Before we begin, please head to my website and…

Teng Bong!

Kyle and I created a new project together—one that doesn’t involve creatures and spirits, believe it or not.

Teng Bong! The Eurasians of Singapore is a short docu-series. Its premise is simple and plainly honest: as a Singaporean Eurasian, I know very little about my own culture. Over the course of five episodes, together with five guests, I delve deeper into different aspects of that culture: its history, food, language, music, and stories.

All the episodes are online now and you can watch them, along with the series trailer, via this page of my website.

I once said that Work-Life Balance was my most ambitious project and Worlds Apart was my most important. Well, Teng Bong! is my most personal. Each episode’s only around two minutes long, but we filmed hours worth of footage, in which I spoke at length and candidly with our guests. Some of our conversations were just good fun and, yeah, those were great—but some of them were beautiful and emotional, helping me to understand parts of my culture, and myself, in ways that I never had before.

That said, even though so much was left on the cutting room floor, the final product is one that Kyle and I are both immensely proud of. It’s a glimpse into a world that many people—heck, many Singaporeans—are completely unfamiliar with, shining a light on a community that’s very much a part of our country, despite its comparatively smaller numbers.

What started out as a journey of self-discovery transformed into a love letter.

If you’ve got a TikTok account, please leave a like or a nice comment. If you don’t, you could also share the episodes with friends and family.

Once again, watch all the episodes via this page of my website.

Siangapore Writers Festival

So, despite what I’d said before, turns out I was actually part of this year’s Singapore Writers Festival. I subbed in as a last-minute replacement to chair Siang Lu’s panel—and, let me tell you, I’ve never done a better job as a moderator.

The session was a perfect mix of chaos to match Siang’s online persona and genuine introspection on how his life’s changed since winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. It was the kind of conversation I could’ve only had with a writer who’s really thoughtful and open about his answers—and who’s also a friend.

As with last year’s SWF though, the very best moments weren’t during the festival itself, but over food.

Dinner after our panel was a mini-OzAsia reunion with festival producer extraordinaire, Sonal, and one of this year’s guest, Prasanthi Ram. It was also a gathering of comic folks, led by Max Loh and Ben, including Nadiyah Suyatna, Reimena Yee, and Deena Mohamed (whose book, Shubeik Lubeik, is a masterclass in cleverly crafted, emotionally powerful comic storytelling).

Over that weekend, we met up in one configuration or another, culminating in one last mamak session along South Bridge Road.

At the risk of sounding a little hippie dippie, those two days spent surrounded by creators with such positive energies was the balm that I didn’t even realise my soul needed.

Thank you, Max and Ben, for bringing it all together.

(If you’re keeping score, I’ve got one last event for the year. See you on 30 November for Imaginarium II: Dystopian Hope.)

Lord of all he surveys

And that’s it

Considering how long it took for me to get this edition out, let’s tentatively say that this’ll be the last one for 2025.

It’s not been a great year, but as a wise dreadlocked man once said, “There's reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last.” (My wife has Mariah Carey for this season. I’ve got Counting Crows.) Sure, there’s still another month of 2025 to go. And beyond that, there are bills to pay and Luca’s health to worry about. Hell, if I really want to get into it, there are a million and one things to stress over.

But from where I stand, at least right now, I’m feeling pretty positive about 2026. I recently posted on Bluesky that this is the year I’ll finally have a working draft of my novel done and a comic published in the Western market. That’s not a big, bold declaration, but a north star, a guiding light that hopefully leads the way—and keeps my world illuminated.

If I don’t drop into your inbox between now and New Year’s, Happy Holidays, folks. I hope you spend them with loved ones who uplift you, instead of drag you down. And if you’re looking for stocking stuffers, might I suggest heading over to my site to…

I’ll see you when I see you. Take care.