Wake up and smell the coffee!

It was a decision that took about two years but I've finally done it - I've jumped on the Nespresso bandwagon. 

For as long as I can remember, I've been a 3-in-1 coffee drinker. To be more specific, Super 3-in-1 Rich Coffee Mix. Among the myriad of coffee mixes I've tried, that's the one which stands out for me in terms of taste. Plus it's very convenient. Tear the sachet, pour in the hot water, tah-dah! Coffee.

So this went on for years, until about two years ago when my sister started nagging me to put a stop to the 3-in-1. "It's so bad for your health!" she scolded. More specifically, according to her friends who are nurses, the palm oil and other preservatives in such mixes can have long-term health effects.

One thing I've come to realise: before I hit the age of 40, health warnings bored me. I would have said "Aiyah, it's just another fad! In 10 years, they'll say 3-in-1 is good for you!" But once I hit 40, such bits of info weren't brushed away quite so easily. Somehow, they creep into my mind and cause niggling doubt because I know my body is already on the downhill slope. My eyesight is deteriorating so badly that my kids now read all fine print for me. On the recent trip to London/Paris, I wore knee guards everyday so my knees wouldn't give way from all that walking, and after day 2, I had to pop into Boots to buy anti-inflammatory pills to soothe my aching back. Ageing is not glamorous. The last thing I needed was palm oil to cause my arteries to explode or something.

The problem was finding an alternative for the 3-in-1. My sister suggested a single-serve coffee machine. She had a Martello back then but I tried a cup of coffee and wasn't crazy about it. So I went on a tasting spree. Whenever I came across coffee machines on display at malls that offered samples, I asked for one. The Nescafe Dolce Gusto was released and I was hopeful - finally a coffee machine with a reasonable price-tag! But it was such a letdown. The coffee tasted like those insipid java-wannabes you get at Starbucks or Coffee Bean. No kick. Plus, to make a cappuccino or latte, you need to add a milk capsule which contains preservatives. Well, might as well stick to my 3-in-1 then! 

The cost of the machines and capsules was a big deterrent. My sister tried telling me it's still cheaper than drinking a Starbucks brew everyday, but that argument doesn't hold water cos I DESPISE Starbucks. I prefer local kopi to ang moh coffee any day. My favourite is the kopi from Toastbox (I find that among the local kopi joints, Toastbox is the most consistent in taste). If only there was a Toastbox within walking distance from my home.

So after a while, I tossed out the idea of coffee machines and explored other forms of instant coffee. Instant coffee powder, where you add milk and sugar, 2-in-1 which is basically just coffee powder and sugar. None of them stuck. The taste was disagreeable and some of them caused havoc with my stomach. After weeks of utterly unsatisfying attempts, I reverted back to my good old, preservative-laden Super 3-in-1.

Then about a year ago, my sister replaced her Martello coffee machine with a Nespresso U. She invited us to try it and whadya know, it was actually not bad! I realised that what made the difference was the milk. Her Nespresso U came with a milk frother and adding the steamed milk to the coffee ramped up an ok beverage to a wow one.

But still, I vacillated. I told myself it was expensive. I think subconsciously, I didn't want to part with my beloved 3-in-1. Before I was about to leave for London, my sister told me that Nespresso is much cheaper in Europe than in Singapore and she urged me to stop the 3-in-1 habit. Ah yes, the artery-exploding palm oil. Darn it, I thought I'd put that behind me. (I may be making my sister sound really naggy but she isn't, she's very sweet. She really cares about my health and my arteries.)

I guess God must be on her side because Nespresso recently launched the new Inissia model, which is the smallest and cheapest one yet. (Incidentally, Nespresso releases a cheaper model every few years to try and capture a new market but they all essentially work the same way, so there's no point getting the higher end model. The Inissia has all the same functions as the Pixie). In addition, there was a special promotion until 30 June 2014 where for $238, you get the Inissia and a free Aeroccino (the milk frother). You'll have to buy 10 sleeves of coffee capsules though, but you'll need to buy them eventually anyway.

I checked out the prices in London (unfortunately we were in Paris during a public holiday and the Nespresso boutiques were closed). They were offering a very attractive £40 discount off the Inissia, which made it only £49! The Aeroccino was £50. However, the discount was valid for UK residents only. I calculated that at full price, it would be cheaper to get it in Singapore with the current promotion (plus I wouldn't have to lug a bulky machine back home). So I only bought capsules which are significantly cheaper in London (about 65cts per piece vs 91cts here).

Long story short, after I returned home, I went to Takashimaya and bought me my very own Nespresso Inissia with Aeroccino and a whole bunch of Arpeggio capsules. Singapore only brings in the red and black machines for now, none of the limited edition colours. I chose the red one and the black Aeroccino.

I've used the machine for over a week now and here's my verdict:

It makes a very satisfying cuppa joe and the star is really the Aeroccino. If you drink your coffee with milk like me, it makes all the difference. In a couple of minutes, the Aeroccino whips up a batch of hot steamed milk, topped off with a layer of foam (I recommend removing the whipping ring so you don't get half your milk turned into foam). Besides making the coffee that much creamier, the plus point is that I end up drinking a lot more milk (vs 3-in-1 which is basically dairy creamer and a ton of preservatives).

Some tips: I use the Arpeggio and Decafe Intensio (for night) capsules as I like the taste - strong and smooth. They're meant to be extracted as an espresso (40ml). Nespresso tries to tell you that you have to buy the Lungo capsules if you want to make a larger cup of coffee, eg latte (they cost more), but that's rubbish lah. I've used the Arpeggio to extract 110ml (this is the setting for the lungo button on the Inissia) and it tastes perfectly fine. Add milk to the lower line on your Aeroccino and you'll get a wonderful full cup (as in the picture. Yes, I use a Disney mug ☺)

I think it's a modern marvel, these coffee machines. I can't understand how you can turn on a cold machine, press a button and have HOT coffee instantly flow into your cup. Even a kettle takes time! Same for the milk. It's very easy to use, super convenient. Just fill up the water tank when it runs low. Cleaning up is a cinch too. The discarded capsules collect in a container that you empty once in a while. The Aeroccino is like a large metal mug that you rinse out.

I'm loving my two cups of Nespresso a day. My arteries are safe for now. Added bonus: each time I make the coffee, my home is enveloped in the lovely java scent that lingers for hours ♥♥♥.

Top of the morning to you, Guv'nor!

Next week, we will be going on our family vacation - to London and Paris! I'm especially excited about this trip because it was something we had talked about doing for years. We've always felt that our kids' first trip to Europe should be London and Paris (our kids agreed!) and since travelling to Europe is not exactly cheap, we wanted to make sure that they were old enough to appreciate the cultural and historical significance of the places we visited.

We saw the window of opportunity this year as there are no major school events. Well, barring the fact that Lesley-Anne has block tests the week after the June hols, bah. (Next year, Lesley-Anne will be sitting for her A levels and the following year, Andre his O levels, so there might be all kinds of revisions and exams scheduled. Bleaaah. Sounds dreary just thinking about it.)

Both Kenneth and I have been to London and Paris and both cities were definitely memorable for us. We've been busy planning the itinerary and doing all the bookings for airlines, hotels, Eurostar, etc. A very fun sort of busy. Lesley-Anne has been too caught up with school to be excited yet but Andre has been as restless as an English terrier. All ready for fish and chips and croissants, he is!

Our bags are packed (well, almost) and even Danger Dan is making the trip with us!

During our holiday, I'll be posting on my Travel Blog whenever I can find the time (and wifi!) So if you'd like to read about our adventures, do check in there occasionally.

Meanwhile, lay off those assessment books for a bit and have a great mid-year break!

Danger Dan #3 and one questionable video!

Book 3 of  Danger Dan is out! Isn't it such a glorious shade of purple?

Titled Danger Dan Spooks the Peculiar Peranakan Pirate, it sees Danger Dan hurtling back in time to 1819 - yes, the historic date when Singapore embarked on its destiny to become a British colony. Will Danger Dan get to meet Sir Stamford Raffles in the flesh? Perhaps... but first, he has to battle ferocious pirates to save Sultan Hussein from a watery grave!

We received a very complimentary review of the series from journalist Clara Chow: "If Doctor Who were 11 years old and born in Singapore, he'd be a lot like Danger Dan. This time-travelling boy wonder romps through Temasek with a feisty female partner, offering a fun alternative to boring textbook versions of local history."

We've also been getting fantastic reviews from kids and what we find most heartening is that they all say Danger Dan is funny. It's great to know that the stories strike a funny bone. Nothing like a little chuckle to whisk away the cares of homework and exams!  

Our publisher, Epigram Books, will be holding a sales conference in June and we were invited to introduce Danger Dan to the participants. However, since we will be away on our family vacation, we were asked to produce a video clip instead. Initially, I thought of just doing a simple clip where Lesley-Anne and I would talk briefly about Danger Dan.

But Lesley-Anne, being the ambitious teen, had other ideas. She came up with a storyboard of 10 things about Danger Dan and us, the authors. We filmed it and even roped Andre in! Lesley-Anne pieced it all together using Windows Movie Maker. It was pretty hilarious. She turned out to be surprisingly talented at hamming it up and alarmingly for me, I think my reputation is ruined forever.

Anyway, if you're curious or wanna laugh at how silly I look, you can watch the video clip here. It will also give you a quick summary of the series.

Danger Dan Spooks the Peculiar Peranakan Pirate will be available at all major bookstores soon (give them a week or two to bring in the stocks). $10.90 each (before GST).

Danger Dan makes it to Zaobao!

Did you have a good Vesak Day break? Not sure how many of my readers read Zaobao but we were featured in the paper yesterday! 

This is the back page of ZB Now, the lifestyle section of Zaobao. The reporter wrote about my relationship with my kids and how I encourage them to love reading and writing. The article also talks about me writing Danger Dan with Lesley-Anne.

I must confess, with my limited Chinese, I struggled through the article and relied mostly on Kenneth to read it out to me. I thought the reporter was very complimentary - she made me sound much more fantastic than I actually am in real life! Helps that the Chinese language is so poetic - one or two words can hold so much meaning. You can read the article here.

The photographer was also super friendly and she experimented with different compositions until she came up with the brainwave of making Andre do a star jump.

Did you notice the large Danger Dan poster on our wall? That was a gift from Epigram Books - signed by all the staff. They're a truly supportive and fun bunch. We love working with them.

Meanwhile, Danger Dan book 3 will be out 26 May! Titled Danger Dan Spooks the Peculiar Peranakan Pirate, it will see Danger Dan hurtling back to 1819 Singapore. Watch this blog or go to the Danger Dan Facebook page for updates!

Nostalgia vs reality

Early this year, I was very excited when I discovered a new channel on Starhub cable - Hits. It's a channel dedicated to all the oldies. I was thrilled that I would get to relive my childhood with shows like The Golden Girls, Seinfeld, Diff'rent Strokes and so on. These are the tv shows I grew up with and have very fond memories of.

I should have known I was setting myself up because many of the shows simply didn't live up to what I remembered. I told Andre to watch The A Team, telling him it was action-packed and very entertaining. We watched the first episode together, sitting through a whole lot of lame jokes and a very simplistic plot. When it ended, Andre said diplomatically, "it's ok" but I'm sure in his mind, he must have been thinking, "My parents are weird". Kenneth admitted to me later, "It was quite boring. I can't believe I used to wait eagerly for this show on tv!" I also watched a rerun of Star Trek: The Next Generation and oh my goodness, some of the scenes and costumes were so cheesy that they were almost painful to watch. Part of me hopes Starhub never shows reruns of Happy Days because I don't think I can take another discordant fissure in my memory bank.

Oh, remember ET? It was my absolute favourite movie growing up. I had watched it on a bad videocassette tape (remember those??) seven times and thought it was brilliant. Then decades later, I watched it again and despite willing myself to love it, I almost fell asleep - it was sooooo slow-moving. Nothing like a dose of reality to shatter all your rose-coloured dreams.

It's a reminder of how much more we've come to expect of entertainment. Everything must be super fast-paced, with complex twists and turns. Dialogue should be snappy, comedy over-the-top funny and characters with more dimension than the Twilight Zone.

It's the same with food. In my teenage and university years, coffeehouses were the luxury places we could go to for a meal. My father worked at Sea View Hotel and I looked forward to the times when I could eat at the coffeehouse and enjoy the absolutely marvelous oxtail stew made by Hainanese chefs. I measured all other oxtail stews by that one (and of course all others fell short).

Couldn't resist the temptation to dig up old photos! Unfortunately, I don't seem to have a single one of Sea View Hotel, but I found this one in front of Yaohan, which was next to Sea View. That's me on the left with my sister.

Right up to my working days, two of the coffeehouses I went to quite regularly was Jack's Place and Han's. The value of their set meals couldn't be beat and those were the popular eateries for people of my generation (still are, I believe).

Our last time at Jack's Place was last year, when we brought the kids there for lunch. It was then that we all realised the food wasn't very appetising. The soup, supposedly cream of chicken, was so thickened with starch it was almost blobby and tasted exactly the way it looked (we called it Cream of Starch). The dessert was a few pieces of fruit cocktail suspended in a synthetic jelly. The steak was rubbery. Does anyone else find it odd that a western-style steak can come with a side of cabbage? One of us had the chicken that came in a strange lychee-flavoured sauce. Only the coffee was still good (I have a special place in my heart for thick, local kopi).

Han's was even worse. The fish and chips were soggy and sad. My kids hated it and we only went once. Cheap...but not good. (PS This is our opinion only. If you're a Jack's Place or Han's fan, no need to send me protest notes explaining why I'm wrong, haha.)

And I kept thinking: gosh, I used to like the food here!?

The reason is simple: It's not that the food at these places has gotten worse. It's that we've come to expect more. In the past, we had fewer choices. These days, food variety in Singapore has expanded so much that we've grown accustomed to better quality and sophistication. And it's not like we have to pay more either, compared to Jack's Place and the likes. If you bother to explore and do some research, you can get good eats at great prices, especially for lunch.

Many restaurants now offer value-for-money lunch sets, like Astons or New Zealand Bar and Grill, one of our favourite hangouts. You can get a set meal starting from as low as $10. Very hearty portions and all very well done. My kids and even my mother-in-law, who's picky about food, love it there.

The truth is, whether we like it or not, we evolve over time. We change and our yardsticks change. We practically demand better food as customers, even without realising it. As a result, some things that we liked in the past, sadly remain good only in our memories, which can be fickle and unreliable when tempered with emotion. In other words, the good old days are not necessarily all that golden. We just choose to remember them that way.

Nostalgia is comforting and helps us embrace our past (funny how just looking at a photo with a sepia tone automatically injects an "aaah" feel-good factor). But nostalgia can also be an insidious tool, choosing to filter memories through soft focus lens to suit our frame of mind - whether it is to mourn a time lost or people who have passed us by. In fact, this perception can be so entrenched that having it dislodged may cause discomfort, even distress. In a way, I'm glad the Sea View Hotel oxtail stew is no longer around. It can stay on the pedestal in my mind forever.

What's my point, if any? Well, it's nice to reminisce every now and then. But dwelling on the past and thinking that nothing will ever be as good as it was, is simply our memory playing tricks on us. Some people like to lament, "Things are not like they used to be!" True. But they were not necessarily better.

Some things have stood the test of time. Like The Cosby Show and Little House on the Prairie. Still terrific after all these years. And Jack's Place's coffee. Others haven't fared so well. I don't think we'll really enjoy living in the past as much as we think we will, knowing what we know now. Some things in the present are actually improvements from the past. So putting nostalgia aside, enjoying the present is still the most productive way to live, afterall. 

We're in Young Parents magazine...again!

Lesley-Anne and I have been featured in the May issue of Young Parents magazine! We're on pages 32-33 as part of the Mother's Day feature on bonding with kids.

This is actually the second time we've been featured in Young Parents, thanks to the very supportive Editor, Stephanie Yeo. The first time was back in January 2010. I wrote about it here.

When Young Parents decides to put you in a feature with a photo shoot, it's the full works - hair, makeup, wardrobe, photography. It's a fascinating experience (for folks like me who generally dress very casually) that can elicit a range of expressions, from wonder "is that really my hair?" to horror "not those spaghetti straps, please!"

But all in all, it's good fun and the people directing the shoot usually go out of their way to make you feel comfortable. I must say the photographer did a great job in getting us to smile naturally and I do think Lesley-Anne looks fabulous :)

So if you want to read about how we wrote Danger Dan together (and the fights that ensued!) do pick up a copy of Young Parents, available at newsstands now.

Incidentally, Epigram Books just published a pretty hilarious interview with Danger Dan on their blog here. An interview with Danger Dan, you ask? Yes! With the boy hero himself! Do check out what he thinks of his female sidekick, his creators (ahem, us!) and himself. I promise you will be entertained!

Making the most of JC life

Before Lesley-Anne entered Junior College, she'd heard loads of horror stories about how hectic JC life is, how some kids can barely keep up and find it so stressful compared to secondary school.

Now that she's been in JC for slightly more than 2 months, she can verify that the rumours on workload are all true. She has lessons until 4pm on most days. On CCA days, she reaches home after 9pm, exhausted. There are lecture tests and class tests almost every week, so many that she has lost count. She often has so much homework that she can't finish it at home and has to complete it during free periods in between classes.

But here's the thing: Lesley-Anne LOVES JC life.

I think it's a combination of three factors: subject combination, class and CCA. Lesley-Anne's subject combination came about not without sleepless nights and having to jump through multiple hoops. Already choosing to go to the humanities stream was considered second rate in a crazy system that still values the sciences (unless you're in the special Humanities Programme which Lesley-Anne chose not to try out for because of its over-competitiveness). She wanted to take Literature, English Language and Linguistics (ELL), Geography, and Maths at H1 level. This met with some concern by the school because they felt that taking Lit and ELL would "limit" her options. As the Epigram Books' editor commented, "aren't they the ones limiting her options? She's a writer!"

The school would have preferred her to take the more conventional subject Econs, in place of ELL. Just to give some background, almost everyone in the humanities stream (and many in the science stream) takes Econs as it's considered a "useful" subject and also one that's relatively easier to score in. Econs has a high percentage of A grades at the 'A' levels, while ELL is considered a straight B subject (negligible number of A grades). But Lesley-Anne went for the introductory Econs lectures and she was bored out of her mind (besides being perplexed by many of the concepts).

Even choosing to take Maths at H1 level (in my time, the 'AO' level equivalent) was a controversial choice. Maths at H2 level is one of those subjects that almost everyone takes because it has one of the highest level of A grades. In a cohort where more than 1,000 kids in Lesley-Anne's JC take Maths, only a paltry 26 take Maths at H1 level. And these are mostly the students who didn't meet the qualifying grade (based on sec4 Maths results) to take it at H2. So Lesley-Anne was an exceptional case because she qualified for Maths at H2 but didn't take it. Her reasoning was that to do well in Maths at H2, she would have to put in five times more effort in a subject that she doesn't care about. She would rather dedicate her time and energy to her other subjects.

I agreed with her assessment. I've always found that looking at the percentage of A grades as an indication of whether you would get an A is so flawed. Plus choosing subjects based on what you think you can score in, not based on interest, has always been one of my bugbears about the education system. So at the time when she was going through multiple subject combinations in her head and trying to think about the ramifications of each choice, I told her: forget about trying to chiong with everyone else. JC is 2 years of your life you'll want to remember - choose the subjects you are passionate about and enjoy the experience.

So Lesley-Anne appealed to take ELL, sat for a qualifying test and was selected. Thankfully, the school granted her request to take ELL and Lit together. It's been only about two months and she is enjoying her subjects tremendously. She loves the classes and I think at JC level, the humanities teachers really welcome divergent views, as long as your arguments are cogent. Lesley-Anne loves that the lessons call for critical thinking instead of merely parroting someone else's opinions, as was often the case in secondary school. It's a lot of work but it's interesting work.

The second factor is her classmates. In the beginning of the year, Lesley-Anne was quite apprehensive as to who her classmates would be. In secondary school, she encountered many, for a lack of a better description, what we call "mugger" kids. There's a difference between being hardworking and being a mugger. Hardworking kids understand the importance of diligence and study hard. Mugger kids take this to a whole new level - they consider grades THE most important thing in life, judge others purely by academic results and are myopically competitive. If they get a B grade, they moan and whine that their life is over (whether they really mean it or do it to get attention, it's annoying). So they're always poring over their books and great at regurgitating content but when you have a conversation with them, you often find that there's no depth to their thoughts or views.

I think God really answered Lesley-Anne's prayers for a good class. Her class is a mix of quirky and bright kids, the majority of whom are hardworking but not muggers. They strive to do well but they don't obsess over their grades. Lesley-Anne loves that they challenge her intellectually and constantly broaden her mindset. They have all kinds of interests, from sports to dance to debating, and add so much fun and personality to the class.

Finally, CCA. Over the past couple of years, Lesley-Anne's passion in dance has blossomed. Even though she has completed her Grade 8 in ballet, she wants to continue lessons, just because she loves it. In JC, she really wanted to get into the modern dance CCA but it's extremely competitive as there are limited spaces (mostly taken by kids who had been in the dance CCA in secondary school). So she prayed very hard for this and at the audition, danced her heart out... and was selected. She's one of only four girls who weren't previously in dance CCAs.

In Lesley-Anne's own words, "this completes my JC life." We're very, very grateful that God has been so gracious in answering all her prayers.

I know it's early days yet and we can't tell what will happen. She may end up not doing that well for 'A' levels, for whatever reason. But I've always maintained that the education journey is never solely about grades - it's about the experience and the learning, regardless of the end result. And I know that I've not seen Lesley-Anne this happy and engaged in a long time, so it's all good.

Spreading the love of reading and writing

I thought I'd post my thoughts on school talks. When Lesley-Anne and I first started getting booked for these talks, our response was something like "yay!" but "yikes!" At first, our goal was modest - to be interesting enough so that the kids won't be bored. But quickly, we realised that school talks pose an invaluable platform for us to share something more meaningful with the kids.

Some authors use these school talk opportunities to purely promote their books but we try not to do that. Sure, we want the kids to know about Danger Dan but we also feel strongly that we have a responsibility to do more as local authors. So in our 25-minute school talk, we also encourage the students to develop the love of writing and overcome challenges to pursue their passion. It's presented in a light-hearted way and mostly by Lesley-Anne, sharing her own personal experiences.

Last week, we conducted a couple of school talks - one at Temasek Primary:

And one at ACS (Junior):

What I've noticed is this: the students love Lesley-Anne's sharing. I think it's because she comes across as very real and sincere, and since she's a teenager, she better understands what the primary school kids are going through and feeling. So her experiences resonate with the kids (plus she has a killer powerpoint presentation!) The response so far has been fantastic - the kids are enthusiastic and laugh at all the jokes.

After the talks, we sometimes station ourselves at a book sale booth to sign copies of Danger Dan. Interacting with the kids truly is the best part. Occasionally, we meet kids who have already read Danger Dan and come up to ask for our autographs on their books. One girl brought a rather tattered copy of Danger Dan book 1 for me to sign and said it was her brother's book - he loved it so much he'd read it over and over. Comments like these really make our day.

Some other updates: We also did a Danger Dan book launch at Kinokuniya Jurong on 22 March.

We loved having James Tan, our illustrator, present to demonstrate his artistic prowess. Here he is showing the evolution of Danger Dan:

James even sketched members of the audience on scraps of paper and some of them were lucky enough to get this unexpected keepsake.

And for those who bought the books that day, his autograph was a drawing of Danger Dan! How cool is that?

Media update: We received some cool publicity in Kids Dailies - a Hong Kong newspaper for kids. The interview was done when we were there for the Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival earlier last month.

And finally, here's an interesting tidbit that I've not shared with readers till now:

Back in January, our whole family was at Peirce Reservoir, having just finished a photo shoot when Kenneth spotted Singapore's own football legend, Quah Kim Song, walking towards us. This is amazingly fortuitous because: 

1) our first Danger Dan book was JUST out and we had mentioned Quah Kim Song in it 

2) we actually had the book with us as we'd brought it along for the photo shoot!

So I introduced myself and showed Quah Kim Song the passages about him. He signed our book (right next to the football icon no less!) and posed for a photo with us.

It was a promising start for Danger Dan and now looking back, I can't believe so much has happened in just over two months! Truly exciting times.

 

In defence of the public sector

I recently came across this blog post written by Lucian Teo, saying that it's terribly discouraging to work in the public sector these days. It's a brave post because based on my observation, anti-establishment sentiment is at an all-time high.

In the course of my work, I meet many people from the public sector, from different organisations, and I kinda agree with Lucian - in some ways, it's harder to work in the public sector than private sector now.

Recently I was at KKH and at the payment counter, there was a man making a loud fuss about something or the other. I don't know what it was about but he went around calling all the staff stupid. His teenage daughter, who was the patient, was sitting quietly, looking like she wanted to disappear into a hole as her father ranted and railed. As far as I could see, the nurses tried to attend to him while taking the verbal abuse. I was thinking, thank goodness I'm not in the public service cos I would have told him exactly what i thought of him.

There are many public servants who deal with this sort of thing everyday. I'm not saying they're saints - I'm just saying they do their jobs. And sometimes it can become an extremely unpleasant job. All of us occasionally complain about the people we work with or our customers. But unlike with you and I, if public servants complain about horrible customers, you can bet they'll get no sympathy. Just a cold "that's your job".

I've no doubt that if that father at KKH had later gone online to complain about the "useless public hospital staff and the state of public service", he would have gotten many likes and comments agreeing with him from people who were not present at the scene. It has become fashionable and trendy now to be seen as anti-establishment. Which I've written before, is as unthinking as being pro-establishment.

It doesn't help when online celebrities join in the flame war. The minute they mention something unflattering about a public service experience or person, others will automatically jump in to see who can out-insult the government/public sector/public service officers.  Often exaggerated, mindless and mean-spirited.

I don't see how this is any different from bullying. The popular gang picks on someone, that person becomes fair game. Everyone wants in on the action. Bystanders don't say anything cos it's uncool to disagree, even if the comments are baseless or wild generalisations. I'm often amazed by how little people are interested in the truth. People will spread a rumour as long as it reinforces what they want to believe. If they happen to be proven wrong later, they will justify or excuse their actions in some other way: "Oh, it's because I've been so frustrated or was shortchanged." Really? It's okay to lash out at others just because we're unhappy? Funny, I don't think we'll feel that way if we're at the receiving end. I'm sure that KKH father was very frustrated, maybe even with cause. Still, it didn't give him the right to behave that way.

There are many public sector services that I find excellent, especially in e-services. Applying for utilities or a passport, for example. Very fast and easy. In most other countries, you queue for hours, deal with bored and surly officers, and wait for weeks. Like most folks, I dislike filing taxes but I have to admit the tax e-filing is very convenient and hassle-free.

I frequently interview doctors and healthcare professionals at SGH as part of my work. Their schedules are packed and if they're senior staff, they're often roped in to several committees, while having to juggle clinic duty, research and teaching. Once, I interviewed a senior doctor whose clinic duty load was so heavy that he didn't have time for lunch. Still, he made time for me at 4pm and answered my questions graciously, while wolfing down a cold sandwich. And I almost always leave the interviews with a deep sense of appreciation for these people who can have a much cushier life in the private sector and earn a heck of a lot more, but stay because they have a heart for service.

Is the public sector perfect? Of course not and that's not the point because nothing ever is. But the public sector is not an impassive, monochromatic institution. It is made up of many, many individuals (136,000 from what I know) with a wide spectrum of personalities and life goals. Are there disenchanted, dishonest and disengaged public servants? Of course. I sometimes come into contact with them. But just like in any other sector or company, there are also hardworking, big-hearted people who want to serve even as they try to earn a living. And no, I don't believe these are the exceptions.

So while I'm not advocating that we put the public sector on a pedestal, I would like to see that we treat people, no matter who they are and where they work, with a little more kindness. Because this institution that we belittle so carelessly and easily, either online or in person, is not a faceless, concrete mass. It is made up of people - every single one of them with thoughts and feelings. Maybe you've had a bad experience in one area or with one person. That's no cause to dismiss the entire public sector and the many good people in it.

To the public servants who do their best because they want to serve, we don't often say this enough but thank you for doing what you do.

My son, the copywriter

In our household, it's a no-brainer which kid is the one with the flair for language. Lesley-Anne loves Literature and end of last year, we were terribly pleased to find out that she had topped Literature in the secondary 4 level in her school. It was a bonus in the crown to having the Danger Dan series published.

In contrast, Literature baffles left-brained Andre. When he was in sec 1, he had this exercise which required him to describe a cream bun. It was a 10-mark question. Andre ignored the many lines provided (which clearly indicated the teacher was expecting a substantial description) and wrote: "The bun is soft and creamy."

After I'd admonished him for this less than adequate answer, he replied, rather puzzled, "What else do you want me to say? It's a cream bun!"

After his mid-year Literature exam last year, Andre was asked by Lesley-Anne, "So how was the paper?" 

Andre: "There was one passage I didn't know what it was talking about."
 
Lesley-Anne: "How many passages were there?"

Andre: "One."

Groan. Apparently it was something about whispering clouds and five-fingered ferns. Totally went over his head.

However, that's not to say he's not creative. In January this year, his class was tasked with thinking up a class slogan. Each student had to come up with something and Andre's contribution was: "Nutella is smooth but life is not. So work hard!"

He said the class laughed but nobody voted for his suggestion. Instead, the class went with something safe like "Work smart, work hard." Oh come on, I would have totally voted for his line! It made me laugh so hard, especially when he suggested an accompanying picture of a giant jar of Nutella. Product placement as well! What's there not to love?

And then on my birthday, Lesley-Anne presented me with this: a stuffed hedgehog she made herself, using felt, cotton and cloth. It's beautiful and I was touched by the amount of work and thought that went into it.

There was no way Andre could top that - he just doesn't have that sort of patience or ability. However, what Andre lacks in skill, he makes up for in charm. He gave me a pack of chocolate chip cookies:

And on a scrap of paper, he wrote: "Cookies crumble but my love for you does not." As my friend Lilian said, "win liao lor".

Looks like there's hope yet. Another friend of mine says Andre possibly has a future career in Hallmark Cards. Yes, maybe in the Corny Card section!