Animated photos for CNY

The animated version of the 22 photos which we took for cny gathering at Alex's house. Enjoy! hahaha....

Time for some good exercise

Hey pple,

After the cny feasting and the long overdued exercise (for some or most of us), I suppose we are all feeling a bit heavier and unhealthier. For a start, we have in mind a badminton session in Mar.

Badminton

Date(s): 11 Mar (Thu) or 12 Mar (Fri)
Time: 8-10pm

Venue (quite hard to book so can incl more alternatives):

1) Red Hill CC (to accommodate those staying in the west)

2) Jalan Besar CC - near lavender MRT (to accommodate those staying in the east)

3) Toa Payoh CC (to accommodate those staying in the north)

4) Braddell Heights CC - near Serangoon MRT (to accommodate those staying in the northeast)

5) ...

Attendance confirmed (so far):

Alex, Qingxi, Selene, Daniel, BK

Pls make known your attendance by this Wed (24 Mar) so that we can make the booking in advance (not an easy task as the slots are snapped up pretty fast). There's a badminton expert in our midst so if you need some 指点, this wld be a good time too.

Perhaps to get everyone moving and seriously thinking about shedding those extra fats or simply just toning up, here are some reasons why we should exercise regularly.

1. Physical activity burns calories, so the more you just get up and move, the more calories you will burn. You even burn calories doing things like running the vacuum cleaner or going up and down steps.



2. Exercise may help you succeed at breaking your weight loss plateau. Many people hit a stopping point where their diet and amount of exercise simply seems to stop working. Increasing your physical activity may give your weight loss another "push" and you'll begin losing again. Strength training is especially effective in doing so because building muscle will help you burn even more calories.
   


3. Exercise increases your metabolic rate and the rate stays elevated for some time, even once you've stopped the activity. Perhaps this is why active people can "Eat anything and not gain weight." and why other folks "Gain weight just by looking at food."!



4. Exercise -- particularly in the morning -- may help you sleep better. Just be sure not to exercise too close to your bedtime if you exercise at night, because it may keep you awake. If you need to exercise within a few hours of going to bed, make sure it's only a brisk walk. Experts say you should allow yourself about three hours between exercise and going to bed. Save the high-impact aerobics for the a.m., mid-day or early afternoon.



5. Exercise is good for body and soul. Exercising improves mood and due to the chemicals it releases in the brain called endorphins, it gives you an overall feeling of well-being. This is the same chemical that being in love or eating chocolate induces!



6. Exercise reduces the risk for several diseases including heart disease, adult-onset diabetes, high blood pressure or hypertension, breast cancer, osteoporosis and colon cancer. Exercise may also help prevent, or be effective in treating, some mental illnesses, such as depression.
   

With just a few great reasons to exercise, there's nothing more to stop us, except "Get on your feet and start moving!"

BK

Demystifying Diamond Rings...

Hahaha... As agreeing to apply/buy HDB flat does not equated to a "Yes" answer to the unasked question, what must you do to secure the required "Yes"?? Bling bling diamond ring!


Know your 4Cs: Carat, Colour, Clarity, Cut

Carat – refers to the weight of a diamond and one carat in metric measurement is 0.20 grams. As a general rule, the bigger the diamond, the higher the price is as big diamonds are rare.

Above: Rough guide on the size of diamond

Tip: As prices jump at certain carat weights, diamonds which just falls short of the magic numbers (0.50ct, 0.70ct, 0.90ct, 1.00ct, 1.50ct, 2.00ct) offer the best value!

Colour - is based on how ‘colorless’ a diamond is. Diamonds are classified by a special diamond grade, which consists of 23 levels of color grading.


Tip: Check the diamond visually. Put that stone against the flat white background (flat white business card is sufficient) and compare it to the colourless cubic zirconia (ask for one).

Clarity – how clear, or "clean" the diamond is. There are five factors that determine a diamond’s overall clarity grade and those factors are Size, Number, Position, Nature and Colour.

Cut – a diamond with a good cut will scintillate with fiery light and optimum brilliance and is the perfect union of proportion, symmetry and polish.



For more information, check out the following websites:
http://www.myproposalring.com/index.htm
http://www.proposalring.com/index.htm


I particularly found the Section - Buying Diamonds in Singapore (click here) very interesting and useful as there is a write up on the diamonds for the various well-known and familiar jewellery stores. You can definitely use the information here as a guide. =)

Enjoy reading!

Demystifying Housing Policies...

Yo Allz, seems to me that many of the people are misinformed about the housing policies. So I will attempt to explain some of the more common details. Please bear with me. Correct me if you think I am wrong...=P

1. To be eligible to apply for BTO or apply for resale flats released directly by HDB, you have to fulfill the following criteria:
a. At least one Citizen
b. Combined salary of not more than $8k for 4rm and above and normal nucleus family
c. You cannot own any other property, or previously owned property, subject to conditions)
(Source: http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10321p.nsf/w/BuyingNewFlatEligibilitytobuynewHDBflat?OpenDocument)

2. Flats purchased directly from HDB, eg. BTO and resale flats released directly by HDB are already subsidized. Meaning it is below the market rates already. Hence there is NO further subsidy/grant (see pt 4.).

3. HDB loan requires the following conditions
a. At least one Citizen
b. Combined salary of not more than $8k
(Source: http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10321p.nsf/w/HLHDBWho?OpenDocument)

4. All new families (At least one citizen) can enjoy a one time hdb grant for resale flats
a. There is $8k salary cap for a $30k housing grant for first timer hdb owners buying a resale flat. (guess i made a mistake on this)
b. If the house is within 2km or the same estate as one of the parents, there is an additional $10k grant on top of the $30k mentioned above.
c. There is an Additional Housing Grant only applicable for combined income of below $5k.
d. Not sure how this housing grant covers what kind of resale flats, but I suspect it covers EC and DBSS as well.
(Source: http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10321p.nsf/w/BuyResaleFlatCPFGrant?OpenDocument)

5. The hdb resale market is open to various groups. There is No salary cap to purchase resale flats from the open market.

6. Point 4 is a one time grant, meaning the 2nd resale house bought will not have this grant.

7. When a bto/direct purchase from hdb or housing grant is given, the owners of the flat are bound by a law that they cannot rent out their flat or sell their flat within first 5 years of possession of the flat, subject to special cases.

8. The interesting thing is there is a $10k salary cap for purchase of an EC. Seems there a couple of new ECs available and they are supposedly cheaper than Condos released by other developers.

9. Even with the salary cap in place, there are many times where people write in to appeal when their salary actually exceeds the cap. And sometimes they manage to succeed.

10. Before applying for a resale flat, the Housing Loan Eligibility application needs to be done. Probably takes a few weeks to process and is valid for about 3 months.

11. HDB also does DBSS and ECs. Probably in the range of 600k$ onwards for superb prime locations but can consider.

12. There are open market resale and HDB direct resale flats. There are distinct differences in the policies pertaining to each, as mentioned above.


Useful links
www.h88.com.sg
www.propertyguru.com.sg

Body Worlds at Science Centre

Rearing Horse with Rider

The plastinate 'the Ring Gymnast' hangs next to its organ (L)

Gunther von Hagens Body Worlds, a traveling exhibition of preserved human bodies and body parts that are prepared using a technique called plastination to reveal inner anatomical structures, is here once again in Singapore. Photography and videography are strictly prohibited.

Body Worlds feature approximately 200 new authentic human specimens, including whole bodies, individual organs and animal specimens. Of the Body Worlds series, this is the largest collection of exhibits to date.

The latest installation, Body Worlds: The Original And The Cycle Of Life, will take visitors through the different stages of human development, from embryonic form to old age. The multi-sensory experience will compel you to reflect on the elegant form and function of the human body, while gathering a better understanding of its fragility under distress and disease. The showcase features our bodies living through time: how we change physically as we grow, mature, peak and wane.

Where: Annexe, Science Centre Singapore
When: Till March 6
Opening Hours: 10am to 6pm, Monday to Sunday
Admission: $21 for adults and $13 for children (including admission to Science Centre); $20 for adults and $12 for children (without admission to Science Centre)
Info: Call 6425-2500 or go to www.bodyworlds.com.sg