Seniors on Saturday Day Out

Saturday morning at Marine Terrace Market. I was having my breakfast at the coffee shop and I saw this group of seniors on wheelchairs with their helpers. These seniors needed help and there were other seniors on their personal mobility devices moving around in this market too.

Extract from Ministry of Health:
"Singapore is one of the fastest-ageing countries in the world. The United Nations defines a country as 'ageing' if the share of its population aged 65 and above crosses 7%. It is considered ‘aged’ if the share exceeds 14%. Once the share reaches 21%, it is 'super aged'. We are an aged society and projected to attain ‘super aged’ status in 2026. By 2030, 1 in 4 citizens will be aged 65 and above."

I am already above 65, I don't want to be like these seniors when I get much older. It is a wake up call for me. First thing first, I need to loose some weight, exercise more and perhaps, sketch and paint more!

I used a fountain pen with diluted ink and probably needs cleaning. The ink flow was not good but it gave this sketch another character and a different feel.

Nude Sketchbook
Size: 290 x 145mm

Sketching People

I started a new Nude square sketchbook trying to do one sketch per day.

On a Friday evening, before the show at Marina Bay Sands Theatre for "All Wishes Come True! 八仙" which is a hit 2026 computer-animated comedy film from Pearl Studio that reimagines the traditional Chinese legend of the Eight Immortals, we had dinner at the very busy Rasapura at MBS's basement level. Even at around 5pm, every empty table was filled up immediately when the diners left. The two ladies in uniforms with the chef-looking hats caught my eyes and they were sitting at the table talking to a lady in suit presumbly their supervisor for a short period of time. People continued to stream in after they left their table and some were seen standing beside me making me very uncomfortable. I had to sketch very fast in 15 mins, keep my sketchbook, buy my food and eat slowly. Crazy!

Nude Sketchbook
Size: 290 x 145mm

Coffee Splashes again

It was raining outside and we needed to shop for a kids' party tonight to celebrate mid-autumn festival, so we headed to Food Republic at the basement of Parkway Parade for breakfast before shopping.

Did a quick line sketch with coffee splashes while hubby queuing for food. These two foreign kids had beautiful curly hairs that attracted me. The elder boy was playing a very small and old hand-held game while his sister was disturbing him. It reminded me of my two granddaughters when they were fighting most of the time at the dinner table.

As usual, people forming a line to buy coffee and food at Toast Box next to our tables are also phubbers, phub = phone + snub, people who are swiping their handphones according to Oxford Dictionaries.

I am using my old trusted Moleskine Concertina Sketchbook again and gel pen, yes not fountain pen. Back to basic sketching gear.

Molekine Japanes Album Large
Size: 390 x 210mm

Last Page of Sketchbook

Sam Leong Road

Sketching at Sam Leong Road with sketcher friends. Hope this row of beautiful shophouses will be preserved. the surrounding has since changed a lot. Hightrise buildings are sprouting up in this neigbourhood very quickly.

Marine Terrace Coffee Shop

The coffee shop at Block 50 Marine Terrace is our usual breakfast place after sending our 4-year-old grandson to his block 18 nursery. The Block 50A Market and Hawker Centre is under renovation from 4 July to 3 Oct. Now more than ten old aunties gather at this coffee shop almost daily. Although it is wonderful to see them around but they do talk loudly and almost create noise pollution that I always try to sit away from their tables. Many old folks passing by are seen to be on private mobilility devices or on wheelchairs pushed by their spouses or helpers. We are really an againg society especially in this old estate but to see them in the community is also a relief as they are still active and cared for. A truly inclusive community.

Doctor Visit

I visited the Marine Parade Polyclinic to request for a referral on my finger joints. I know my finger joint pains are caused by finger orthoarthritis so a visit to the doctor is a matter of time. It started with one finger on the left and now almost all the finger joints are swelling at different degrees. Doctor Yap is so nice and hillarious at times. He ordered an X-ray and a blood test to ascertain the cause of swelling before granting me a refferal to Singapore General Hospital (SGH). The date of visit to SGH is in October, got to wait but I have so much faith in our healthcare system. Much appreciated.

People Watch

People watch again at Oleh Olen Teahouse at Parkway Parade, so this was drawn on 31 May 2023, the beginning of Jun school holiday for the girls.

People Watch at Parkway Parade Entrance

People watch while having teabreak at Oleh-Oleh Teahouse again before fetching my two granddaughters from their Chinese holiday camp at Parkway Parade. The afternoon sun flooded the entrance and a few benches were occupied all the time with people glued to their smart phones.

Dinner at Lupicia

Three Strollers

Back to basic, just linework and observation on paper with pen. Someone in the public asked "you don't use pencil for draft?"

Ball Point Sketch

The class at the beginning of the test which took 40 minutes. However, they could leave after 20 minutes into the test. After that, they would have to stay till the end of the test.

The second sketch showed only a few students left 20 minutes into the test, they had to stay for another 20 minutes in the room.

I used normal ballpoint pen for the sketches since the fountain pen was dry.

Class Test

During a class test so I can sketch when students were very focused. Natasha sitting on first row had a big nose ring.

Digital Devices

At the Workshop

The workshop is called "Introduction to Disability Management" at the Enabling Village. My younger colleagues were all very attentive during the workshop so I could sketch them while listening to the instructor.

Enabling Village

It was supposed to be a learning journey or guided tour to Enabling Village but it turned out to be a classroom workshop on Special Needs Education. It was a very nice place with classrooms, cafe, art shop, kindergarten and training facilities for students with special needs. Enabling Village is a community that embraces the diversity of our abilities. You can find more details at their website here.

I love Sashimi

At Sushi Express, I have more salmon sashimi than sushi and I like to sit at the counter to watch the sushi chefs.

Uncles at IKEA

Are the uncles more addicted to the smart phones or the aunties? He was there watching video. Wait! I forgot to sketch the phone on the table, HA!

Saturday Outing at IKEA

Saturday you can spot very long line at the counter at IKEA restaurant.

office meeting

Monday office meeting in a room filled with boxes of images of ASEAN after our Global Community Day event. Everyone was working on laptops as the boss read from the paper.

It's ASEAN50 this year. We just completed an event and these are the boxes with ten flags of ASEAN countries. There are (from the top left): Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Loas, Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand.