One of the most decorated skaters in Olympic history, Bonnie Blair comments that winning doesn’t always mean being first; winning means we’re doing better than we’ve done before. By its very definition, winning is the ultimate victory, but according to Blair, winning means being better each time, that we should focus on our personal growth and each time we get better at something, that is akin to a win.

I saw this slideshow on MSN a few days back and given what we know about climate change, this is fascinating and is a must-see. Please have a look so we can do something so that in our lifetime, the earth is still a place that we can gift to our children and their children.

Another interesting article I read this week in the Straits Times was about India’s predicted urban boom. According to the article, India is projected to see an explosion in its urban population in the coming decades, but its cities already cannot cope, and climate change will make living conditions harsher still. My hometown of Mumbai, one of India’s biggest metropolis, grew by some eight million people in the past 30 years, the rough equivalent of the whole of New York City, to a population of 20 million, and is forecast to add another seven million by 2035. And like other Indian megacities, Mumbai’s housing, transport, water and waste management infrastructure has not kept pace, with around 40 per cent of people living in slums, which often have no regular water, power supply or proper sanitation. As the world’s population approaches eight billion, most of them in the developing world, it is a situation replicated globally. Those living on the outskirts of Mumbai commute for hours to work, with many hanging out of doors on packed trains, and others travelling by car or motorbike on clogged, pothole-filled roads that flood during the monsoon.

The United Nations projects that India’s population will rise from its current 1.4 billion to overtake China’s and peak at 1.7 billion in the 2060s, before dropping back to 1.5 billion by the start of the next century. By 2040, 270 million more people will live in Indian cities, according to the International Energy Agency, driving carbon emissions higher from power generation and transport, and from the production of steel and concrete to house them. Overcrowding, shoddy infrastructure and severe air, water and noise pollution are part of everyday life in India’s megacities. About 70 per cent of the billions of litres of sewage produced in urban centres every day goes untreated, a government report said in 2021. Every winter, the capital New Delhi, home to 20 million people, is cloaked in toxic air pollution that, according to one Lancet study, caused almost 17,500 premature deaths in 2019.

On that sombre note, take care people and stay safe.

Today’s quote comes to us from Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian freedom fighter who led India’s freedom struggle from British colonial rule using non violence. Also known as India’s Father of the Nation, his birth anniversary is a federal holiday in the country. According to Gandhi, we have to be the change that we wish to see in the world. What this quote means we should not complain about what others are doing and should fight for what the believe in. This means we should look inside ourselves first before we try to change the habits and characteristics of others.

Last week, I read a news article about Shanghai in China creating the world’s first inhalable COVID vaccine. The vaccine, produced by Chinese pharmaceutical firm CanSino Biologics, is for use as a booster. The vaccine is inhaled via the mouth from a vessel that looks like a take-out coffee cup with a short mouthpiece. The advent of inhaled vaccines is important not only because of their potential to guard against infection but also because they could lessen vaccine hesitancy.

It’s the end of another month and time for my walking updates. For some reason, I’ve not been walking as much as I would like, but this month, I am continuing to walk in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Currently, on the Purvanchal Expressway, I am about 15 km east of the state’s capital, Lucknow. I am about 400 km from the next state which will be Madhya Pradesh.

I had a low reading month because of Diwali and the varied preparations I was busy with, so that’s something I need to rectify this month. Hopefully, I will be able to give a better report next month.

Earlier this week Singapore’s Ministry of Health officially launched a new research programme that aims to build up Singapore’s preparedness and response capabilities for future pandemics. The Programme for Research in Epidemic Preparedness and Response’s (PREPARE) immediate task will be to work closely with MOH to develop a national epidemic research and development plan. This dedicated research programme will help to bring together multi-disciplinary experts throughout the pandemic research ecosystem in a coordinated fashion and will also further strengthen Singapore’s existing capabilities by forming research networks as well as developing necessary tools, methods, and products to respond to future infectious disease outbreak threats. Internationally, the new programme will strengthen research partnerships, share information and knowledge, and collaborate in clinical trials with various institutions in the region.

That’s all from me this week. Take care folks and stay safe.

This week’s quote from Walter Whitman, the American poet, essayist and journalist tells us to always keep our faces towards the sunshine and shadows will fall behind. What this means is that when things are bad, we tend to go into despair and feel that our world is ending. At this point, our future looks grim and we don’t see a way out. In such a case, we can continue to wallow in our misery and see life as a dead-end or we can turn our face and life towards the light and let the shadows of the past fall behind us with a sense of optimism and positivity, look at the glass as half full as opposed to being half empty.

In the last week, Singapore reported about 50,000 cases of COVID-19 and also confirmed four cases of the BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 Omicron subvariants, all of which were imported. First detected in Nigeria in July, the BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 subvariants are sub-lineages of the Omicron variant BA.5. The strains have since been detected in more than 50 countries. I am waiting for when I can become eligible to get the new Bivalent Moderna Spikevax Vaccine as a booster shot and hopefully can get it by the end of the year or early next year.

BB & GG are busy with their lives and school and there are days when I barely see them. We are all tense about GG’s university application and I keep praying that she gets into the university of her choice.

That’s all from my side this week. Take care and talk soon!

Tomorrow is India’s biggest festival – the festival of lights or Deepavali or Diwali. Here’s wishing everyone who celebrates the festival a very Happy Diwali. May the lights brighten your lives and bring you happiness and prosperity.

I have been struggling to remain positive this week. An opportunity I was sure was mine did not come to me and all my old feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt came crowding and I struggled to find something positive each day. I know that the universe has something special planned for me, but when one only keeps getting rejection after rejection, it is hard to maintain an optimistic outlook. And then I came across this quote which resonated with me.

This quote from Jonathan Lockwood Huie, also known as the Philosopher of Happiness, reminds us to keep the faith and remain positive. When we are in pain and are riddled with self-doubt, it is easy to focus on the negatives and lose sight of the hope that is waiting for us just above the horizon. Difficulties may be overwhelming, but we should always remember that the darkest night is often the bridge to the brightest tomorrow.

There’s an upsurge of COVID-19 cases in Singapore mainly because of the XBB strain. In the last seven days, there was an average of about 7,600 cases on a seven-day moving average with one death and a 0.99 infection ratio. Over the last 28 days, 160,070 people were infected and 99.8% of them had no or mild symptoms. As of 20 October, under the National Vaccination Programme, 92% of the total population received at least one dose. 95% of the eligible population and 92% of the total population completed the full regimen and 79% of the total population have received booster shots. As of 21 Oct 2022, Singapore has had a total of slightly above two million cases and 1,660 deaths in total.

That’s all for today. Have a wonderful Diwali

Singapore has been seeing an upsurge in COVID cases, with the reinfection rate climbing due to the XBB Omicron subvariant. Since the end of September, the number of new locally transmitted cases has hovered around 3,000 to 4,000 a day. But on October 11, new local infections spiked to 11,399, the highest in almost three months, sparking concern. The weekly infection ratio also increased to 1.74 as of Oct 10. There is a fear of a new wave here and this is especially worrying because mask mandates are off except for in medical settings and in the public transport system.

Today’s quote is from someone famous throughout the planet – Oprah Winfrey. She reminds us that the more we praise and celebrate our life, the more there is in life to celebrate. This is a good example of being positive and seeing a glass as half full as opposed to it being half empty. When we start to focus on the good things in our life and start and end each day with gratitude, we will be grateful and happy. Conversely, when we start and end each day with negative thoughts and negativity, we become resentful, angry and sad at life which in turn becomes a neverending loop of negative energy in our lives.

And that’s all from me this week. Please do not become complacent and remain safe wherever you are.