tzlee.com/blog

Category: Lifestyle & Hobbies

  • Open Letter to Ministry of Transport to implement SimplyGo Express Travel Card

    Dear <REDACTED>

    Hope this email finds you well. I would like to ask MOT why our SimplyGo isn’t available as an Express Travel Card on Apple’s iOS.

    If you use an iPhone and have been to other countries including Japan, HK, China, Korea and even USA, their travel cards are available in the Apple Wallet and it is very convenient.

    The Express Travel Card allows it to be used without authentication (Face ID) and can even be used when the phone battery is flat. It’s designed for fast entry and exit so users can simply tap their phone without ever having to open up the wallet app and authenticating before presenting the card to the reader.

    In addition, the availability of the travel card on the phone reduces the need for users to buy a physical card, or download and additional app. It’s not only more environmentally friendly – it will also be much more convenient for tourists.

    I hope MOT will consider asking SimplyGo to implement the Express Travel Card on Apple’s iOS. Singapore prides itself as one of the top places in the world for public transportation, and we should keep up with the times.

    For more information:
    https://support.apple.com/en-sg/105123

    Best Regards,
    Justin Lee

  • Ten years of memories

    Ten years of memories

    I resigned from my previous job and joined a new one in 2020 – just right before the whole COVID-19 pandemic started.

    The “previous job” wasn’t just a job. It was a job I had for almost ten years since 2010. Ten years in the Tech industry today is quite unheard of – but I think many people do not stay long enough these days to see through the gravity of decisions they made and clean up the sh*t along the way.

    I was (and still am today) a Director of the business entity in Singapore. Since I am (still) a Director, I didn’t have to vacate my desk like a normal resigning employee would; I had intended to do so over several weeks or months, but COVID struck, and then weeks became months, months became years.

    It’s now September 2021 – almost two years from when I had resigned from my “previous job” and all my stuff are still in the office. Ten years of stuff to be precise. The office is undergoing a refresh now, so I decided it is really time to vacate my luxurious corner seat for those who deserve it, but as I start clearing out my desk I can’t help but feel very emotional…

    Ten years didn’t go by quickly, yet it felt like it was yesterday. I left a job as a Systems Engineer working shifts and camping in telco data centers to start the Singapore business operations for a small US-based boutique web hosting company. It was a bump in both my job responsibilities and salary.

    I have made the office my second home. As I pack my cubicle, every piece brings memories. Regretfully, I did not manage to take a photo of my entire desk area before I started clearing it out.

    Family

    There’s a bronze horse and another wooden pen holder with horse carvings – an item my dad handed down to me when I first “started” the business here. It is to wish me success: “马到成功” in Chinese. It reminds me that my family was behind me in all my endeavors.

    A photo of my wife and eldest son sits on a photo frame. I still recall when my son was around 1.5 years old I had to bring him to the office because the school was closed and I carried him in my arms while I worked at the office. It reminds me that sometimes you can’t separate work and family and it will always be a challenge to manage them both.

    My son sleeping on my lap while I’m at my desk, 11 October 2016

    Change

    I have a few R/C models on display and they’ve been sitting there for as long as I could remember. I had hoped to eventually pick up the hobby again but never did, and they remain as display items ever since. It reminds me that our priorities in life change and that change is the only constant.

    Old toys on display

    Learning

    I moved a bunch of books from my shelf to the common area bookshelf. Some of these books are from my tertiary education days; some on advanced topics that were not part of the regular school curriculum. There were also books bought during the course of work. However, most of these old books are no longer useful as they are outdated. It reminds me that learning never stops.

    I found a git cheat sheet hiding in a corner. I had printed it when I was first learning git, and had intended to use it but never did because Googling was just faster and easier. It reminds me that sometimes learning is not always a straight path.

    See the Git Cheat Sheet?

    I look at the 3D printer in the corner of my cubicle. I had purchased it on impulse as a birthday gift for myself in 2018. In fact, I was so busy during the period that I did not assemble it until a month later and it took me many attempts before I was able to print something decent. I have since used it to print many items for myself and even friends and colleagues to make replacement parts for real things, including car parts. It reminds me that sometimes you can learn new things as long as you try, and you’ll not know the real value of what was learned until later.

    Creality Ender 3 – covered in plastic to keep our the dust

    Health

    I pull out a booklet containing healthcare insurance policies that we have purchased only recently. Over the years I have paid out-of-pocket for several medical procedures, and do not want that to happen to any employees and have pushed to have this in place. It also reminds me that health is still the most important.

    People

    I look at all the stuff around my cubicle – gifts, items from events, business cards, etc. It reminds me of the number of people with whom I have crossed paths.

    I pull out a file containing the CV of every candidate I have interviewed and made an offer to over the years – some still current employees.

    These remind me that at the end of the day, we do not work alone.

    I look around the office and see the cubicles and desks of everyone. A company that was just two persons grown to a size of 7 and is profitable – not some VC-funded thing – reminds me of the constant struggles during the early phases as we tried to turn a profit.

    I am proud of the team, and my departure is probably timely because the situation makes the people. COVID-19 is a trying time, but in trying times lie opportunities.

    Off to my next adventure, and I hope to write a similar entry at the end of it.

  • Hope for humanity

    Hope for humanity

    As a kid, I was fascinated by anything that could fly – planes, helicopters, rockets. It was a privilege to be able to fly on a plane back then, as it was still relatively expensive and only middle-high income families could afford.

    In my mid twenties (around 2006), I took up remote control helicopters and planes as a hobby. I still remember I spent almost half a year learning how to hover an R/C helicopter, practicing almost every night at my void deck.

    Me flying a Multiplex EasyGlider (first generation) at Bedok Reservoir, a common place for “sloping”. R/C gliders are flown without motor power and are kept afloat by air currents.

    I wanted to attach a camera to my plane so I could get a view from above, but I was too early to the hobby and the technology wasn’t really available or was too expensive. Wireless first-person view (FPV) cameras and headsets matured several years later. By then, I was a busy working adult and dropped the hobby.

    Almost a decade later, the technology had gotten so advanced we could buy it in a single package under $1,000 as a Drone that is not only self-stabilising, but also capable of obstacle avoidance and autopilot. I unexpectedly acquired a DJI Mavic Pro in late 2017 (a story for another day), but never really gotten around flying it. Now it is practically banned everywhere.

    So why the interest in flying? When I was young, I read about the first man on the moon. I’ve always wondered how it would be like to be “flying”, and to experience weightlessness in space. I was still too young to understand what a feat it was to get to the moon back then, but my child’s recent interest in space and our solar system piqued my own interest again, so I bought a telescope and started looking up to the skies again like a curious child.

    And for the first time in my life (and my lucky kid as well) at the age of 38, I got to see Jupiter and Saturn for real.

    Some people laugh and ask: What’s the big deal? These pictures suck. We have super clear pictures of Jupiter and Saturn all over the Internet.

    Sure, but it’s different to actually see it for yourself than to see a photo on the Internet. Looking through a telescope, you know these aren’t just something you read in the book – the planets are really out there. You also get a sense of how vast space is.

    You know, people dream of many things… big house, being rich, being powerful, this and that, but I salute those (like Elon Musk) who dream of the impossible: getting the heck out of Earth, because that is a whole other level of dreaming.

    Distance between the Earth and Moon, to scale.
    (Image credits: Wikipedia)

    If you followed the SpaceX Dragon Demo-2 mission, the journey to the ISS seemed like a big trip, but the moon (384,000km) in comparison is a thousand times further than the ISS (340km). Sure, most of the effort was actually to get out of Earth’s gravity, but it’s still a long ways to the moon.

    51 years ago (1969) we landed the first man on the moon. The Apollo rockets were (mostly) hand-made. This was before we even had the Internet, when most TVs were still black and white. There were no 3D printers, no modern computer design, modelling or simulation. Everything was calculated by hand. Yet we were able to send man to the moon and back. It was so unthinkable that there were conspiracy theories.

    With all the technological and manufacturing advancements, I wonder why haven’t we developed commercial space flight earlier?

    I certainly hope we get to see commercial space travel this decade, which looks to be a reality soon.

    Photo of the moon, taken from my bedroom with a Celestron 4SE telescope.

    I also hope to be alive to see the first man on Mars.

    As long as we keep trying, there’s still hope for humanity. The COVID-19 pandemic shows how important it is to be able to sustain life outside our own planet because one day another virus might just wipe all of us out.

    We need to stop fighting each other and work towards saving our own kind, and I believe that the answer is in space travel.

  • Why you SHOULD chope your seat, especially during COVID-19

    Chope culture. A uniquely Singaporean culture where diners at open food centers place small items such as tissue packets, business cards or water bottles to reserve a table or seat.

    I know many people are not in favour of this, and I personally used to hate it, but let me explain using the logic of parallelism that it is in fact more efficient. Everybody should chope their seats and split up and quickly order their meals, so that they can convene, eat, and leave ASAP – especially during this COVID-19 situation where half the seats have been crossed out for safe distancing. Quicker turnaround means more people get their seats, less community spread, etc.

    … using the logic of parallelism that (chope culture) is in fact more efficient

    The other reason to socially accept the “chope” culture is because those eating alone or carrying a child can find it very difficult to find a seat without a companion.

    So why do people hate it? Because “chope” is not gracious? Rubbish lah. It’s exactly because we are ungracious – when we want a seat, we feel a sense of entitlement to a vacant seat. We see an inanimate object, and feel that it doesn’t deserve a “seat”. Seriously, what’s the difference between a tissue packet and a fully grown man waiting at the table?

    … what’s the difference between a tissue packet and a fully grown man waiting at the table?

    With that, I shall share a true story…

    I went to ABC brickworks hawker this afternoon Tuesday 28 Jul 2020 at around 1PM to eat lunch with my colleague. We placed one tissue + Fisherman’s Friend on table to “chope” a 2 pax table, and quickly left to order our food.

    Then this father (50+) and his son (20+) duo came, sat down, and moved our “chope” away. (I saw with my own eyes as my stall is nearby.)

    Then when we returned, the son initially denied moving the tissue, then the father came and say our tissue never put in the center, cannot see properly, etc. etc. A big pack of lies.

    So I said: “Please lah, it was in the middle. I saw you move it, so please admit it.”

    OK, they left. Then we started eating.

    Eat halfway, the uncle came back and started scolding us. Say this is neighbourhood hawker, no such thing as reservation, etc. etc.

    I say, please lah, we “chope”, quickly order, quickly eat, quickly go. Isn’t it more efficient than one person sit, one person order and take turns?

    Then he started lecturing us, “You listen carefully (你听好好), I tell you (我跟你讲), this place is not CBD, not restaurant, this is neighbourhood, etc. etc.”

    A lot of hokkien arguments ensued (when I switch to hokkien, things are getting serious…)

    I said, look, so what you want? Limpeh eating my lunch halfway. Say sorry? OK, “sorry”. Now, leave and let me eat my lunch. Then you still not happy, what you want? Call police?

    Then after my meal, I turned around briefly looking for a stall to order drinks. Then I heard the uncle shouting from his seat: “Come lah, come come. Come!!” I didn’t even see them – they were sitting at another table. That’s when I realised they were behind, still wanting to pick a fight. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    We went, ate, and left all under 20 minutes. Including the 3 minutes or so spent arguing with the uncle.

    Please, “chope” is more efficient. Trust me, I’m an engineer.

  • Lessons from Downsizing

    Lessons from Downsizing

    Some friends were in shock when I told them that I’ve moved to an apartment that is slightly less than 900 sqft in size with my wife and my (now) 2 year old son. Yes, you heard that right — I went from a 1,200 sqft “5I” HDB apartment to a 900 sqft 2-room private apartment.

    “Can stay meh?”

    “Not very small meh?”

    I didn’t think much of it until I moved in. And when I did, I thought: Jit bai siao liao. (I’m in trouble now.)

    It was easy to go from a bedroom at my parents’ (approx 150 sqft?) to a 1,200 sqft apartment all to myself (and wife), and I thought downsizing to 900 sqft with a additional human being occupant (the baby) shouldn’t be a problem. In fact, it was such a challenge that it made some significant changes to my/our lifestyle. And I think to myself: How could I have amassed so much material junk in a short span of seven years that I can no longer fit all my belongings in a house even though it is easily 4 times the size of my old bedroom? It is scary.

    “How could I have amassed so much material junk … that I can no longer fit all my belongings in a house even though it is easily 4 times the size of my old bedroom?”

    Let me also, for the record, just point out that this has got nothing to do with money or being wealthy — a person of low or average income can also hoard enough to fill a 5-room flat.

    I have been on a mission to minimise since 2014, possibly even a little bit earlier. It first started with clearing out old hardware at my parent’s office, where I realised that it was actually more difficult to get rid of things than to acquire them. I wrote another blog entry in 2015 after continuous effort to minimise seemed futile, and then again in 2016 detailing all the crap I had unearthed from moving to a temporary rental apartment.

    In spite of the multi-year effort to reduce, I still had loads of junk with me as I move once again in early 2017 into my new tiny apartment, and this is when I also realised that part of the problem with our rampant consumerism is the abundance of seemingly permanent storage spaces. (My USA friends be like: “Really? We have an entire basement/garage.”) Most Singaporean families buy instead of rent their homes which means people feel more settled and are more willing to buy things to keep/hoard. Our apartments aren’t getting any bigger, though, so some of this mentality needs to change.

    “… part of the problem with our rampant consumerism is the abundance of seemingly permanent storage spaces.”

    So moving into a small apartment forced me to really downsize. I more than halved my wardrobe. I threw and donated a bunch of stuff away. I actually felt bad, because it seemed wasteful to throw useable stuff away, or unkind to donate crappy items that the poor volunteers at Salvation Army have to sort through. I also sold stuff away on Carousell — usually things of higher monetary worth such as furnitures, gadgets, car parts, collectibles, crap, crap and more crap.

    Because of all the trash I threw out, I actually started reading up on waste management in Singapore and found out that we generate a shocking 8,559 tonnes of waste per day in 2016! That is 8+ million kilograms per day! Where the hell does all these go? Before we run out of space to build houses, we probably run out of space to dump waste! And I am not proud that I am contributing to this. In fact, I think the government may need to introduce an initiative to reduce waste.

    “… we generate a shocking 8,559 tonnes of waste per day in 2016! That is 8+ million kilograms per day!”

    There was also a blessing in disguise — the building where I temporarily stashed my stuff was on fire. The corner where my items were was not burnt, but SCDF flooded the entire building with about one inch of water on every floor to cool it down and several items sitting on the floor got damaged in the process, so I took the opportunity and wrote some items off (even though some were not really damaged) and got an insurance payout.

    But I’m not done yet. When I renovated the house, I designed it to have as much storage space as possible but I still have so much stuff that I rented a warehouse to store things that I do not need on a regular basis.  I am paying close to $2K a year for a warehouse to store items that may possibly not even sell for that amount of money in total.

    “I pay close to $2K a year for a warehouse to store items that may possibly not even sell for that amount of money in total.”

    So my friends were somewhat right — can stay meh? Can. Only if I change my way of life.

    I was used to buying things and just storing them away hoping to use them later, “just in case” — like a piece of furniture, or some gadget, or a tool, etc. I would also buy things in bulk due to bulk discounts and there’s nothing really wrong with that, except that I sometimes stash them away and forget what I have and end up buying them again. My parents recently renovated their house and in the midst of packing found out that they have so many boxes of tissues that  could probably last them an entire year!

    “… I sometimes stash them away and forget what I have and end up buying them again.”

    And then of course, I am used to a house full of things I could just reach out for. All this had to change.

    I am now extra careful when making a purchase; as a result I spend less money. You may think that’s something probably insignificant, but it adds up. A small house is easier to clean. Less stuff means less work taking care of, dealing with, cleaning, or fixing them. I also indirectly channel extra time (and money) on people and experiences instead of things.

    I think we can also teach the young a thing or two about consumerism and materialism. I have a friend who says as kids grow up they’ll need space at home and he actually dedicates a room for his kid’s toys and stuff. I don’t really agree. Kids need only the same basic stuff adults need. For anything else such as sports or  hobbies, they should seek other places to enjoy them and make friends in the process — not lock themselves at home.

    If I had a choice, would I want a bigger house? Yes, only if I needed extra space for another kid. But if I had a bigger house, it would be to have more open spaces, not storage spaces. With that, the one piece of advise I’d like to share with friends who are buying their first homes — it is OK to start small.

    “With that, the one piece of advise I’d like to share with friends who are buying their first homes — it is OK to start small.”

  • Why you should seek a specialist care ASAP

    Why you should seek a specialist care ASAP

    Just something I would like to share, based on my real personal experience.

    18 Jan, Wed. Night. I had severe right upper quadrant (RUQ) abdomen pain and went to Ng Teng Feng (Jurong Hospital) A&E, and was warded for 1 day. They had originally suspected me to have a gallstone attack at A&E. I was given IV painkillers (Tramadol), did some ultrasound, sent me home with painkillers (more Tramadol) and then scheduled for a follow-up about a month later.

    5 Feb, Sun. Night. I had a 2nd episode and did not go to the hospital. I took the painkillers (Tramadol) which was not much help.

    8 Feb, Wed. Afternoon. Went for my follow-up appoint at NTFGH. Doctor (mis-)diagnosed me as having Gastritis (“Gastric”). I even double checked with the doctor TWICE and described my pain because when symptoms were not typical of Gastritis. He said I didn’t need my OGD (gastro scope) but I insisted to have it done to confirm it is Gastritis (or not). The OGD was scheduled on 13 Feb (Monday). Pay attention to this date.

    8 Feb, Wed. Night. I had another episode (my 3rd). My episodes are getting more frequent. Once again, I took the painkillers (Tramadol) but they did not help.

    9 Feb, Thurs. Afternoon. Sought private doctor opinion and was immediately diagnosed as having gallstones. Doctor said my described symptoms were obvious, but he did an ultrasound anyway to confirm.

    12 Feb, Sun. Night. Had my 4th episode, which was more severe than the first 3. Note at this point, my 2nd, 3rd, 4th episodes all occurred within a week. Checked myself into Farrer Park Hospital. Was given morphine to reduce my pain, and a surgery was arranged for the following day.

    13 Feb, Mon. Afternoon. Surgery done. Doctor said my gallbladder was already inflamed by the time I had my surgery, and was lucky to have done the surgery and not have it delayed otherwise it would have been more complicated if inflamed further.

    Lesson learnt

    Go straight to a specialist. Thankfully I sought 2nd opinion instead of waiting for atrociously long follow ups at NTFGH. Any further delays would have lead to complications. During a short period of 3 days (9 Feb – 12 Feb) I had immediate medical attention which was necessary. If I had a more serious condition, I could have possibly died from waiting. Realize that my surgery was done even BEFORE my scheduled appointment for the OGD at NTFGH. This is how slow the government hospitals are.

    Bump your insurance coverage to the max. I had purchased only medical insurance coverage for up to Government Hospital (Private/Single Bed Wards) since a long time ago, when I was younger. I haven’t thought of upgrading it. My hospital and surgery bill came up to $20k. I had to pay $8k+ cash because I didn’t have full private hospital coverage. This is not including the money I already paid to NTFGH previously.