Can we make the entire planet one big apiary??

I remember a time when buzzing bees scared me to death. Must be some movie I watched when I was still a child when bees meant a full-on attack that no one can escape unless you are near a body of water. Now that I am older and wiser, I do not flinch as much when encountering bees. One reason I attribute this to is the practice of ahimsa - nonviolence to all living things. And a hopefully not naive belief that I will not be harmed by another which I am not harming. Probably also well-trained by diving in trigger fish/sharks/sea urchins infested waters. But I still get a jolt when a bee flies too close for comfort.

So, you can imagine my utter amazement to watch these Tik Tok videos by Erika Thompson, a beekeeper based in USA who handles bees sans protective gear. Not one bee, or a few bees but entire bee colonies protective of their beehives. And never near any lakes or rivers!! (okay, I recall a swimming pool once) It is truly mesmerizing to see her in action. So gentle, confident and might I add elegant and gorgeous?!? [Recently there was an online feud between her and other beekeepers over her methods but I shall share this article and still standby my support for her!]

Now, you can imagine my absolute delight to discover we have our very own Singapore Bee Man!! Xavier Tan saves bees in a very similar method as Erika Thompson, rehoming them humanely. I enjoy his videos too, especially when you can recognize whereabouts he was on our sunny island! Besides providing bee removal service, he also has locally produced raw honey (and mead! read: wine) for sale!

Today he shared a post that left me incredulous. Our very own NParks (and NEA) ignorant about the existence of humane bee removal methods. Seriously? Or the excuse that they have a contract with a pest extermination company. First of all, bees are not pest!! And all contracts have expiry right? Know better and do better then! Having previously watched his video on the aftermath of a chemical extermination, this is unthinkable and unacceptable. Once again, we have allowed convenience to take precedence over the value of life. 😔

Did you know that there is a World Bee Day? I mean I generally enjoy seeing bees alive and well (rather than exterminated and left for dead) but bees are actually essential to our very survival. 

"Bees are vital for the preservation of ecological balance and biodiversity in nature."

Thus, if you ever have to remove a bee hive, please call our Bee Man. Can't believe I am saying this, but do not call our authorities, they do not know better. And apparently refuse to learn. 

Should I start a petition to get our authorities to provide humane recommendations? 👀

Too Environmentally Conscious?

I prefer dining in to taking away. Period. I honestly feel a heartache if I have to use one-time disposables. So whenever possible, I will choose to have a sit-down meal even if it means I have to look out of place eating on my own. I have become so thick-skinned in that sense.

Along my journey, I am really thankful to discover alternatives such as beewax wraps, Keepleaf and Roll'Eat that allow me to not incur disposables when I am in a hurry. When I was moving into my own apartment, one of the first things I "stole" from my parents was a tingkat container. Haha!

So you can imagine I almost never order deliveries. Generally too cheapskate to pay for the delivery fees but also just unable to deal with the amount of plastic that inevitably comes with each one. However, during this circuitbreaker period when so many of our hawkers are adversely affected, I do want to help in my small ways. I ordered something which I had been craving but unable to find anywhere within walking distance. And I intentionally chose a hawker who is engaging private drivers (as they will receive 100% of the delivery fee) to deliver their food so as to kill multiple birds with one stone. #HawkersUnited #savefnbsg Support local hawkers! Satay forever!

But without a dine-in option, meals have been mostly settled at home. Definitely getting more comfortable in the kitchen! In the rare times when I do dabao, I would certainly have to plan in advance. What to eat? Is it dry or soupy? What containers to bring? Are they big enough? And I think through my approach.. my first question to the seller is always if they will accept my container. Unfortunately despite the government's call to BYO, it is still the hawker's prerogative to accept them. And I am prepared to walk away if they say no. I also tend to approach stalls that are less busy and thus will be less stressed about a disruption to their routine. Yes, I recognise that it might break their flow.

From when I first began years ago, being embarrassed and paiseh about my request, to now after trying-and-testing at various places on numerous occasions, I thought I found my balance point between convenience and environmentalism. 

I was not prepared for today.

Out on my grocery run/cycle, I had my tingkat ready and brought along my all-encompassing food bag just in case the tingkat is too small for the char siew rice I had in mind. While waiting for my rice, I spied some chwee kuey nearby and since I had an extra container, I seized the opportunity to buy myself an extra treat.

"Auntie, 水粿5个. 可以放里面吗?" 
(5 please. Can you put them in?) Pointing to my bag.

She eyed my bag and gave a nod so I waited happily.... until I observed her scooping the chwee kuey while my bag was far from her.

"Auntie, 可以直接放里面.这个可以放食物的." 
(You can put them in directly. This bag is specifically for food.) 
I tried to reassure her as I had done many times with other hawkers.

She still looked unconvinced but with some gentle persistence, she finally transferred them into my bag. I mentally heaved a sigh of relief and hoped she becomes more accepting in future with this first occurrence.

As she watched me closed up my bag.... "你太环保了" 
(You are too environmentally conscious)

My heart and face fell. Or sank. So hard I thought I heard a thud somewhere. I was momentarily stunned and I did not know how to respond. I wondered if my eyes above my mask reflected what I felt inside. And I am still feeling it right now as I type. 🙁

I suppose this is the whole crux of the problem?

I get it that we are already used to a lifestyle where things are efficient and convenient. 
I get it that not everyone has had the same experiences as me to want to go to this extent to avoid plastic. 
I get it that my individual efforts right now may not so much make a dent of a difference to the issue our collective presence imposes on this planet. 

But, TOO environmentally conscious? How can anyone be too much of the right thing to do? How about just becoming more conscious of choices and decisions made?

My ideal CB day

 

Can we uninstall 2020 and reinstall it?

This one has a virus.

We are only one-third into the year and it already felt too long and too wrong. I should be on vacation in Germany right now but I am back home which I have not left since Monday. No work, no yoga, no meet-ups, null.

Had tried not to make too big a deal out of it in the early days but when weekly WCS classes became officially unavailable, it became impossible to ignore. I started a coronavirus timeline in my BuJo. It listed major events worldwide as well as in Singapore and I continue to update it..

As restrictions under the Circuit Breaker measure get tougher, I, like most Singaporeans can only stay home. Not that I am complaining as I can be quite happy doing my own things at home and it is quite amazing the variety of activities that can be done at home with internet access.

• free movies/concerts/musicals/performances online
• yoga and zumba via ZOOM
• cooking with online recipes 
• clap/sing for #SGUnited
• volunteering (MADWISH) and doing good (SG Assist)
• online gathering and even an online wedding!

Yup, a very dear friend of mine got married! She calls it "Love in the time of corona" and it was beautiful. She looked gorgeous in an exquisite dress while her husband was all decked out in a traditional barong while her friends and family from all over the world celebrated with them via Zoom and a live YouTube screening.

However, the days spent within the same four walls do get blurred together and it is so easy to lose track of time... I decided to do one of the collections that I have been meaning to do, with a twist...
Hopefully, I can follow it better now because I have been sleeping at 2 am lately...... 👉👈 And the opposite page is also dedicated to CB because so much time and so many free movies now!!!

Volunteering (on the day/in the name) of LOVE

This post is inspired by a couple of things - a newly minted video about #braveheartSG and a FB post by Dalai Lama a few hours ago. So you probably have watched the video before coming to this blog? Did you see me?!?! 😄😄

Dalai Lama says

Not only is it the case that happy people are more willing to help others, but as I generally point out, helping others is the best way to help yourself, the best way to promote your own happiness.
It is you, yourself, who will receive the benefit.

And that is really how I feel about volunteering. Many friends have commented that I am really kind and always helping others, doing a variety of different things to help people, animals and causes without asking anything in return. It appears a very big-hearted thing to do.

The truth is... , at least to some extent, it is a selfish act. I needed it. Many years back when I was a different depressive me, volunteerism saved me. Without it, I don't think I would have survived till now. I do not remember when but I had specifically thought to myself that I should not/would not/did not want to live past 40. It was very dark times.

I genuinely enjoy myself every time I am helping others. But more significantly, volunteerism opened my eyes to look past my own problems and really be objective to see how small they actually are in reality. Oftentimes, it had been a means of escape because when you are busy helping others, you conveniently forget about your own problems. A better solution than drowning your sorrows which I had succumbed to too..

Well, the more I do it the more I realise I CAN do. So even when it was no longer a "necessity" for me, I continue to serve in whatever capacity I can. Besides, I learn soooo much during these activities. From interpersonal skills to technical skills, like I mentioned in this post, I gained way more than what I gave. And that post on the Science of Kindness was also when I learnt that these seemingly selfless acts of mine are actually rather selfish. It was (perhaps still is) my way of loving myself.

Anyway, selfless or selfish, nothing is going to stop me from doing good now. Thankfully with the support of a very capable husband, I am even more able to help whenever wherever now. Thus I literally jumped at this chance to help give out love notes on Valentine's Day! It really had been dreadful to read about the stories of healthcare workers being discriminated. The situation is bad enough and we are being unkind to the very helpers keeping the situation under control?!?

As we were advised not to go directly to KTPH, we stationed ourselves at the nearby Yishun Interchange with our carts full of love notes and sweet treats. Very few nurses or healthcare workers in uniform came our way actually, so we had to make clever guesses often based on the lanyards people were wearing so we could get the items to the recipients! But the positive and heartfelt responses we received..... awww.... I can do this all day.... 🥰

Doing good with my oldie bestie and pals!

Thank you to all the Singaporeans (including PM Lee!) who took the time to pen a love note

What a way to come full circle.. to still be able to give on the day of love, on the day I thought I would not survive to see. Yup, I just turned 40 years old this past Valentine's Day! My fellow helper was bewildered when she knew... well, the science behind kindness mentioned something about aging too.. 😉

Our history is a lot more than meets the eye..

And this particular eye had thoroughly enjoyed the visual treat whilst on The Bicentennial Experience! I have never really like History as a subject finding it dull and mostly sad thus I quite promptly dropped it in Secondary Three. But being a patriotic Singaporean, missing this would be out of the question and boy am I glad I made time for it. Surprised myself with the number of pictures I had taken; it shows just how successful the organising team is in making history come to life. It was not sufficient to enjoy the various presentations in the flesh. 

Here are some of my feeble attempts to make memories and capture how impressed I had been with what I saw.. 

The Time Traveller

Right from the start at the Atrium, with some clever light trickery, visitors witnessed how rain (real water!) freeze in mid air and then rise instead of fall! The commentary stated that this "provides insights into how weather played a significant role in the rise and fall of civilisations and cities" but I much preferred the symbolism of time being turned back more than 200 years. 

Took a video but of course the optical illusion no longer works after being processed by a camera.......

  Act 1 1299 - 1613 Beginnings

As I attend this exhibition with zero expectations, it took me quite some time before I was finally convinced that the actors before my eyes were performing live. Given how close they were to the spectators, it was quite an intimate set and they were so professional even after the nth performance?! The use of the moving travelator is incredibly clever and seamless in implementation together with the multimedia projections. I noted with astonishment that the martial art choreography was the product of Lim Yu-Beng!

trying to capture how the multimedia projection is all immersive being both in front and behind the stage - and failing miserably - unless you can see shadows of flames on the transparent screen?!

 Act 2 1819 Arrival

 
I love how visitors get to sit in a pseudo ship and enjoy a panoramic view just like one would when out at sea! However, the concept of seeing the narrative through the eyes of animals was totally lost on me up till the point of the dragonfly.. it just was not that evident.. 

My History classes had taught me that Farquhar was Raffles's right hand man but apparently not....

Act 3 1867 - 1941 Connectivity

"Moving screens and rotating seats, which simulate the turning of the wheels of machinery" brought us from Act 2 to Act 3 without us even getting off our butts. And physically feeling the motor of the revolving platform really emphasised the "mechanical strength that powered the rise of industralisation". Then there was also the colourisation of actual photographs of families from that era which contrasted with the darkness and grime of inevitable social ills. The first hint of the sad component of history but totally cool presentation.

 

Act 4 1942 - 1945 Occupation

Hands down my least favourite part and no fault of the exhibition itself, just the content. The setting of dimly lit spaces and cracked walls in narrow tunnels effectively forced visitors to feel the oppressive atmosphere. The re-enactment of an actual survivor of Sook Ching also felt too real for comfort.

 

Act 5 1950s - 2019 Destiny

The most talked-about act of the entire experience! It was supposed to provide "an uplifting finale" but for a long while I could not get past the fact that I really personally bear witness standing at the Padang, drenched to the bones by the downpour that fell on the day of LKY's funeral procession. But yes, there were downs and there were ups. We have achieved so much which made me so proud to call myself a Singaporean and I am ready to weather any storm as a nation.

  

 

This part of the experience ended with a closing question asking every visitor to vote "Which DNA trait is most important to Singapore? Although I can certainly see how "Multiculturalism" and "Openness" play a part to our success, I chose "Self-Determination" because ....cue music! there was a time when people said that Singapore won't make it, but we did

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Pathfinder

This part of the experience reminded me a lot of Singapore Biennale as you can explore various outdoor pavilions on Fort Canning Hill artistically designed to reveal Singapore's place in the world through different themes. Love it!

The map - of course I tried to follow it in sequence

Emporium of the East - white clay replicas of trading goods in early Singapore and some VR surprises!

House of Maps - beautiful redesign and representation of blown up maps depicting Singapore in various names

Lookout - the exterior

Lookout - interior 1

Lookout - interior 2

Seed Conservatory

Seed Conservatory - my favourite spice!

Seed Conservatory - this is one of the better surviving ones

Lightbeam - Need to visit this at night!

Pavilion of Words - Quite a collection of books on Singapore; browsed through one of TNP

Pavilion of Words - my "tweet"

Reflections of our Past - deep in thought

Observatory

Observatory - VR fun!

 So what are you waiting for? Go see it already before the tickets run out again!! You "paid" for this massive nationalistic project, you know?