Papa and Mama Lau Kok Kok Liao...

My son reckons he has the dumbest parents in the world when computer and electronic goods are concerned.

Our old TV has finally died and although I know it’s time to get one of those fancy new high-definition digital and 3D televisions I’ve been hearing so much about lately, I haven’t really gone to shop for one as yet because I am at a loss. It is not so much a demise of our equipment that had dutifully delivered us so many years of some of our favourite TV programs including our morning and evening news in the family room, but I’ve don’t know quite how to replace it. Sure, we have decided we want the best that’s out there and have decided on an LED TV. We’re all set to get our new LED TV but don’t know quite where to start. To be honest, I lack the basic technical know-how with most electrical goods and can’t tell the difference between the knee and the elbow when LCD and LED TVs are concerned.
The main reason I have been spending some time on the Internet to do some homework before going to the shop is that I do not want to look like a goose in front of the salesperson at the showroom, asking the wrong questions. To better understand LED TVs, I have done some googling to look at the basic technology behind most LCD TVs. Of course, even the basic is rocket science to me. It took me the whole morning on the Internet just to learn an LCD TV is basically a grid setup in front of a light. To the savvy, the grid of course is divided into pixels and each pixel has its red, green, and blue sub-pixels. What is a pixel? I shouted this question across the room to my son. “Look up on the Internet, Dad” was his nonchalant reply. Now, I need not have to explain further, why I have to spend the whole morning on the Internet doing my LED homework. I have also learned that in order to allow light to pass through the screen a physical gate is opened allowing light to pass through. The degree to which the gate is opened will determine the intensity of the colour and by varying how far the red gate is opened relative to the blue and green gates will produce virtually any colour. As if that is not enough to add further confusion and make matter worst for me, not all LED TVs are created equal. Most LED TVs really aren’t true LED TVs; rather, they use LED backlighting. Most LCD TVs on the market today use CCFL lighting, similar to fluorescent lighting for your room. The downside to CCFL is the light is always on when the TV is on. 

In our fast-paced world of technology, what I have just learned may become obsolete in a short time. I better hurry to the shop before I turned myself into a goose.

Any Barter Trader Out there?

We received a text message from a friend, asking whether we would like to have a donation of a box of chili for the Kongsi and it will be delivered personally to our place. How could we turn down such a good offer and kind gesture? In return we sent him an invite to have a meal with us. A flurry of one line messages followed to confirm place, food and time. We finally decided to have peppery Bak Kut Teh, literally translated from the Hokkien dialect as “Pork Bones Tea”.

I wonder how many of you have noticed that my friend and I have just done an old kampong trading transaction called barter trading. It certainly isn't something new that we have invented; bartering has been around for a very long time. It's the way our ah kongs and ah mahs (grandparents) conducted their daily business and how they survived in their kampong days. Although many of our younger Singaporeans aren’t aware of this system at this present time, our grandparents bartered on a daily basis.Back in those days, people simply produced almost everything they need themselves. And what few things they didn't produce from their small vegetables plot, they procured by barter trading with someone in their kampong. On feast days or festival days, families exchanged traditional kuihs and cakes not because they can enjoy a greater variety without having to make them but it was a communal spirit of sharing among them.

Our grandparents and parents have set a precedent, and if this isn't Greek to you, then you understand that bartering is an economical and clever way to save money. If you barter an item you no longer need, you not only clear a little clutter from your house but you save money. Furthermore it helps someone else and gets something you can really use in return. It's a way of taking care of our needs and at the same time someone else's wants without spending money. As a self confessed hoarder, this is going to be a difficult task. But I am heading that direction and didn’t have much choice as my Mrs has given a dateline for me to clear the garage by springtime.

By re-educating ourselves on the right track to barter, are we able to revitalize this tradition of bartering and open ourselves up to the many resources and possibilities available to us from where you are now living.

Anyone willing to barter for my homemade chilli sambal?

Thank You for Your Support

Ever since the birth of this brain child was announced through Facebook and linked to Uncle Phil's, we have been inundated with emails pledging supports and questions on how to become a Kongsi member. If you have not received a reply to your enquiry, please bear with this old Singaporean uncle who has under estimated the speed of the cyber highway and obviously still cruising along at 60 km instead of the 110 km. I better pull to the side before I’m charged with road hogging and for not answering those pressing emails in time. Anyway, thanks for your support and emails. As mentioned in the first posting, we are a group of Singaporeans who came together and started this blog with an aim of helping those who have just arrived in Sydney as migrants or students who are expecting to live and study in Australia for an extended period. Since we too have been through the same journey with our own family we understand only too well what difficulties they need to overcome. 

Please give me some time to organise this blog, so that this website is designed to provide any red dot interested in migrating or currently living in Australia an information meeting point. Hopefully, it will come with many forums to discuss all things to do with migrating and also a great place to share your migrant tales and knowledge with other red dots about Australia especially to those who are recently approved Australian migrants, or those who have applied to immigrate to Australia.

To live more Simply...Waste not, Want not

I have written this posting for another forum thread but I thought it is appropriate for me to copy and paste this in my blog. Living simply has always being a personal quest and I hope to live my life as sustainably as possible and in the meantime, share with others to do the same.

Since my last balek kampong trip to Singapore in January this year, I have often wondered whether the younger Singaporeans have lost their sense of frugality. I don’t think we have, we have simply forgotten what it takes to make it a necessity again. With time being tough for many out there in this economy downturn, buying luxury goods and expensive shopping isn't a top priority but still, it is in our national psyche to focus on building material wealth and remain in the top league of consumerism. Perhaps it is a reaction to the Great Depression or the Second World War or the post war syndrome that our parents and grandparents went through. Whatever the reasons, it has definitely become a value system that has infiltrated every facet of our daily lives back home.
Living simply has become a thing of the past, and now individuals long for more and more material possessions. We are indeed consumed by consumerism. Our newly acquired standard HDB flat or private condos are no longer acceptable. We need to gut it inside out and have it renovated from the floor to the ceiling. The kitchen needs to have the latest fittings and electrical appliances but sadly never have the opportunity to be utilised and cook the family meals. Our kids demanded their one year old mobile phones to be upgraded to a slimmer model with extra features. Clever advertisements have honed in on our internalised and erroneous belief that our children will be happier if they have every material wish fulfilled. What are we telling ourselves that new is better than old, material possession is happiness?
Sadly, we are all sucked into the marketing ploy that no matter how happy we are now, we will be so much happier if we buy the product advertised.As a recession looms over us, many will be asking "Do we need to slash our food bills?"

Of course, the imminent recession is a worry for the young ones, my wife and I have been there more than once. Casting our minds back to where we have to trace every cent and experiment with cheap cuts of meat and living frugally. We had to use up leftover with something like fried rice and chicken carcasses. (after the fleshy parts had been consumed, we had them thrown back into the stock for making soup.) As a result, we are old hands (haha) and without a doubt we"ll be able to tide over this recession with our simple living and frugality again.

Are You A Traditional Kongsi?

Are You A Traditional Kongsi?

It is most interesting to know that someone in Singapore has pointed out that we are establishing a Kongsi (Chinese: 公司) or "Association (会馆 ，huay guan) here, just like our forefathers, who migrated to Singapore in the earlier 19^th century. Come to think about it, is n’t that’s a wonderful concept if we could share the same benevolent among us that our forefathers found among their own communities bearing the same surname with them. Of course, you do not need to have the same surname to join us. So, why not emulate this traditional concept and adapt it to our modern environment and business partnerships, but also draws on a deeper spirit of cooperation and consideration of mutual welfare among us?

Types of Student Accommodation in Sydney

Unless you are one of the fortunate few, the cost of accommodation is a major factor for many students when deciding which overseas university to attend and an increasing number of students stay at home and study locally because of the rising costs and high Aussie dollar exchange rate. Many students may choose only to come for their final year or to a post graduate later. Whatever the choice, you still need planning for accommodation at some stage.

Normally, following acceptance by a college or university, students are advised to apply for a place in a hall of residence or other college accommodation, such as self catering apartment. Such accommodation is limited to around one third of all students, although most universities try to accommodate all first year students. You should write as soon as possible after acceptance to the student welfare, who job is to help students find suitable accommodation both college or private. Some colleges even find “home stay” which provide accommodation in family homes and average around $265 a week. (Yes, a week!  Everything is weekly here. Rental, wages, etc).

Well, if you think you have enough of your parents fussing over you in Singapore and decided to live an independent life, rented accommodation is the answer for people who don’t want the restrictions involved in college accommodation and home stay.

There has always been a chronic shortage of rental properties in many areas, particularly Sydney. Rental properties can be prohibitively expensive in the CBD and the quality of properties often leaves much to be desired, particularly at the lower end of the market. You should be aware that renting accommodation is a jungle at times and every now and then there are reported horror stories in the papers regarding unscrupulous agents and landlords!

How to help keep your grocery budgets in check?

I have just received an email from a cost-conscious Singaporean student from my old kampung, asking me to help keep her grocery budgets in check. Hmm. Where do I start? First of all, here are couple of tips on frugal living to consider, and you'll be right, mate. One caveat: Go through these at your supermarket to make sure they break new ground for your menu-planning. If not, it will just be another expense on the monthly tally and getting extra funds from Mum and Dad's ATM.

Think like a frugal foodie: Being a frugal foodie is easier with strategies such as these for the supermarket and kitchen. And can also save you enough money for an extra flight home to enjoy the hawker food you missed so much.

Shop like an Australian: Do not shop like Mum back home in Singapore. You can particularly get anything under sun in the Singapore supermarkets. Unlike Australia's strict quarantine regulations, they are able to source food items from anywhere in the world or any seasons. Buy fruits when they are in season and buy perishable items — such as fresh produce, bread and deli meat — more frequently. Inexperienced shoppers can unintentionally blow a budget by buying items you don't need or buying the wrong quantities or products of the items you do need. It's not malu (shame) to check out with a banana or a tomato at the grocer shops or supermarkets.You need not have to buy the whole 1kg bag, by buying in smaller quantities, there is less chance of waste.

Play the game like a pro: Saving money at the supermarket is skill you can learn. Take time to compare prices. And multiple-stop shop. Different stores are going to offer different prices on canned goods, meat and produce. Check the weekly supermarket's flyers in the letter- box for their specials.

Making the grade: Even without attending a single economic tutorial or lecture! Have on hand both cheap and higher-end grades of ingredients such as balsamic vinegar, olive oil and spices. You can almost always substitute in less expensive meat, cheeses, nuts and fishes for costlier versions. Cook with the less expensive stuff. You can wow your mates with a splash with the costlier condiments for drizzling, vinaigrettes, or when the flavor features more prominently.

Do your home work: You think you can escape from Mum's daily reminder since coming here to study. No, you are mistakenly wrong! You can't go out to shop without finishing your homework! Take a few minutes every week to plan and write out your meals. Without planning, you spend more time at the kit ai tiam, spend more money than you budgeted for, and may end up cooking more food than is needed. Yes, your mum is right.Have you finished doing your homework?

Don't shop hungry: Last but not least, a basic shopper's sutra that can't be repeated often enough. Never go shopping on an empty stomach. It has a way of magically overfilling a shopping trolley.