Collin Ng's Blog

Year 2008 has been one tumultuous year, the world over and I hope to end the year with this hilarious video clip for all. May 2009 bring prosperity, happiness and longevity to all.

The Standard Chartered Marathon 2008 is the event I have been working hard for the entire year and I am pleased to have achieved the 55 minutes target I have set for the 10km. I did one better by slicing more than 8 minutes from last year's result, achieving 53 mins 34 seconds and my target for 2009 is 42km now. Daunting but I am confident I can achieve it under 6 hours.

This is a 2-minute video clip of me in last year's Standard Chartered Run where I clocked 1 hr 1 min 49 seconds in my first 10 km race. The first part of the video has glimpses of some Singapore's attractions & the 42km winner from Kenya and the humble side of me is shown on the last part (please strain your eyes in picking me up from the crowd, not that difficult I believe).

This year Standard Chartered run is my second, did my first last year. I clocked 1 hour 1 min plus in my first 10 km, which to me, was already a pleasant surprise. I did not expect to clock just slightly over 1 hour in that run because I did not do much serious outdoor running prior, mostly on the treadmills and at most 15 mins each time. My dainty CEO was game enough to attempt 21 km for this year after completing her 10 km last year, asked me to partake with her in that category but I felt I should work to better my own time clocked in 2007 run instead. A goal I had set for myself this year. Still, she earned my admiration for upping her distance while rest of my colleagues who did last year's 10km run incuding me chose to maintain status quo for 2008 run. The large part of 2008 was mainly indoor training at the gym for me, 15 mins on treadmills (no more, no less) followed by free weight to tone up muscles and the sequence was repeated over 2 or 3 times in a week. Quite fra...

In order to get out from the doldrums he had created for himself in Singapore, he therefore agreed to plead guilty for insulting our judiciary and also publicly announced that he will delete all the postings on his blogs. Had he not done so, he would have to spend more jail time here and he could ill afford to so, given his badly battered financial situation. And by the way, I read from his blog he is now seeking for donations from public to keep him afloat (no diff to a street beggar, albeit an able-bodied & educated one). Upon arriving home in the U.S., he immediately announced that he will not delete his postings on his blog and vowed to fight the cause of all Singaporeans from the outside. This is not a joke, an ex Singaporean of dubious background and had failed to win a seat as opposition on many occasions still harbours dream to be our M.P. one day. Ours is only a red dot, he will earn immense recognition if he fights for the people in his second home in the Congress, that i...

Led by our doctor, Dr Melati who has managed to garner volunteers in Batam and some of our colleagues from Singapore to visit this orphanage located in an island in Barelang (southern tip of Batam) on 16 Nov, Sunday. An hour bumpy boat ride is needed to reach their destination. This is an initiative by the staff of Batam View in their personal capacity and when words were spread around, many of our colleagues in Singapore willingly chipped in generously. They have managed to raise S$1,050 which were used to purchase necessities for these kids. Special thanks should go to Dr Melati for initiating this charity drive, Mag & Era for volunteering their time to tend to these kids, Chooi Nee for her untiring effort in getting the donations from our colleagues (her sweet smile did the trick though, on the guys) and all the unsung heroes shown in the pictures. Charity begins at home and it is really heartening our little efforts have given hopes to these underprivileged kids. We hop...

With the recent High Notes saga still not completely over yet, the unofficial ‘spokesperson’ for the affected High Notes investors at Speakers’ Corner in Hong Lim Park has finally revealed his political ambition in today’s Sunday Times and quite frankly, I am not the least surprised at all. I am no savvy investor or the ignorant one but the economic instability especially the abrupt collapse of Lehman Brothers did make me pay a little more attention to the saga. Prior to that, the name Tan Kin Lian was complete alien to me though he was once the CEO of government-owned NTUC Income and his meteoric rise in recent times, did raise an eyebrow or two. Had Tan not readily volunteered his 'voice' to the aggrieved investors in this tumultuous period, will our MAS not act to protect the interest of these investors? I believe MAS, as a responsible authority will still act to protect the genuinely affected investors, with or without Tan's timely intervention. I was sharing a casual l...

I don't know know this person, Gopalan Nair personally but I detest enough to pen my thought of him on my blog. In recent times, he has been making wave here, one after another since he had openly challenged our judiciary in his 'protected' & deemed to be safe capacity as a second class American citizen. He felt injustice of sorts inflicted on the infamous Chees siblings' recent court tussel here, therefore decided to play hero the way he thinks any American will do. And by the way, he was a former Singaporean who was educated in the world-renowned, Raffles Institution and under our rigid education system, he became a lawyer (no thanks though). But having failed to secure a seat in parliament in as many tries under Workers Party's banner then (a great relief to us), he reckoned he is better off holding Uncle Sam's passport. Challenged he did, so openly on his blog and even announcing his hotel room number just to make sure our ever efficient pol...

My friend who is neither a hairstylist nor barber, concern perhaps has taken the trouble to create some new hair-dos for me and if my crowning glory still allowed, I would go for my 1968 style. However, after so many years, I should maintain status quo...sigh!

The Nongsa Cup is an annual affair and it is the initiative of Batam View Beach Resort, Turi Beach, Palm Springs Golf and Tering Bay Golf incepted in year 2006. This year Nongsa Cup had received tremendous response, only 144 golfers were accepted and many were politely rejected. We have had more sponsors for this year than the previous years, recession or not. Some 90 prizes to be given away as lucky draw, most golfers walked away with at least one prize. Golfers played two rounds of 18-hole games @ Palm Spring and Tering Bay and accommodated @ Batam View or Turi Beach. Nongsa Cup is the golf event of each calendar year now. Three cheers to the organising committee for the great job...hip hip hip, hooray x 3!

Dainty she may look but guys out there, try challenging her to a 5 km run if you dare...for she packs a lethal finishing to the tape. And she is none other than Winnie - my running partner. This morning GE run (26 Oct, Sunday on a Deepavali holiday) organised by Great Eastern for all the fitness conscious ladies was for a charitable purpose and proceeds to the cancer cause. Two events, the competitive 10 km was flagged off @ 0730 hrs and the fun 5 km run flagged off one hour later @ 0830 hrs. More than 5,000 runners participated in each event and in all more than 10,000 female runners from all walks of lives. It was cloudy of sorts but not likely to rain any moment though, cooling enough to say the least. After the flagged off for the 5 km @ slightly over 0830 hrs near the Esplanade, I slowly inched my way to the finishing point at the Padang. Got myself a vantage point slightly away from the finishing line, carefully timed my watch for in half an hour time, I should be wat...

(Jeannie on the far right & Irene seated behind her. Ada is just behind me and further back, Dion) The much awaited get-together of long lost colleagues dated back during our airport days in the swinging 80s finally took place at Sakura Orchard recently. As it was a lunch gathering, a pity many of our former colleagues could not make it due to prior work commitments. Well, yours truly me, so happened to be the only thorn among the roses, an honour indeed! We certainly have had good conversation, and much catching up. Oh yes, I have not met Irene for at least some good 20 years (not to be reminded of our age though), she is still keeping that cool look & suffice to say, pretty enuf and this is probably thanks to CX for their fine grooming of their cabin crew. We have the unmistakable sweet smile of Dion (ex Mary) who, by the way is a hairstylist and a boss herself still reminds me of that young & chatty lady at the airport then. Regrettably, she won't get to do my...

This young Korean toddler is just 5 years of age, born blind who is adopted by a kind childless couple but the amazing talent in music she has in her is simply unbelievable. She really touched the hearts of many, I am moved just by watching this video. She is a gem.

Ran two races in six days, the 4km 'Run For Hope' on 5 Oct organised by the National Cancer Society and the 6.6km Maritime Nautical Run this morning by Maritime Port Authority (MPA). Both two races were held at East Coast Lagoon. While the former was mainly a social run for the cancer charity fund raising, the latter was more competitive in every aspect. Both events were held in the morning, flagged off at about 0800 hrs. The weather on 5 Oct was so cool, quite cloudy though. It was a relaxing affair for me, I did not have to go all out to complete the 4km race in my best time as I was pacing my running partner, WK who was running in such race for the first time. The weather, though threatening to rain had held out well throughout the race. The run was not exhaustive for me but still sweat poured easily. WK, in only 3 practices prior to this run had never covered more than 4km in one go but in this race, she was able to hold her own till the end. What a finish it was, ...

This message is specially written for New Century's staff. Located in the eastern part of Singapore, the shoreline of Bedok Reservoir (indicated in red marking, our running route) is 4.3km which has an average depth of 9 m. It is a man-made reservoir completed in year 1986 in Bedok New Town then. This reservoir has indeed come a long way since; in recent years we have had witnessed a series of international water sporting events initiated by Singapore Sports Council. One of the popular jogging venues around, come 31 Oct, Friday it will be our company's health activity for the month. A fast & fit runner can cover the 4.3 km well under 20 mins but an average one can easily complete one round within half an hour, with minutes to spare even. If running is too daunting for some, fret not...for leisure walking around the reservoir can still be covered in an hour. Whatever activity one may choose, there's always something for everyone. Those who have signed up for t...

The sudden demise of Joshua Benjamin Jeyaratnam, better known by many as JBJ has saddened me somewhat. He was a truly opposition member in every sense, a never-say-die fighter to the end. He lost in as many court rulings, bankrupted & discharged and bankrupted again & finally discharged but he had never wavered during these trying periods. I missed seeing him sparring verbally in the wake of much stronger opponents in Parliament, a lone voice but fiesty he certainly was. I remember vividly, despite his advanced age, he was always seen standing outside the entrance of Centrepoint selling his books to the walking public assisted by his only ardent supporter, Ng Teck Siong who is the Chairman of newly formed Singapore Reform. A sorry sight, to say the least. He formed Singapore Reform in the hope to put forth his voice in parliament one day but with his passing away, I do not think anyone in the opposition ward could fill the big shoes he had left behind. While he may not...

Foreign talents aside, paralympians like Yip Pin Xiu and Laurentia Tan have certainly made our red dot shinning bright in the international sporting arena. Both young ladies have won a combined 4 medals, a gold, a silver & 2 bronzes in the last Beijing Paralympics games. What makes this even sweeter for us is that both are Singapore born, they are true blue Singaporeans to say the least. Their achievements have inspired many future able-bodied Singapore Olympians that winning more Olympic medals in the many years to come can be made possible with one hundred & one percent dedication coupled with plenty of hard work & sacrifices. Yip Pin Xiu who is only 16 years of age and suffering from muscular dystrophy is already making plan to repeat her golden feat in 2012 London Paralympics. While we know, it is a daunting task for her given her physical condition, however her commitment to the love of her sport, i.e. swimming and performing her best is beyond word of description. Ex...

In his National Rally speech touching briefly on the Olympics, PM Lee mentioned that the large population of China is about 300 times of us and theoretically speaking, it would take China to win 300 medals before Singapore has a chance for just one precious medal of any colour or type. Notwithstanding in the last Beijing Olympics, it's all thanks to the foreign talents, the likes of Li Jia Wei & company that enabled us to win the elusive silver medal in the women's table tennis team event after 48 years waiting never mind the fiascos within the fratenity. Ours is a small country, some 3 million are true bred Singaporeans to be exact. Do we have to wait for another 48 years to win an Olympics medal? And hopefully this time, by a Singapore-born Singaporean. The king of sprinter of all times, Bolt hailed from Jamaica, which has a population base smaller than us, 2.5 million to be exact. Bolt broke the 100 metre & 200 metre records in astonishing time and above that, the ...

Hooray, Singapore will be celebrating her 43rd birthday on 9 August. Wishing my country a happy & prosperous birthday and may SIN continue to shine as a red dot. One people, one nation, one Singapore...

It's been a long while since my last post on my blog, have a sudden urge to pen my thought. Most Singaporeans tend to complain the slightest hiccups about our public transportation; taxi, bus or MRT , you name it. Was in Kuala Lumpur recently, would like to comment on the public transportation there. For starter, the taxi fare is much cheaper than SIN but some ignorant commuters might end up paying much more for a short ride if not careful. A friend and I tried to board a waiting cab at the taxi stand in Bukit Bintang , we were quoted RM35 to go to a nearby destination. Of course, we declined his 'generous' offer, instead chose to hail a moving cab. Within minutes, we got a cab based on meter charge and we ended paying only RM15 for the ride, a big saving for us. To be fair to the cab drivers in Malaysia, not all are the unscrupulous sorts, I have met some honest & friendly ones too. Here in SIN, our MRT and LRTs are interlinked which is god-send. LRT & Monorail...

Unveiling the two contestants vying for the coveted Ms Bollywood of BRF title, wonder who's the winner?

It was my 46th birthday on 12 Feb lah. It was so nice of Sabrina and Mandy, my two favourite babes to buy me dinner @ Crystal Jade on my birthday. Rare chance to have two hot babes to celeberate birthday with an old man, how not to miss out man! Anway, thanks alot to the two of them and I'll never forget this special moment. Me and the cake and that little candle. That's Mandy. Come to think of it, are we compatible or not? Hmm... That sweet little thing is Sabrina in her new hairdo but I still prefer her with long hair though. By the way, it's my own opinion hor but it's Jeremy's opinion that matters most lah. The King and his ahem....No.1 & No.2, well in my dream lor!

This is my A-team from New Century Tours & Batam View Sales at the last company's Christmas Party. It's me in the centre, save for the hair the chap in white with the peace sign. The one on my right is Irene Tan, sexy right? She's still available if any guy is keen to know her more. On my left is Pak Jani, think I'm 1 mm taller than him but he's abit better looking than me (on picture only). In the front row, it's Charlotte on the far left. Quiet by nature but she is already taken liao, sorry guys! Har, next to her is Penny. Meticulous to a fault, I can always rely on her to handle any task without sweat. On the far right, some say she looks like an actress from Hongkong (sorry, can't remember the name of that actress - not the popular one) and her name is Gloria. Ya, next to her is the mama of the group. Young at heart and the live-wire, it's Magdalene who, sometimes speaks with an Aussie twang.