• The Thing About Life

    What You Should Do When I Die

    DO NOT give me a funeral wake - no prayers, no incense, no burning of offerings (if it turns out they have an economy where I'm going I'll e-mail you and let you know). I want a funeral PARTY - with luck, I will have pre-arranged a booking for one night with a restaurant that has a good 8-course menu, a bar, a good collection of beer, liquor and soft drinks and allows us to put a casket with a dead person in it on their premises for one evening.

  • The Thing About Life

    Your Web 2.0 Life

    Dear Xander, At 3 years of age, you have yet to understand the extent of the online presence you may have. 3 days after you were born, I saw fit to provide you with the Holy Trinity of the Web 2.0 world of my time; I decided to register a Google account under your name, create a Facebook profile and even a Twitter account for you. When you turned 3, I decided to register a domain name for your birthday present, and xander.sg was booked in your honour (as is xndr.sg, in case you wanted to be lazy). That is also essentially how Dear Xander came to be. Recently, I…

  • The Thing About Life

    Happy Mothers Day

    Dear Xander, I have been told on a number of occasions by a number of people (I count 3 so far; your eldest aunt – my eldest sister – and both your grandparents) what an unfilial son I have become, particularly after I settled down, had my own family and am struggling to keep things afloat financially whilst trying to ensure the happiness of those that matter to me. I know the sacrifices parents make first hand because I see and make very much the same sacrifices with our own son. This isn’t a day to mark up your filial piety a few notches to show your appreciation to your…

  • The Things You Do

    And Justice For Dad

    Dear Xander, Your mother was invited to a mommy blogger gathering which I was allowed to tag along, if anything, to keep an eye on you while your mother mingled with the other mommies. It was decided that we would meet up at Fusionopolis, where a new indoor playground called Happy Willow opened 6 weeks ago. I was heartened to find that adults were allowed into the playground which boasted a large ball-pit, to ensure the safety of their playing children. In my head, this effectively meant I was paying $18 for your entry, and I got to play for free, and when your father is pushing 35 years of…