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This weekend, hundreds of racing fans from around the globe came over to Singapore to watch the Formula 1 Grand Prix sponsored by SingTel. Some have even participated in the black market to secure their tickets. The event is held in Marina Bay area, which started yesterday and will end tomorrow.

People have been asking me if I’ll be watching it and all I’ve been able to give them was a blank stare and a “no.”

I know that F1 is more than a sport and a motor race in itself; it’s more than a measure and presentation of drivers’ abilities to drive faster with elan. It’s all about teamwork and strategy with unexpected turns and twists etc. It’s also a testing bench where car manufactures test the latest technology that will be equipped in some years in our cars.

However, the fact that I do have a vague interest in car racing makes me unexcited by the spectacle. I’m just sort of “meh.” The media hype around makes me feel that I should care, though. Why, it’s part of like a grandiose history in Singapore.

I can watch it on YouTube videos online, just to heighten my understanding on the fuss. But they say being on the track or in the grandstands watching it live is a lot different: Your heart pounds, just witnessing the drivers overtake and race each other at speeds up to 360 km/hr.

Well, I’ll be near the Circle Line today, so I might hear the roaring engines at least and remotely, the sound will be like an old radio playing in another room.

Singapore in Crisis?

Oh my gosh. Look at that declining trend! Investors are exposed to the sinking Singapore dollar. Why has the SGD been weak these past weeks?

Is there a rebound in sight? So Singapore, too, is badly affected by the worldwide economic breakdown and crisis?

I thought the SGD should be on a sustained trend of appreciation still because it’s a business and investment hub of neighboring countries in Asia and also some parts of the world (e.g. Europe) as AU/UK is tightly connected to its finances.

Now I’ve read in the newspaper that Singapore’s inflation unexpectedly accelerates as housing and food costs climb. Well, it seems set for a choppy ride this year as well, and probably the next upcoming (?).

The lowest SGD versus PHP from the time I came here was $30.86 (on July 17) and the highest was $35.34 (July 18–the next day!).

I’m not an expert in the interplay of economics, politics and currency trading that drive global currency values, but I don’t fret because I know that the Singapore dollar is backed by solid fundamentals. The island-state boasts an enviable foreign-exchange war chest of great amount of $ reserves and account surplus anyhow.

So how?

In the midst of all these fiscal downturns, most people’s advice is to invest in gold. The premise is pretty simple. Generally, the price of gold tends to move in the opposite direction of the dollar for these reasons:

• A falling dollar may lead to inflation in the U.S. due to rising import prices, and gold is a traditional inflation hedge.
• Anxious stock portfolio holders and investors often keep the dollar because they seek safety in uncertain times. However, when the greenback shows signs of weakness, many of these jittery investors move on to gold. And as the dollar drops to new lows, gold will be rising to new highs.

But despite gold’s reputation as a safe haven, it’s actually one of the most volatile investments around.

Given its flightiness, I don’t think gold is a good choice for most people. It’s the kind of investment individuals are more likely to buy after it’s had a big run, which is precisely when it’s most vulnerable to a big fall or a long period of stagnation.

I think it would be best to invest in love instead. Invest in people who live out the call to love. including yourself. Invest in good relationships and people who are committed to shifting the paradigms of the world and challenging the status quo that is calling for aggression, crisis and [unnecessary] over-consumption.

Today I thought was going to be an unfortunate day. When I passed through our condo hall to our gate, the lights flickered and were turned off. As I crossed the road, I walked down the small curve to the MRT. The light went off. When I was about to hop onto the stairs to the Newton MRT lift, the light again went out.

What a weird coincidence—a series of lights shutting down on me! Maybe this won’t be an “enlightening” day. I was ready to face some great challenges. I just prayed for safety for my travels and good coordination with my team and clients at work.

Thank God, nothing bad happened. Rather, today was pretty much a happy one. At lunch time, I claimed my H&M Singapore gift card from Outlet.com.sg in their main office in Boat Quay. Tell you what: I was the grand prize winner! Imagine that. Before I have joined so many raffle draws and games. I almost believed that they’re all lies and thought that winners are just friends or acquaintances of some sort of the organizer. Now I’ve proven myself wrong.

I also had my picture taken with the prize. I think they will post it on their Facebook page.

Here’s the thing: it’s a S$200-worth of gift card as good as cash. However, I’m not a great fan of H&M Singapore clothing. I’d rather spend the money on food or pieces I like more. So, I’m selling it at a discounted/cheaper price of S$190. Hi Friends in SG, you may contact me directly if you’re interested. 😀

I got back to the office on time, did usual work and met with Maj and Rhett at Dhoby Ghaut Station after at 7:30PM. Together, we rode a bus to Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel (near Clarke Quay) where Vlad is staying for their team-building. Sosyal!

Thanks to Vlad, Maj got her baggage full of clothes and necessities from the Philippines. I, on the other hand, have reunited with my iPhone (nobody wanted to buy it so I took it back) which I’ve not used for two to three months now.

Within the span of time when I’m not using a smartphone, I’ve learned so many things–from books, newspapers, magazine, the Bible and other stuff (like brochures, flyers, etc.) which I read during my long trips to the office and to home in the bus and MRT. I have learned to sing not only in my mind but also physically…vocally (because life can sometimes be too boring without music).

Additionally, I’ve learned to trust more in my instinct–to walk and travel without my handy-dandy iPhone apps (GPS, bus guides and maps).

iPhone: It’s like a piece of candy that I hid away but never forgot. I’m also proud to say that 原來, I can also live normally without it. I’d also like to thank Ahia Gilbert for lending me his spare Nokia 1100 (with flashlight)! So cool.

Rock on.

This week I attended a seminar on Internet Marketing conducted by Teddy Wu, who’s an “Internet Entrepreneur, Google AdWords Qualified Professional, Advance Search Engine Marketing Skills Certified and Social Marketing Strategies Qualified” for free. The talk lasted for three hours. He covered overviews of having an e-business and the many ways on how to earn online.

How I reached him was through a mypaper.sg advertisement that I saw on Wednesday morning. I registered online at once and got there at his office, Vision Quest, near Redhill MRT right after work. I learned substantial new knowledge from him and in fact have applied some of his ideas to my other blog, iheartspills.com.

On Thursday, I saw the ad on World Food Fair 2011 happening in Singapore’s Suntec Convention Centre. Being a food lover myself, I went there yesterday. Sadly, I was not impressed nor satisfied from what I found. I thought the hall would comprise of different food flavors all around the world as the name suggested. However, majority only consisted of food and delicacies from Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia.

Most of the stalls were selling coffee. I’m not a coffee drinker so I say “pass.” Second majority of stalls were offering soya milk, tea and cereals. I thought all of them just tasted the same like normal. I say “next,” after sampling a few cups for free. The rest had a variety of tidbits like chocolates, biscuits, nuts, candies and ice cream.

There were also a lot of promotion girls who approached me for discounted prices of beauty services like nail spa, hair treatment, facial treatment and massage. I wondered why they didn’t ask me for slimming therapies. Hmmm… 😀

All in all, I didn’t buy anything because none really suited my preference and if there was, I already know where to buy as most can be bought in our local grocery stores. From these two, I earned nothing but the experiences of joining events again here in Singapore (new encounters). I participate and look out for these opportunities because I once told myself to live life fully by saying YES when such opportunities are present. Even though I’m tired from work or anything else that I’m busy with, I still urge myself to go.

This is even before I’ve watched the film Yes Man starring Jim Carrey. The basic lesson in the movie was to always go for anything present regardless of your fears. The message of this voice echoed in me and it got me further.

In Yes Man, Carrey portrayed the character so well that it was able to impart successfully that when we take more chances, get out of our comfort zone and throw ourselves into new experiences despite any fears we may have, we get to live a happier, more complete life. And sometimes, we get to be in a new path that may be better than what we already have or in.

As mentioned before, decisions are what shape our destiny. Every decision we make or don’t make will have some effect on where our life will lead. The two things I shared in this post are just two examples of how I say yes to whatever is served and available in my plate. It’s up to me to “eat it or not.”

How would I know if it’s good or not by not tasting it at least? Some would only ask “is it good” and be satisfied with plain answers yes and no. To me, the answer should be more than that.

I have learned that what we fear is imaginary. What we are really doing is coming up with excuses to protect ourselves from situations where such things that make us feel we’re not enough get revealed to other people. It’s called a trap; the more you think of yourself as not being enough, the more your mind will search for evidence to back up that belief.

It’s when you start to take chances, risk looking stupid and feeling awkward and just start seeing the world as a big playground like how we all use to when we were kids, that we can start to fully experience life.

To be honest, this is something that I need to work on myself. Even when I write these blog posts, I often ask myself if what I’m writing is good enough. Am I a good enough writer to not only keep my readers’ attention but more importantly, write in a way that will have a positive impact on them? I hope so. 😀

Today I attended the FGA church service as usual, only special was that I joined the first meeting of the life group led by Maureen Khoo. This life group will be conducted in every first and third Sundays of the month. Our group name is called “Almond Tree.”

Very cute, I thought. Digging deeper, Maureen explained to us why she chose it and clearly shared to us its meaning.

A tree, as a man, is a vertical figure projected toward Heaven. It is a symbol, because of its vital strength which is annually renewed during the cycle of the seasons, reminding us of the victory of life over death.

Symbol of the Almond Tree

The almond tree is the first tree to sprout after the winter season. So this tree can be seen as a characterization of a new beginning in one new season of our lives. Also, it was mentioned in one passage from Jeremiah that it’s a watchful tree, which reminds us of the watchful eye of God, that watches over us when we put His words to set to practice.

Very much, after the session which talked mostly about investing in ourselves and in the next generation, I felt the new day breaking while the sun is radiating its glory. The night had lasted far too long, my last screams died away hours ago. I’m tired of the numbness, sick of the aches. With those beautiful colors, imagined truly in the heart of God, I could hear the rise of the moving broken, each being made anew.

The darkness has no power over us. This day has a promise filled with great things to be. We prayed that our weakness shall be turned to strength; and the weary things no one can see being brought out shall be healed. It is in the cries of the broken, finally alive enough to let others share in the pain they can no longer bear alone.

It’s in every breath we take, precious and frail. In one moment in your life, if ever you also feel this, take hold of this moment, break those chains that bind you. Walk into the beauty; it is always there for you. Smile, trust me–it will light up the world. Live, you will do amazing things. And most of all, know that as long as you have faith, hope will never fade away.