More cpf protection for children with special needs

Cpf board is stepping in to help provide a measure of financial security to children with special needs when their parents are no longer around to care for them. - via SNSS special needs savings scheme.

Current: parents set up trusts for their children with the special needs trust company but this requires a min $5000 cash.
Now: SNSS has no admin charges and no min amount.

SNSS - parents can arrange to have their cpf savings diabursed in monthly payouts to their disabled offspring after their deaths. A nominee cpf account will be created for a special needs child upon the parent's demise and funds will be disbursed from those accounts. Same interest rates as parents accounts of up to 4% with an extra 1% on the first $60,000.

Who can apply:
Parents of disabled children who are attending a special education school or who need help in at least one activity of daily living such as getting dressed eating or moving around. For people with disabilities and cannot support themselves.

When will it be Implemented:
Early 2012.

For more info: visit
Http://www.cel.sg

Jalan Kayu - The Hangout near my place :)

Some random sharing on Food :)

At Jalan kayu now, eating my new found love prawn mee noodle. - Blanco prawn noodle house which opened a few months back.
This stall sells 3 in 1 noodle which has pigs tail, prawn and pork ribs. Normally I eat the sliced prawn noodle - which is okay. The one that is recommended is the jumbo prawn noodle or the pork ribs and prawn noodle. Try it out!
It's beside the famous jalan kayu prata. Cost : $4 per bowl estimated.

Usually after that I will pop by Jane's cake store for their famous durian and chocolate cake.
Buy it home and chill it and eat it after a meal. Delicious.
For me, I like their chocolate cake. My parents like their durian cake though.
Opening hours: 12:00pm-6:00pm(Mon-Sat), 12:00pm-4:00pm(Sun,Ph)
Close on Wednesdays

Chocolate Cake: The cake is incredibly light & moist, the chocolate fudge is sufficiently chocolaty without being too rich & overall it’s not too sweet.

Durian Cake: It has a strong fragrance and the sponge is moist and soft, although I think they use a bit too much buttercream in the filling. The durian taste is covered by the cream. Its good for people who like a lighter taste of durian.






And of course! Who can miss the awesome Otah store Hiang Soon Food Catering .I love the taste of the Otah - Not very spicy and it does not have much of fishy taste. Can eat it for breakfast everyday.

SIM women leadership forum 2011

Was representing YWLC for the SIM women leadership workshop held today. It was informative and made me think deeper on the role of women and men in Singapore society. Just for those who have not been following me: Ywlc stands for the Young Women's Leadership Connection. It is a platform that aims to connect young women leaders and empower them with the aptitude and attitude to lead and serve in society through mentoring, volunteering, workshops.

One major takeaway that I had was:
You do not need to climb the corporate ladder to reach the top to feel successful.
You are successful according to how you define yourself.
Love yourself and others will love you. Respect yourself and others will respect you.

Personally before I had joined YWLC and SCWO, I had no idea on the issues that were pertaining to the women leaders in Singapore. Is it true that there is a gender disparity or is it because we feel insecure as a women? You see majority of leaders on the top ranks especially in the private corporate world to be those that are not married and who have not given their careers break for child bearing. You also hear a number of Gen Y and Gen X mentioning that they need to climb the corporate ladder so children is definitely a NO-NO or that they would rather wait till their career is much stable. Is it so for our society in Singapore? And many who has given birth, puts their family as priority and after a while, feels isolated by the working world and prefers to stay home for the rest of their life, regardless of whether they hold a PHD or higher education. Is there a fear that holds them back?

One of the issue that were brought up today by women leaders:
- Women have less leaders to emulate so they always emulate the males - but the males either find them too emotional or too aggressive. They want to voice out but is uncertain of the way to do so without stepping over the boundaries. Does voicing out mean being emotional?

And the conclusion from the seminar is that gender diversity is not about the issue of gender. It is about you accepting yourself as who you are - a female- and embracing your femininity and using it to your strengths.

And the question to ponder
- Why do we want to balance gender in Singapore senior management?
How might we :
Retain talent
Grow talent
Attract talent

How to engage majority of consumers
Increase sales and shareholders value

How to stop stereotyping
How to promote diversity
How to be more inclusive

How to maximize leadership

How to get more women ready- indicating they want job of leadership positions
How can we encourage more women to be role models
How do we offer more support to women leaders in the society?
How do we create the support network for women
How to help the incumbents pave the way
How to transform our leaders to be more inclusive ? Education?
How to support women to return back to the society after childbearing ?
How to encourage women to retire gracefully? And be proactive in using their expertise to contribute back yo the society?
How can we be more participative - does work environment encourage that?

In summary , Prioritize key issues action steps are :
1. Have more women role models where they are willing to step out and be a mentor. Spend a day every month to chat about the difficulties faced and how to solve it. How to balance their work-family life.

2. Bring policy makers and discuss what works and what don't. How to encourage women leaders in stepping up.

What say you ladies? Is this an issue in our society?
Really?!?!?

Movie: Tower Heist

Thank you OMY.SG and United International Pictures Singapore for the dose of laughter provided from the Ben stiller and Eddie Murphy movie" Tower Heist" Though the acting was great, I expected much more comedy especially when there are 2 of my most favorite comedians. Come on!
Probably after my last comedy Bridesmaid, I was expecting much more humor. The movie was great but did not tickle me too much.

It however made me think quite abit about life. About riches. Especially the scene where the doorman tried to commit suicide because he 'lost' all his life savings and also the guy whose family left him before he was in debt. Reminded me that riches are
temporal, enjoy them while you have and always remember to share.

Tower Heist starts with Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda) scamming people out of their money via the Ponzi scheme - not just the rich people, but the people hard earned money of working their years in the hard-working upscale Manhattan residential building he was living in.

The staff led by Josh (Ben Stiller) start to work together to steal back the money that stole from them. Josh enlists the help of a criminal named Slide (Eddie Murphy) to teach him and his team how to successfully steal $20 million. Josh’s team consists of his brother-in-law, Charlie (Casey Affleck), a former Wall Street broker, Mr. Fitzhugh (Matthew Broderick), the new elevator guy, Enrique (Michael Peña), and maid Odessa (Gabourey Sidibe). We watch good, hard-working individuals trying to bring justice to a very unfair situation - being the Robinhood.

Myself ; I love the scene about the maid comments during the cracking of the code on the safe - it was hilarious.

Odessa Montero: First thing you gotta do, you gotta find the entry point. You gotta use your fingers, and you find the entry point.
[Slide looks at Odessa]
Odessa Montero: You married?
Slide: No, I ain't married. What's up?

And also the comment on the buying into a white neighborhood

Josh Kovacs: The average apartment in the Tower costs 5.6 million dollars. We have the best views, the most advanced security systems, but you know what these people are really buying?
Rick Malloy: White neighbors?

And the 'smart' move of eating without paying -Cockroaches

Josh Kovacs: "Jeez a hamburger is $24. We can't afford to eat here anyway."
Slide: "We can order whatever we like cause uh, lunch is on me!" (Holds up a baggie with a dead roach inside)

The cast is great. They helped the story flow with their character relating to the scenes of humor.

I would recommend “Tower Heist” as a fun day out movie or for families with older kids.