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From car to public transport

18 November 2014 blogpastor 2 Comments

At the Chinese Garden MRT before peak hours — At the Chinese Garden MRT at 7.50am on Tuesday morning

With the cost of buying and owning a car in Singapore inching upwards with every month more car owners have had to give up their independence and mobility and become users of public transport. I had to do so and have been taking public transport for the past two months. The jury is still out, but my tentative feel is that our public transport system is good. The MRT and the buses are clean and effective and they do get you from one place to another in comfort and safety if not on schedule. However the peak hours can be suffocatingly crowded. Of course this can be alleviated by timing your trips earlier or later. It has been 30 years since I have to depend on public transport so much. By the grace of God my transition has been mainly positive. There are several things that have happened to me and I have made several observations during this transition:

My daughter had to teach me the tactics of positioning to increase your chances of getting a seat on the MRT.

I have walked more and perspired more than when I had a car.

The huge fans at the MRT stations are my favourite things about the MRT stations.

I now prefer short-sleeved cotton shirts for comfort.

I carry a small black umbrella in my bag for sunshine as well as rain. I find it cuts off 60%

Daughter mentoring father on tactics

of the heat and I perspire less.

I deliberately walk slowly.

Planning to leave much earlier for trips is something I am getting used to.

Review of sermons before preaching on Sunday is now done in the MRT on the way to the service.

Getting a taxi on Sunday can be difficult unless you book them.

Taking a taxi when it’s necessary is something I need to get used to as I am not used to spending that kind of money.

I have recently decided to stop carrying my laptop to office unless it is absolutely necessary. Its too heavy. The Samsung tablet is my companion and I am going to try working from an external hard disk on an extra laptop in the office.

My backpack can be full and heavy at times, especially when I borrow or return books from Trinity library.

I feel loved and humbled with the numerous offers to give me a lift, some even going the second and third mile to do that.

The transition made me consider alternative modes of transport like the Brompton, a foldable portable bike allowed by MRT and buses.The LTA has ruled out electric stand scooters.

I cannot go nearest where I want, and when I want, and at the speed I want, like when I had a car to use. Public transport tells me, You can only go thus far and by this time.

Each time I hear the “TEENH” in the MRT turnstile it is my Money Rapidly Taken (MRT).

On the whole I am amazed at my rapid adjustment during my transition to public transport. God gives the grace. He has given me a grateful heart. Thank God also for the smart phone. And also for times to be quiet before Him as you stand in the train. This is a transition many in Singapore will have to make. Most retirees will have to give up their cars and adjust too. God gives us the grace.

Of Brompton bikes and cycling pastors

14 November 2014 blogpastor 2 Comments

The Brompton evangelist

The Brompton is a folding bike with a cult following. Those who have ridden it usually became Brompton evangelists. They are unashamed to give testimony to its build, versatility, usefulness, comfort, head turning looks, and portability. It’s the BMW of folding bikes.

So it was with enthusiasm that a pastor friend “shared” with me his “testimony” and I was “almost persuaded”, like King Agrippa, as he listened to Paul the apostle. That conversation seeded me with a desire that germinated. I found myself googling about Brompton and watching YouTube videos about it. This expanded to searches about competing cheaper foldable bikes like Dahon, the largest manufacturer of folding bikes in the world.

The catch was the price. It costs $2,800 to get a Brompton bike in Singapore. It’s higher than in England or South Korea. For bike enthusiasts and serious road cyclists this price is nothing. Some bikes even go for $11,000. For a pastor like me, it is a shocking introduction to the world of biking. The Brompton bag attachment costs $200. To me you can buy a bicycle for that price at Giant Hypermarket. After all, the bike is a green machine with two wheels, brakes, a steering handle bar and a seat, that brings the rider from one place to another. Getting over the price was a hurdle.

Saved by a pastor

I was sharing this with another pastor friend who listened to me intently and at the end of the conversation made me an irresistible offer. Would you like to buy over my folding bicycle for $100? Its only 2 months old, and I bought it for about $500. That certainly shook me from my growing fixation on the Brompton bike. Let me try the bike over a few days, I said. So he passed the folded bike to me from the boot of his car and after a few days standing in my house I finally took it out for a test ride to the Jurong Lake cycling rim. It was a good exercise and pleasant to have the wind brushing against your face with the waters and trees all around. Like he said, the Cronus, Earl 2.0 squeaked a little when you lift up the handle bar too high. Other than that it was a so-so ride and I was happy there was suspension for the seat. The bicycle was purportedly French but I think it’s just a marketing gimmick. It has made in China written all over. At the end of it, the decision was still easy to make. It was a generous offer I could not say No to. As Sherlock Holmes would often reply to clueless Dr Watson, It’s entry-level, Watson, entry-level. Ha,ha.

The Brompton is still on my mind of course. This is the way I figure it. $3,000 over ten years is $300 a year. And if you use it a hundred times a year, it would mean an average of $3 each time. Furthermore the pleasure of riding a piece of British engineering genius cannot be quantified. I can see from online searches that used Brompton bikes keep their value well.

So I am still tempted to buy a Brompton or a hybrid bike so that my wife and I can ride off together into the sunset, or sunrise haha, in a common leisure activity that is also low impact and good exercise. The ride to the end of Jurong Lake and back takes about 45 minutes. There are also many park connectors to explore. Since the Bukit Timah Hill has been closed this may be an addition to my currently depressing exercise regime.

Jubilee and its significance

10 November 2014 blogpastor Leave a comment

Sze Zeng has produced some interesting research that throws light on the significance of Jubilee on his blog. The many instructions given in the Law of Moses about the year of Jubilee relates to liberation of God’s people and land. It’s a kind of righting things for the weak and vulnerable so that the flickering wick will not be totally crushed. It gives hope to the poor of the land. Social justice is very much on God’s heart for people. Sze Zeng’s blog gives a list of instructions about Jubilee which I have reproduced below:

The Jubilee is to be expressed among the Israelites through the following 12 instructions:

I. The Israelites should return to their family property (Lev.25:10, 13).

II. The Israelites are not to sow or reap plantation that grow by itself, or harvest untrimmed vines. They should eat only the produce from the existing crop (Lev. 25:11, 19).

III. The Israelites should not overcharge or undercharge one another—must practice ‘fair price’ as an expression of their reverence for God (Lev. 25:14-18).

IV. On the year before Jubilee, the sixth year, the Israelites’ plantation will produce food enough for the next three years. They are to resume work on their plantation on the eight year (Lev. 25:20-22).

V. No land must be sold permanently as God is the true owner. Hence all sold land must be restored back to the original owner during Jubilee (Lev. 25:23-24).

VI. Israelites who become poor can sell their land, and their relatives should help them to buy back the land. If no relatives can help them, then their land will remained with the buyer until Jubilee (Lev. 25:25-28).

VII. Houses within walled cities can be sold permanently, though the possibility for original owner to buy back the house should remain for the first year after the sale. After that, the house will be owned by the buyer permanently. These houses need not be restored back to the original owner during Jubilee (Lev. 25:29-30).

VIII. Houses in villages can be sold, but must be restored back to the original owner during Jubilee (Lev. 25:31).

IX. Levites’ permanent possession is the pastureland, which cannot be sold. Their houses, however, can be sold though need to be returned to them during Jubilee (Lev. 25:32-34).

X. Israelites should provide social safety net to the unfortunate Israelites as how they are to treat foreigners. They should lend fellow Israelites money without interest, sell them food at cost price (Lev. 25:35-38).

XI. If poor Israelites sold themselves to their fellow Israelites, they must not be treated as slaves, but as servant. And they and their family should be liberated and be restored to their property during Jubilee (Lev. 25:39-43). The same with Israelites who sold themselves to foreigners (Lev. 25:47-55).

XII. Trade and manage the land fairly by determining the price according to its proximity to the Jubilee (Lev. 27:16-25).

Another interesting insight has to do with when Jubilee begins on the Jewish calendar. It begins on the Day of Atonement, the Yom Kippur. The day when the sanctuary is cleansed and the sins of the nation is covered by the blood of innocent animal sacrifices. To read more why this is so read the whole article: SG50 and Christianity’s Jubilee.

Christ is our Jubilee. In Him we are liberated from servitude, debts of sin and bondage. We enter into our spiritual inheritance. We enter into rest. We belong to Him. We are part of the body of Christ that cares for each other.