then, it will not be too late to throw up or down a Mandarin orange to feed your neighbour. Just warn him first so that he does not think it is a grenade!
With my Snoopy-fan friend back in town for the Chinese New Year, we caught up at the Singapore Philatelic Museum over the stamp collection featuring Snoopy, Charlie Brown and his friends. I hesitate to call them Peanuts ‘cos Charles Schultz honestly did not like them called that that way. But the paper that published the comic strip, named them so.
It’s easy to get the characters mixed up. So, this was a good way to get acquainted with them again. I identify most with Peppermint Patty. She’s always tired and falling asleep in class. While my friend, the studious one, thinks that she’s more like Marcy. And, the both get along well though they are so different.
Why do Charlie Brown and his friends appeal to many people across all ages? The gang reminds us of our idiosyncrasies and how we can laugh over them together. So “Peppermint Patty” and “Marcy” went to the stamp exhibition and had a good time being kids again.
The exhibition is on till 30 April 2016. Don’t miss it. It’s free for Singaporean and Permanent Residents.
Was at Giant supermarket in Vivo City today at around 9pm and picked up two packs of buns, reduced to at three pieces for $1.45. The usual price is three pieces at $2.90. So, I consider it a good deal.
The only minor problem was that they were labelled ‘assorted buns’. Therefore, I did not really know what I was getting. But it does not bother me much as I am not allergic to anything that they usually put in a bun. I do not have to finish up the buns until 18 February. So, I will have them for breakfast, lunch, dinner or for a snack over next two days.
Not bad -$2.90 stretched over three to four meals.
We all know that many bakeries reduce their prices after 8.30pm. While I do not hang around deliberately for this, I usually take it as a chance to pamper myself with something special.
I am thankful for my daily bread today, that was literally filled with surprises. I just bit into one for supper. It’s filled with red bean paste. Will let you know what’s in the other pack of buns tomorrow! Hope they are savoury.
“Father in heaven, holy is your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread…”
-The Lord’s Prayer
Photo source: Pixabay.com by Alexas_Fotos
I hop on and off buses without much thought as my monthly concession pass is usually on a lanyard around my neck when on the road.
It costs $120 per month and allows me unlimited rides on the MRT, LRT and all public buses.
Armed with transportation apps on my smartphone, changing buses or trains usually allows me to get to my destination much faster.
So while transportation is costly in Singapore, I am thankful that the concession pass has allowed me to control the expenditure in this area. This helps me to keep up an active social life and to visit my loved ones regularly.
That said, I must confess that I go more exercise in when I did not have a concession pass. I walked more often. Instead of taking the feeder service from the bus interchange to my home, I’d walk. If the train stations were near to each other, I walked.
Now I hop, hop, hop, though I absolutely love walking!
Time to slow down and walk more again.
The words “cari makan” ‘literally mean “find food” in Malay.
It’s a phrase I enjoy saying because it means working hard to earn your meal. It denotes sustenance, that the job or tasks I have on hand are able to feed me and my family.
When someone asks how much I earn or if my job pays well, I gracefully answer, “Cari Makan.”
There is not much need for anyone to know what’s in my pay cheque or the lack there of.
In the same way, there’s is little need for me to know or notice how much someone else earns.
I prefer relating to people over uncomplicated meals so that we can focus on what’s inside us rather than what we are putting into ourselves.
So, may your life be full and your conversations be blessed as you ‘cari makan’ and plan who and how to partake of meals together with this week.
Movies hold a special place in my heart. The moment the light goes off in the cinema is almost magical, transporting you to another world. Nonetheless, it can be quite pricey to watch a show in Singapore. Therefore, I am quite selective of what I catch. Some shows just need to see on the big screen. And, I will try to catch them with friends.
For other shows, I usually head down to our Public Libraries to borrow a free DVD. There’s a wide selection, so do not even doubt if you will get to borrow what you like.
There’s also the option to reserve a DVD that you want and have it delivered to your nearest library at $1.55 only. I use this service very often.
This Christmas, I have some DVDs in mind and will keep a stash in case I get bored over the holidays (that rarely happens though). But the one DVD that I have reserved and am looking forward to watching with a friend’s children is an outstanding claymation called The Miracle Maker.
It’s been a decade since I last caught it, but the claymation is so intricate that I have been longing to catch it again. It was writing this blog post that prompted me to check if it’s available.
Am so looking forward to my Christmas movie this year.
My mum brought us to the Singapore Botanic Gardens (SBG) often when I was young. We were not well to do and depended mainly on Mum’s income. The gardens welcomed us always without any cost. It also gave us space to play and water to refresh ourselves. There was a fountain next to Swan Lake that we could drink from. On warm days, we moistened our handkerchiefs with the water and cool our bodies down.
That is the reason why I love SBG. I hope you will come to be enchanted by the place too -not just because it is now a UNESCO Heritage Site.
I went for a free guided tour at SBG last Saturday -The Rain Forest Tour, and learnt much. For details on the various tours available, visit the SBG website.
I learnt that these are called woody vines.
Photo source: Pixabay.com
I was just about to buy some wrapping paper yesterday outside a supermarket when a Promoter offered a piece for free in return for some attention. I took a few minutes to listen to a sales pitch, and moved on with what I needed.
It’s a time when many of us wrap presents for friends and families. I usually recycle maps, magazines, or masterpieces (children’s artwork) to wrap small presents.
I also think it is perfectly fine to wrap presents with brown paper and string ala the song My Favourite Things in The Sound of Music. Feel free to make it more fanciful by substituting string with ribbons.
Lastly, I keep the wrapping paper distributed by malls for larger presents. I use these wrappers even when I don’t really like the designs -I just wrap them wrong-side up and write or draw directly on them so that it’s more personalized. After that, I might decorate it with ribbon or make one from old red and green T-shirts.
How do you make ribbons from old T-shirts? Well that’s for another blogpost!
Photo source: givingweek.giving.sg
These are not ordinary postcards, but those that National Volunteer and Philanthropy Council (NVPC) is giving out as part of The Giving Week, so that you can send them to your loved ones for free from 1-15 December 2015 -courtesy of Singapore Post. Pick one up at a post office. I got mine at the community centre near my house. Mail it out soon! Visit The Giving Week for details.
keep calm singaporean on-a-budget 