Life through the lenses.....

Intruder and Idiots

2006-05-28T16:19:00.000+08:00

Someone broke into my flat on Friday evening and strangely, it wasn't chased away and in fact my parents was very happy. How come? Well, when I got home after work on Friday afternoon, I immediately rushed to the toilet to do my business. Honestly, nothing beats doing it in the comfort of your home's toilet because sometimes, public toilets are just downright disgusting. Dirty, smelly, floor filled with urine and lack of toilet paper. Arrgh. I would know better because I dread using the toilet at the shopping mall of my workplace. Can't people treat public loos like their ones at home? It would make going to the toilet a more pleasant experience. Anyway, back to the point....

While I was about to finish, I heard a sound. A very LOUD chirping. It was as if there was a bird in the toilet with me. But the thing is, we don't have any pets at all so what was the deal with it? I looked around and found the source of the voice at the corner hiding.

Yes, it's the mynah commonly seen around. My first thought was where did it pop out from and why did it chose to come, of all places, the toilet of my flat? I asked my mum about it and she told me it somehow flew into our flat via the kitchen's window and then straight to the toilet, staying there for hours. My mum also noticed it's parents at the window ledge chirping and searching for him. My parents did not want to chase it away because they believe it's arrival would bring them luck because it is not everyday you get such a visitor. What pure superstitious rubbish I thought. I mean won't they feel one bit awkward that when they are pissing, there is a pair of eyes staring at your private parts? No?

Strangely, it prefers to hide in a corner and not do anything. When I walked in to offer some clean water and some small chunks of apple on a plate, it backed off away from it. Maybe it is shy. I do not know why the mynah did not want to leave. Are it's wings injured or did it grew to like the toilet so much that it decided to stay for good? I have no answer to that question but it just stayed there throughout the night. When I woke up early for work the next day, I went to checked if it was still there. Yeap. It was, with a lot of free gifts in the form of droppings.

Saturday evening. Ater a long day at work, I just want to get home quickly and take a damn bath. Taking the train on weekends is a bitch as it's just crowded. So I prefer to take the bus even though it might take me a little longer to reach home. But at least I might get a seat.

As I was about to cross the road, I noticed my bus coming but the damn lights were still green. I prayed that the people boarding the bus would delay it a little until the lights turned red. What luck, the lights did in fact turned red and I quickly ran across the road and flagged down the bus. That bloody driver just waved me off with a snotty look on his face. It was not as if the bus was packed. So I just have to say Fuck you Mr Bus Driver.

I just stood there like a fool as the bus left. There was another alternate bus service I could take and within a few minutes, it came. As the crowd filled the bus along the journey, I pressed the bell to drop off at my stop. The people are just like statues. They can hardly move to let me through to the exit even though I already muttered excuse me. I just had to push my way through like what every rude Singaporean is good at.

The best thing is there was an eldery man sitting on the steps of the exit blocking my way. I am serious. If he wasn't as old as my grandfather, I would had kicked him down the steps. I don't blame him though. I can only point a finger at those people who did not give up their seat to him. He would not had sat there if there was one considerate person. As he stood up, I was expecting the doors to open. No it did not. I was already impatient and pressed the bell again. Hello??? Is the driver asleep? I was still standing there with so many people staring at me. It was only when I pressed it for the 3rd time then the doors to my escape from the bus ride from hell was over. World class transport my foot. To think they are planning to raise the bus fares again.

It is incidents like these that I wished I had a car. Really.

Ohhh...the mynah is gone when I got home after work yesterday. My mum told me it left when she woke up in the morning at 10am. Now she better hope that it does indeed bring her luck for the 4D tonight. Haha.

Broken free...almost...

2006-05-24T00:31:00.000+08:00

It's not a big secret that I dislike my job more and more as each day passes. It's a small miracle that I have been working for 1.5 months now when in fact I really got tired of it and felt like quitting 1 month into it. I mean, why bother to stay on on something you dislike and make yourself unhappy? But still I decided to stay on. The question is why am I unhappy? Mainly because of the long working hours and crappy starting time. There's no fixed salary as the system here is the more hours you work, the more you are paid.

For a miserable hourly pay, they expect us to do almost everything. Like wiping and clearing the tables, serving food, washing the dishes and teabags, throw rubbish, lock the tables, get the stock from the storeroom etc etc. Bloody hell, sometimes I think I'm underpaid. When I told my football kaki in the army about the job I'm holding, he raised his eyebrow and laughed at me. He said I should had asked for a higher pay considering that I've graduated. He used to work in a IT company for a few months drawing quite a respectable sum, though not as much as $1800. *Cough*. His boss quoted him a low pay but he insisted he deserved more as he's a poly grad and guess what? He got what he wanted. But of course, he could had do this because he was enlisted in September last time. Much more time than what I have. I mean who would want to employ someone who can only work for 2 months plus or so? Not many.

The real reasons why I stayed on are because ...

1) During the interview, I said I could be able to commit until the 1st week of June to the boss. So a promise is a promise, I would stick to it. I would had felt really guilty if I quit before that. But weeks after I started working, I realized I shouldn't had said that because I am just bloody tired almost after each working day. That is not what I had in mind. I only wanted a relaxing and easy job. A typical day for me would require me to wake up at 6am, reach at 7 and then work to 5pm or sometimes till 10pm if I had to cover for someone in the afternoon shift. But when the manager noticed that I wasn't really that keen on working like a dog, they managed to cut my working hours. Last week, they managed to employ a full timer and so I have a considerably lighter schedule now. Mostly just 5 or 6 hours and then I can go home. I like this arrangement better but still it doesn't hide the fact that I won't want to work till June. I need to rest and chill out before enlistment.

I told my manager last Friday that I would be quitting next Wednesday(today). But he said I cannot do that as I had to consult the boss and have to give two weeks advance notice. He then asked me to work till this week ended. I reluctantly agreed, feeling a little upset by that also. Oh come on, I might come somewhat late every morning but you can't deny the fact that so many times I agreed to cover so many other people's shift and work more than I was supposed to without much hesistation. Even when I said Sunday would be my preferred off day because I have to play football, sometimes I still agree to your request to work on that day just because you sound kind of desperate and asked in a begging tone. Where can you find such an ~~idiot~~ accommodating employee like me? Yet a simple request like that and you have to beat around the bush.

2) I had grown to like working with some of my colleagues. Especially those on the night shift. But unfortunately, they always slot me to work in the mornings because they lack people in there. Most of my colleagues are poly students part timers so mornings are out of question to them. Overall, everyone doesn't treat me that bad. Just that when people treat you good, you have this thinking that you had better work harder to deserve that treatment.

I don't like to lie. Never had and never will. When I say something untrue, I would felt horrible and guilty after that. But sometimes, some people just force me to do this. Since my manager told me to consult my boss if I could quit by this week, I had to come up with a credible excuse so as to make it believable. If I told them I wanted to quit because I want to rest for army, they probably won't allowed it because they would surely bring up the promise I made last time that I could work till the first week of June. So I had to lie and tell her I had to visit my sick aunt for a week in Malaysia blah blah blah. I also had to emphasis the point that I was returning back next Friday morning.

I expected her to get the hint that I would be quitting and not coming back ever. But unfortunately no, she didn't got it. She is persistent all right, asking if I could work Friday afternoon or the weekends and till the days before I enlist. My god, she really can't bear to let me go. Sheesh. Being the model employee, of course I agreed to her request and do her one last favour to work 1 more day before I kiss goodbye. Next Saturday would be my final day. I won't miss the place.

Goofs and Cock ups...

2006-05-14T00:38:00.000+08:00

Leaving school probably made me an idiot because I feel kind of retarded. I just realized it these past two days.

1) Normally, I would be awoke by 6+am to go work. On Vesak Day, I woke up at 7+ in the morning. I panicked when I saw the alarm clock and then quickly got my arse off my bed. I was thinking oh no, I overslept again. I was cursing all the way while I was changing. Then I remembered I was given the day off. I went back to my bed and continued back to sleep. Sheesh.

2) Later in the afternoon, met my friend to watch MI3 at the new Cathay Cineplex but as it was raining, we walked to PS. In the end, we ended up watching it at a neighbourhood cinema anyway, after looking at the horrendous queues at GV PS and Lido. I looked into my wallet ready to pay and then there was not a single note in it. Then I realized I forgot to bring my money along before I left home. It was a tad embarassing when the counter lady stared at me fumbling in my pockets for cash. Bleh. They ought to implement payment by NETS for such situations.

3) I have been wanting to bring my phone to the service centre to fix the annoying sensitive joystick problem I have been experiencing for a few weeks now. I managed to find the warranty card, which was the good thing. But the bad thing is I couldn't find my receipt. This is important because they stated that if you want them to service your phone, you need the original proof of purchase. I think I might had happily threw the receipt away the last time without even knowing. ARRGH!!!! Guess now I have to go back to the shop where I bought the phone and get them to give me their duplicate receipt, if they have it that is.

4) Happened to met my classmates along Orchard. Went for some caffeine and talk cock session with one till the early morning. After that, we took the Nightrider home as I still had to wake up a few hours later for work. I could see that my bus was coming from a distance thus I flagged it down expecting it to stop for me but then I slightly glanced back to the seat to check if I had left anything behind. When I turned back, the bus had already dashed past me and I had to wait for almost 1/2 hour for the next bus. Bloody hell.

5) I only realized I forgot to pay my friend for the mocha I had after I got off from work today. I am not one to take advantage of others or be seen as a cheapskate but that was pretty absent minded of me. Oops.

6) I casually asked for the phone number of Miss TP after I got off from work because I was quitting soon and also my schedule seems like I won't ever be working along side with her nor have the chance to meet her at all. She muttered some digits and then I pressed it down on my phone but I did not saved it. When I got to the toilet to change my stinky work clothes, I accidentally press the cancel button and so the number which I had pressed just now disappeared from the screen. Oh bollocks, what was the number again?? I just somehow repeated the digits in my mind and saved it this time. But I am not exactly sure if it was the same one as she gave me. Damn. I should had went back and asked again.

All these are so silly that I laugh when I think of it. I can't imagine how bad it would be when I get into army.

*As I am finishing up on this post, I felt a strong sense of deja vu as I stared at the telly. It was just like last year in Istanbul all over again. I think older Liverpool fans with a weak heart might not be able to take all this kind of comebacks in the finals in the future. A great game for the neutrals regardless*

Boring and Predictable

2006-05-07T00:57:00.000+08:00

Typical words to describe the elections results. Same old results like last time round. YAWN. Of course everyone knows who would win overall in the end but it would had been better if a few Men-In-White lost. I don't claim to know much about politics nor did I had the time and energy to follow the news due to being half died from work but when you have such an overwhelming of the same party controlling the government, it just doesn't sound or look good.

Simple reason is no one would oppose the increases and all the policies etc etc because when you have 82 out of 84 of your own party's people in the government, of course there is no way the parliament would say no to what they would be introducing. So I guess we would expect more increases and a lot of other crap the next 5 years. Hurray for that! As if the bus fare, ERP, COE and all that isn't high enough already. Like everyone knows, the only thing that increases is the cost of living and not your salary. Noticed they won with an overall 66.6%? Is it a sign of things to come? Regardless, I fear for the future now already.

Sure, I just had the chance to vote for the first time ever but it didn't matter because it was a walkover in my area. But from what I heard from my colleagues and customers all week, they don't really totally agree to what the government is doing. Somehow, they lean to an alternative voice. Singaporeans are weird. I say this because looking at the massive crowds at the opposition rallies, you might had think they would support and vote for them in the end. But the truth is, they would still go for the tried and trusted choice in the end. They fear changes and prefer familiarity but inside they complain about the government. Still in the end, they don't dare to voice out and make a difference by exercising their voting power and giving it to the opposition. Maybe. Except if you're from Potong Pasir and Hougang, who have the balls to stand up against the government and wave away all the upgrading tactics promised to them by the Men-In-White.

I was only interested how the results would come out in Potong Pasir simply because it's just a bridge away and some bus stops away from where I live. I thought that old guy would finally lose out but he won again! And even managed to improve his winning percentage by a little. I could hear cheers and clappings around my block when the results came out on the telly. I clapped a little too because I think he's quite worthy. Hougang area was a foregone conculsion because that Hammer guy is very strong. I already thought no fight lah as even the kopi uncle assured me he sure win. He won by such a big margin, looks like those people at Hougang really likes him. The only surprising result to me was the Aljunied GRC as those Hammer group got quite a huge percentage even though they lost. All week long, those Men-In-White kept on targeting the same guy for so many days just for one silly mistake. Even people would get bored and annoyed by this tactic lor. That's probably why they got many votes as usual maybe?

Anyway, life goes on. We the small and powerless citizens will still continue to get screwed either way. Time to sleep after a long day. Zzzzz.....

Sunday update: *Stupid Men-In-White in lorries whizzed past my area waving and thanking us through their loudspeaker. Early in the morning do this kind of thing, people like me are still sleeping ok? I flashed a middle finger at them from my window. They probably didn't see it. God, what's to brag and make noise about when it's a damn walkover? Sheesh, give me a break*

Work, Whine and Laughs

2006-05-05T19:45:00.000+08:00

Working in the morning shift is somewhat tedious because I have to wake up at 6 and reach at 7. Given a choice, I would rather work in the afternoon one but well, since I'm like the replacement for two other FT staff who had left, I am about their only few options I guess. So nowadays I work like 5 or 6 days 10 hours shift straight(sometimes 15 if I have to cover some guy's arse in the afternoon shift), which is what I won't want. I hope they employ one more person (they are in fact but haven't approve work permit) to lessen my workload because I would had rather prefer to work like 4 or 5 days week and oh, some afternoon shift please!

I seriously don't want to carry on like a hardcore workaholic until I enlist. In the perfect world, I had rather work when I feel like and still get enough rest time to do other stuffs at home. But of course, this would never ever happen and I cannot complain about this. I don't really like to work in the morning to be honest as I STILL sleep late and arrive at work feeling tired and listless almost everytime. I am NEVER a morning person and feel slightly grumpy when I do not have enough sleep. They all know how I am like when I am like that and had told me many times to sleep early but the problem is I can't no matter how I tried. It's a bad habit that has been developed since the attachment ended. Thrice already, I overslept and arrived late but amazingly, I have not been given the boot yet. It's probably because they can't find anyone ~~stupid~~ willing enough to wake up for morning shift. I can roughly half guess that the morning shift kitchen people probably don't really like me but have to tolerate with it until they get another person.

Afternoon shift is great because the working hours are shorter and I prefer the kitchen staffs better. Maybe it's because they are less whiny, more friendly and love to joke around. I don't really talk much to most of the people there except for a few here and there because most of the time, I feel a little tired and it's like we don't have any common interests. Still sometimes, they make me laugh intentionally or unintentionally.

1) I get called "Daniel"(another of my colleague) three times by different senior colleagues in the space of a few hours in the morning. I also cannot understand why. Damn, I knew it long ago I was not their favourite and this confirmed it. :( Except for being male and around the same age, I don't see any resemblance between me and him.

2) Night Shift Auntie HAD NEVER got my name right even though I have worked for like a month now. She calls me Yen, Rodney and a lot of other weird names. I repeated a few times my name but she probably can't remember it. So I just laugh and assure her she can call me whatever she liked. I won't get pissed because she's one of the nicest staff around there.

3) Some idiot got sacked in the stupidest way ever. It was surprising to me as because this Uni student from China had only worked like a few days. Manager told me the customer was sitting down waiting for the food to be served. Then the China dude was all ready to pass him the food when suddenly the customer switched seats. He moved to the next table and this got China dude angry a bit and he muttered "Shit" in front of the customer. It was not directed at the customer but of course, the customer thought otherwise and made a complaint and he was history.

Yes, there are some female staff that are around my age. But I only talk to maybe a handful. The one I talk to the most is Miss TP. It was my first week and I was still a newbie and didn't knew anyone. Then I saw a familiar figure walking in to start the afternoon shift. I was a little surprised because I swore I had seen her before so I asked her how many days she had worked so far and she said two. Then I remembered where I saw her, she was in front of me when she got interviewed by my boss. So I asked her if she did came down with her friend that day. She confirmed my assumptions and I was glad to know someone finally.

Whenever she report in late for work, I would tease her "Or hor, late again". I would do it everytime and last weekend when she came early, I still said "Or hor". But she retorted back "I am not late leh, I was early". I just replied: "Eh, I know but I only say OR HOR mah, doesn't mean anything. Why so worked up for nothing?". I laughed like an idiot and she made a >_<>

4) After work, we walked to the MRT station. She asked me which poly I studied. I don't like to give obvious answers so I told her to guess.

"One of the polys in Clementi"
"Let's see, my poly TP, Republic in Woodlands, Nangyang I dunno where and..."
"NYP in AMK, Yio Chu Kang lah, wah lau eh"
"Hmmm....oh. I know liao. Then must be Singapore ah?"
"No lah, you almost got it but I'm from SP's good cousin at the other side of Clementi, near Bukit Timah lah"

I thought this was pretty obvious already but what the hell...

"OHHHH!!!! ITE IS IT?"

¬_¬ Nothing more I can say about her.

5)
"What course you study in poly ah?"
"Golf course lor!"

Then I laughed like an idiot. She shot me a "I really buay tahan you" look.

"You huh, very lame leh and laugh very horribly. I don't want to talk with you liao. No meaning at all and made me more tired"
"Like that better what. Then you would sleep easier when you reach home. In fact, you should thank me for that leh"
"Hah Hah. Like real eh so where do you live?"

I thought for a while and acted stupid again...

"Palau Ubin"

I can see her face really like want to whack me already.

"You huh, not funny lor...just say lah."
"Ok, make a guess again. HDB Hub. I give big clue liao"
"Hmmm...HDB Hub ah? Where is it ah? I dunno leh"

¬_¬ I slapped my forehead and gave up.

"I really suspect you are not Singaporean lah, everything also dunno."

It's very ironic that later when I took the train home with a new Chinese colleague and I asked her the same question and she could answer me. A FOREIGNER KNOWS BETTER THAN A LOCAL??? Oh well, Miss TP really is one hopeless blurcock but I love it. Makes it so much easier and funnier to tease and joke around with. :)

Originally before I started work, I wanted to work until the week before I get enlisted. But now, after experiencing so much BS, standing on the feet for more than half of the day, being tired for most of the time and clearing endless leftovers and dirty crap, I think I have had enough. I have decided to stop 2 weeks before enlistment. Partly because of what someone said to me. Well, I went to get my geeky and ugly army glasses after work today. Thursday I worked 14+ hours till closing and then woke up few hours later and worked 10 more hours today.

When the optician lady asked me if I was working tomorrow on Voting Day, I said yes. She was surprised and told me why should I slog so hard especially now when I do not have much time left to enjoy? After sonme thoughts, she is right. I don't really work for the money or whatever. I work just to pass time. Why should I be so accomdating to my employers anyway? So I guess I would have to inform them of my new departure date and also to apply some holidays to watch football. If they don't allow, then I just quit then. Simple as that.

This song has a special meaning to me...

2006-05-01T03:41:00.000+08:00

First came across the song on streaming radio last year. I used to hate it whenever they played this as the voice was weird but upon repeated hearings, I grew to love it because it never fails to make me want to stand up and dance like an idiot. That is how a good song should be. I wondered who was behind this song and what a surprise, it's Daniel Bedingfield, THAT guy behind "If You're Not The One". He sounds so different on both songs.

In fact, a couple of times when it randomly played on my iPod when I was on the bus, I just lost myself and moved to the beat in my seat without a care in the world. Those people in their vehicles beside me stared at me when the traffic lights turned red but I wasn't bothered with them. Of course, I only did this when there are not many people on the bus. Since I liked the song that much, I went to find out the history of it and it had a very interesting story indeed.

1) He recorded "Gotta Get Through This" in his bedroom with only a microphone and computer.

2) The inspiration behind the song was a red haired Swiss-American dancer who lived in Leeds, England. Daniel had fallen in love with her, but avoided telling her for two and a half years. He was walking in London's Tower Bridge and he was upset that the distance prevented him from pursuing her. It was this frustration, tension and desperation to see this girl that he wrote the song. He got the girl in the end.

3) He send the demo of the song to a few record companies in London but they didn't liked it. So he decided to make it into a single and send it to three DJs as a last ditch solution. In the end one famous DJ picked it up, included in his album and spread the song to the underground garage scene. The song then somehow ended up Number #1 on the UK music charts in 2oo1. People wondered who the guy was behind the song and in the end, he did become a singer when a record company signed him on after this incident. He released his debut album after that and of course the song is included inside. What a fairy tale ending.

And yes Natasha Bedingfield is his sister, if you haven't knew by now.

This part of the lyrics perfectly described what I was trying hard to do for weeks now. Trying to move on from the experience.


If only I could get through this
If only I could get through this
If only I could get through this
God, God, gotta help me get through this

I gotta get through this
I gotta get through this
I gotta make, gotta make it, gotta make it through
Said I'm gonna get through this
I'm gotta get through this
I gotta take, gotta take my mind off you

Give me just a second and I'll be all right
Surely one more moment couldn't break my heart
Give me 'til tomorrow then I'll be okay

Throughout the whole time which I felt really low, I had it on repeat and listened to it everyday for hours till I got sick of it. Nevertheless, this is a great track to groove to in clubs. If this came on, I think I would go crazy and danced myself silly.

Actually I could had stay at home and rot until June but it's not very good in the sense that I will do nothing but just keep on thinking and thinking about that matter. People around ask me why I should bothered to work when I only had so little time left to enjoy my civilian life. I tell them the most honest reason is because I am bloody bored waiting for NS at home. That's only half the truth. The real reason is I just had to find a job and work to keep myself busy and not brood too much about the matter. It does somewhat works...until I get home and alone in my room and all the thoughts come back in my mind. Sheeesh.

But as each day passes, I think I can gradually accept the fact that it wasn't meant to be. I had pretty much got over it, but not the person totally though. I am not sure why about the latter but maybe it's because this was the first time I ever took action instead of just keeping quiet inside as I usually do. You would had never bet on me mustering the courage to go up to even talk to someone I might had fancied few years back seriously. Though it didn't worked out in the end, it's quite amazing to me now that I actually tried to do(keyword "tried" but didn't execute in the end) quite a few things for her. Another thing is though I said I didn't cared anymore, that is not really how I felt inside. I still cared about her well being but not to a greater extent as in the past. I always want to know that my friends are doing well and getting on fine.

After many sleepless nights, I figured the problem lies with me and not that "It's not you but me" reason which she gave. She probably just said that to make me felt better. I pretty much knew I am not good enough in many ways and I am not fit to be in a relationship. One thing I found annoying was those friends of mine kept consoling me by saying that I'm a great guy and all that feel good rubbish. People always lie in order to make you feel less hurt. Oh come on, give me a break. The truth is hard to take but look at me, I still manage to somehow came through after a few setbacks in the past. The moral of the whole story is I got to change and improve myself in order to appear desirable. But that would take time.

And oh thank you Mr Bedingfield, I did got through this.

Hopes and Dreams

2006-04-23T15:30:00.001+08:00

The chalet gathering made me realized one thing dearly. That is the carefree days of the past are over. Now it's time to enter into next step of life, adulthood. As I listened in to my classmates discussing about their future plans, I felt somewhat lost in my own thoughts because I have no clue at all. There they are already having an idea what they intend to do and yet I am seriously still undecided. It's just like standing in the middle of a crossroad junction and not knowing which route to take next.

The typical Singaporean education route would be to make it to a university at least. But of course not everyone is like the brilliant top student who is already guranteed a place in any of the top two local unis. I think that going to a uni doesn't necessary mean that one would be successful or earn big bucks in the future but unfortunately this is Singapore, where paper qualifications are highly looked upon. So well, life's like that, people will continue to judge you on a piece of paper like it or not. For the others like us, it's either to enter the army, the workforce or to continue to do private studies. But what next after the two years?

Honestly, I didn't forsee myself in this situation now. What I had thought I would be achieving when I was younger is totally different from what had happened now. Yes, I might had graduated with an expensive piece of toilet paper called the diploma but so did many other people and perhaps they actually had passion and enjoyed what they had learnt or studied, which is what I didn't possess. This might sound laughable but I had actually had ambitions of making it to a JC back then. Maybe it's because I believed too much into a few of my teachers and friends. They kept saying I could make it and it just gave me some false hope that I could really made it despite being just good in a few subjects and what a joke I turned out to be in the end. Sometimes it's better not to believe the hype and the half lies.

I thought hard about what my friend said to me while I was watching him barbecuing the chicken wings. He was more worried about what the future holds for him than anything else. To him, getting a decent job is more important than getting into a relationship. That is pretty true also come to think of it. I worry about that a lot too. I am the eldest in the family and my parents are not getting any younger. Surely, I can't depend on them forever and leech off them when I am 30 right? Even thought they had said many times that they would live with themselves and not bother us when they grow old, I know they are just saying that to test me. There is no way I would abandon my parents when they grow old and sick. After all, it was them who bought me into this world and provided for me. They would be a burden but there's no escaping the fact that it's part of the responsiblity of a child to take care of your parents. I am always afraid I might not be good enough for them in the future.

I had already made a mistake 3 years ago so I should not repeat the same mistake this time. I am going to think hard about the next step in my life.

Life is one sweet irony

2006-04-14T14:53:00.000+08:00

Good Friday, Bad Friday. I should had been working but then I took leave for the chalet thingy a few days ago but then last minute it got switched to next week. Bleh. I messaged my manager to explain that I could cancel my leave and work on Friday as scheduled if he wanted me to and to also ask for leave next week. He didn't replied. I am thinking I had sort of lost the trust he had in me. Hope I don't get ^#@&@^#& when I see him tomorrow at work.

Speaking of trust, my friend must be wondering what the hell is going on also. Few days ago he asked if it's possible this Friday organize a kickabout. I told him it wasn't possible as I will be working that day which of course isn't the case now. Well every week, I am the organizer and the one that brings the ball. So if I fell sick or wasn't free, the whole thing is cancelled. Since I am free today, I sent messages to my kakis yesterday that we would be playing today anyway. I think he must be a little suprised when he got that message.

While we were waiting for our turn to play, I told my football kakis(ALL of them serving NS now) that I would be enlisted on the eve of World Cup. Their immediate reaction was to laugh at me. I had always followed the World Cup since US 94 so I thought it is very ironic that I would miss nearly all of the tournament this time. This fact is just hard to swallow but really, I can only blame myself for not passing my NAPFA. One of them told me he also had to miss Euro 2004 tournament also when they were enlisted that time.

A few of them, awaiting to go into NUS/NTU coming this August just mocked at me by shouting ORD LOR! Lucky bastards are going to get out soon enough and I still haven't go in and the worst thing is I am older than them. Sheesh. But their mocking I can take because I also mocked at them by flashing my pink IC in their face last time. Haha. They said my batch is very fortunate because they had to serve 2.5 years. I guess so, 1/2 more year of time wasting would had felt worst. I think we didn't even played much and then the skies just opened up and cried. God, I absolutely hate it when it rains cats and dogs. Especially when we were just starting to have fun. Today's session was over just like that. :(

The World Cup, well I am not really that interested in watching the group matches anyway. I just hope if I do get to book out on the weekends, I might be able to catch a few matches. Thus, I went to find out the schedule to see which matches falls on the weekends...

24 June Sat Round of 16
1 July Sat Quarter Finals
8 July Sat 3rd placing match

Oh crap, I guess really no chance to watch the final then... :(

What I dislike most about work...

2006-04-08T19:44:00.000+08:00

....is I have to force myself awake by 6am if I am assigned on the opening shift. Suddenly, it is back to the days of primary school all over again. I used to live at the eastern side of the island and had to wake up at an unearthly 5.30am every damn morning to catch two buses to my school in Toa Payoh. Sometimes I am like the first student to reach the school and it was a little errie to say the least. That went on for about 3 years until I moved to Kim Keat.

The work schedule is very flexible. Initally, I thought they put me on full time but actually I realized I am just one of their many part timers. I work like 4 or 5 days and different hours each time. Sometimes 6 hours and the most was 10 hours at a go, which was a little crazy. I have problems sleeping early for morning shift because all along after the internship, I usually sleep late and woke up late every day. You can pretty much say I am a nightowl type of person.

So, I still have this unhealthy habit despite having to work the morning shift, which just makes me pretty tired and grumpy when I reach the workplace. Because I just don't feel like talking much or have this expressionless look on my face, they probably think I am unfriendly or an introvert but the truth is I just feel tired inside and all I want to do is sleep but I cannot, thus my brain just stays in hiberation mode until the afternoon when I feel much less lathergic.

I think most of the people in my workplace are nice except for a few who I can feel sort of dislike me perhaps because I am new or I rarely talk much. The most asked question by my fellow colleagues(those around my age) was how old I was. I always tell them to make a guess. EVERYONE seems to think that I am around 17-19. I am not joking but not one got my age right. It is very flattering to know I still look ~~childish~~ young. How I wished I was really what they say I was.

Other than that, nothing really much to whine about. I am glad just to have a job to keep myself occupied until I am called up. Though some people might feel it is a little beneath them to serve food or clear the crap after the customers had left, to me it is not a problem as long as I enjoy myself and have fun. Nothing really matters much now anyway. Why should I make myself unhappy, angry or whatever when I have roughly only 2 months left to have fun? This turtle bookmark I saw in my cousin's house is a good reminder to me. Take it easy. Simple advice indeed but not everyone knows how to follow it.

Speaking about jobs, I think I had a deja vu feeling when I saw this upon checking the school email.

Sometime back, I went alone for an interview at their office for the printer job recommended by my classmate. In the end, it did not worked out. Neither did my other classmates who tried for it but now they are desperate for people again? I think since they state that they are willing to take in those who are awaiting enlistment, you guys who are hopelessly jobless (YES YOU WHO IS READING THIS!) should go down and give it a try. Time to wake up your idea and move your lazy butt and go for interviews. Anything is better than rotting aimlessly at home really.

The dreaded letter is here

2006-04-01T19:15:00.000+08:00

What an April Fool's Day indeed. After my friend told me that he received his enlistment letter this morning, my first reaction was to immediately go check the mailbox. I got excited for nothing as there isn't anything inside. This sounds stupid but I was jealous of him because my mentality is I rather get into this shit as early as possible and get done with it as quickly as possible. That means to get into the first June/July intake instead of the second September/October intake. So I was pleasantly relieved when I saw two colored letters from Mindef when I checked the mailbox in the evening again.

Finally, it has come. Thank god. When most of my secondary school friends/football kakis are about nearly 1 year into it or soon to ORD already. But here I am, still haven't serve it. I should had been with them but alas for the delay. I am overdue for this and I go in as an old bird. I had counted, 67 days to Tekong chalet. So hey it's time to enjoy, have fun, go crazy and spend whatever remaining civilian time I have to the fullest before my time is up.

*Tick Tock* *Tick Tock* The Countdown has begun.

Government give me present but I am still unhappy...

2006-03-29T14:52:00.000+08:00

I checked the letterbox just now and they were finally here. Thank goodness, or else I can't stand the constant questions anymore. I mean my mum kept on asking me when the letter would arrive ever since they announced this last month. Surprise surprise, there was one for me also. Then I remembered, I already hit the age to watch R(A) movies already. So I qualify for this also.

I got a shock when I read the contents. That is quite a lot of $ for a jobless slacker like me. About twice as what I have in my pathetic bank account. Wow. Thank you PAP for this pre election ~~bribe~~ goodie. Though it doesn't have an effect on me as it has always been a walkover for many many years in my town.

This might sound absolutely retarded but honestly given the chance, I do not want the cash. Most people might gleefully accept the handout but I see it in another way. They sending the letter to me only serves to remind me how awfully old I am now. If there was a chance, I would gladly exchange the money to be 18 years old again. Back to the days where I was youthful, innocent and not giving a damn care of the world.

I would turn back time and make things right again. I wasted a lot of time back in secondary school. I want them back. I would had strived harder to prevent getting into this shitty predicament I am in now. I might not look like it but I have been vastly unhappy for 4 years now. It's like a vicious cycle. I didn't got into something I liked, I lost the passion to work hard ever since I got in to this unfavourable course, I just wanted to get through it and in the end I graduated with a lousy GPA. Neither good nor bad.

Plus, I have zero idea what the hell I will do after NS. I think I lost myself for the past 3 years. I hate to feel like that as I am one who prefers to be in control and know what I am going to do in the future. But now, this certainly isn't the case.

Hoping that lady would really employ me for the cafe job or else I would keep thinking about all these and that other thing more and more as each day passes. Arrgh, it is an unhealthy habit I had developed since I was young. And oh, they had better send the enlistment letter quickly to me also. I am growing a tad impatient.

Lame Joke Of The Day

2006-03-26T23:57:00.000+08:00

I watched the Merseyside Derby at my friend's, who is a Liverpool fan. It was what you would expect from a derby. Passion, tackles flying around, end to end action. Though I had expected Liverpool to win 2-1 before the match, I was kind of disappointed at how Everton failed to capitalize on the one man advantage.

There were lots of talking points, but the main one must be the dismissal of their inflential captain. He got sent off quite early in the first half. Both of the yellow cards were given a minute apart and well deserved. The first was just silly. The second one was pretty much irresponsible as he went in two footed into the opponent just outside the penalty box. I really thought he must had lost his mind. What a bloody letdown but I bet he is surely thankful to his team mates for coping very well despite his absence.

Read this article first to better understand the joke perhaps.

Special 08 shirts at Mersey derby

Two top footballers have made history by having their shirt numbers changed for an all-important Merseyside derby.

Everton's James Beattie and Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard both wore an "08" shirt on Saturday - marking the city's year as Capital of Culture.

The numbers got special permission from the FA Premier League to promote the 08 Ambassadors Programme.

After the match, at Anfield, the two shirts were being auctioned for charity by the Liverpool Culture Company.

The 08 Ambassadors programme has been created for well-known people to spread the word about the city and its role as European Capital of Culture 2008.

Q: Why is Gerrard's 08 jersey worth more than Beattie's 08 jersey?
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A: Cos Gerrard's one would be very clean as worn only for 18 minutes and comes with a red card also. :)

It is 7am now...

2006-03-23T07:09:00.000+08:00

After a wild and crazy night, I should be sleepy by right. But by left I am typing this post out while looking out the window. It's a brand new day, Mr Sunshine ain't out because it's still drizzling. The roads are wet and the cars are moving. I am pretty awake, while listening to some groovy tunes. After we left for home, I told my friend I wasn't a bit tired. He laughed and I can guess he probably didn't believed me. Well, I'm not lying.

While on the journey home, I thought about many stuffs. I realized a lot of things today. I was right all along. Reached home at 5. After a bath, I sat my lazy arse in front of the telly and watched the footie. Flipping between the FA Cup match and the Spanish League. Same old predictable bullshit really. Chelsea winning and Real Madrid being just absolute rubbish.

Then I went to lie on my bed not to sleep but to stare at the ceiling. I reflected on the things that happened.

What I had learnt....

1) The blazer was too formal. But it's alright, I can save it for future weddings and funerals.

2) The food was honestly terrible. Even my ex supervisor's wedding was slightly better. I ate more, dressed worst and paid less than this scam. The only saving grace was the host.

3) Hot, loud, dark and air polluted with second hand smoke. It's precisely what I had thought of alright.

4) Even if you are ugly or sexually confused, it's alright. Because it's so dark inside that no one really gives a crap about how you look.

5) Continuing on the theme of sexually confused, how do they classified those type of people? Are they allowed in free as a lady? or a dude? This had been puzzling me ever since I left.

6) Even if you don't really like the genre of music that much, after a while you would start moving to the beat. It is just that infectious. But you would probably want to get the hell out after an hour. Like my friend whom left early. I won't blame him. It was like a torture to a metal loving fan.

7) Dancing like an absolute idiot is perfectly acceptable. All thanks to the the lack of light inside.

8) Despite being a non clubber, I think my opinion has changed slightly. Maybe I will agree to go with my army friends to MOS to have a look see the next time they ask me.

9) After the signs that was given to me, I can pretty much say I am neither as enthusiastic nor as interested in bothering to get into a relationship before I get into National Slavery anymore. I am not stupid, I understood all that. All along I never thought it was a good idea. Now it's been proven.

10) No one will probably give a crap about all these. But it's alright. I love to talk to myself.

Oh no, I had thought I would be tired after typing all this nonsense. But I am still very awake. Blah, I think I am going to watch my taped movie, "The Pianist" now.

Shopping is fun...

2006-03-20T00:12:00.000+08:00

...only when it is with the right person. I never could understood the opposite sex's fascination of walking around almost every single damn shop in a shopping mall even though they do not have the intention of making a purchase. It's like you go in to every shop and try a few stuffs on and then quickly exit and go to the next shop and do the same stuff over again. For hours at a time. It's like die die must see got any good offers in any of the shops.

For me, I am very different. Before I make a purchase, I already had in mind what I want. So I just go in to the shop, grab whatever I want and then get the hell out. This is so much simpler and efficient. That is why I really hate shopping with females. It is like the most boring activity. Most of the time you just walk around with them like a fool. Sometimes my mum ask me to tag along to her shopping trips, I always say no. Because I know I will just be given bags and bags stuffs to carry. The only time I would agree is when she want to buy stuffs for me. :)

Prom is a bitch because firstly, I hate to dress formal. It is just awkward and uncomfortable to wear those clothings. No doubt it does look smart but I had never got used to wearing long sleeve shirts and business pants. Secondly, I already had decided what to wear for that night and already had everything in my warerobe except the blazer. I asked my sis how much a typical one would cost and she told me it would burn a $200+ hole in my wallet. O_0 Holy cow, this is insane but I still wanted to get one anyway. But I got to look around for a cheaper one of course.

Initially, I agreed to go browsing around with XF since I did not had a clue where to buy them and she also hadn't got a clue what to wear but she later denied that she had ever said yes. Boo boo to broken promises. But thank goodness, she "put aeroplane" on me as I had a backup shopping companion with a better taste anyway. That would be my sister.

We walked around quite a number of stores like G2000, U2, Zara, Takashimaya, Topman etc etc. She was right all along. A typical blazer cost around $200+. I even seen a few which cost $1000+. That is absolutely ridiculous. After walking around a lot of shops, I think most of the blazers they have do look nice but the thing is their smallest size doesn't fit me. The sleeves are too long and when I wear it, it just doesn't fit me. I had wanted to get the one from Topman as it was the cheapest but after hearing my sister's advice, I decided not to as the altering would take 1-2 weeks.

I kind of lost interest in walking around more shops because I guess it would be the same outcome anyway. The smallest size ones they have won't fit me. My sis just told me to walk and look around more and maybe I will struck gold. She was right. I finally found the perfect blazer in a shop at Centrepoint. Ironically, we wouldn't had knew the shop existed if not for the recommendation from a previous shop. The shopkeeper advised me to try that shop when I couldn't fit into their smallest size blazer.

This was where my sister was a great help. She asked a lot of questions with the sales assistant which I normally won't had bothered. Like whether it would fit my shirt, pants and all that. She even tried to bargain the price for me, which I would never do because I don't like to be seen as a cheapskate. I still was a little undecided as it cost $250. But I thought since I finally found one that suits me,screw it I'll splash the cash. It is still expensive in my eyes but compared to Zara and G200, it is 50 bucks cheaper. Can say I got a small bargian and furthermore, it fits me perfectly and needs no altering. So I reckon it's worth it anyway.

I got home and my mum scolded me for wasting money. I could understand why but I used my own money anyway and I won't deny that it still does hurt a little because I had never spent so much on a single clothing item. But well, I can still use it next time anyway. All I can say is after this shopping trip, I know better next time who to bring along when I need to shop for clothes.

I am not myself...

2006-03-14T19:27:00.000+08:00

I really can't figure out why. The past few days have been really weird. I think I really might have some mental disorder. Even my friend says so.

-For two days in a row, all I ate in the afternoons when I woke up was the a bowl of dessert cooked by mum.

-For two days in a row, I did not had any appetite to had dinner. And no, it's not because I am on a diet like Xiufang :)

- I had the balls to go find that someone on Saturday and wait for 3+ hours patiently in vain the next day. Yet now, I don't feel any motivation to follow up and try again.

-The idiot in me thought that the 0030 in the last bus departure time = 1.30am. So in the end, had to take taxi home from one end of the island to Toa Payoh.

I must be lying through my teeth if I said I didn't felt a little down after what happened on Sunday. What I had thought in mind didn't materialize. I realized it was a big mess when I really got down to execute the plan. Nothing was going right but at the end of the day, I can only blame myself for assuming that the plan was flawless.

When I woke up on Monday, I just felt awful and all I wanted to do was continue sleeping. But I just remembered I had already promised my classmate to go for a job interview together. So I dragged my ass off the bed and got down to meet him. I don't know why but I brought along the bag containing the presents though I didn't intend to do anything with it.

We went to Gallery Hotel in Robertson Quay. Neither of us had heard of it before. My friend then realized that the place is somewhat near Liquid Room or whatever when we reached it. I think I got more confused when he mentioned Liquid Room. The non clubber in me ain't that familiar with all these names. I think we spotted the hotel where the prom night would be held. Looks like the $55 might be well spent but it's still nothing compared to The Fullerton last year.

After the interview was over, my friend had strong opinions about it. After thinking through what he had said, I agreed also. The job is a little strange in terms of working hours. There's nothing strange about the pay but 5 hours only?? That is a tad too little? Though that stylish interview guy looks likely to call anyone of us on Thursday, I had already made up my mind to reject him.

Next stop for us was Suntec where I was more hopeful because I actually want the job more than that hotel one. We went to Carrefour to seek employment but realized that they only wanted full timers. :( That was the second time I had tried for this job. The first time was when I went with my sister, she got employed on the spot and my form was probably thrown into some rubbish bin I reckon. Guess we won't be fellow colleagues. She works full time till the new semester reopens. They lack and need cashiers but I won't bother trying as the uniform is ugly and I had preferred being a retail assistant for the simple fact that I can walk around and need not handle tonnes of incoming customers. Cest La Vive indeed.

I watched my friend eat his first ever meal at Carl's Junior. I only drank some Coke as I just didn't had the appetite anyway. He told me I should just try again since I already bought the bag along but I just replied I don't know. After the meal, he suggested walking around Marina Square. I had a deja vu feeling again. That week when I went to see the World Cup, I also visited Carl's Junior and then walked around Marina Square. How come it's happening again?

But thankfully this time, we didn't watched any lame crappy movie and just went to the arcade. Maybe he guessed that I would had felt better after this. I watched him played the guitar machine, he's very good. While walking to the MRT station, he just kept on asking me about my decision. I just had the same answer. I don't feel that normal today. I don't know what's wrong with me. It's like I had PMS that day. I told him I'd tried tomorrow if I felt better when I woke up. He couldn't understand why and I also din't know why I don't bother trying again. But the truth is, I don't even had any confidence inside me at all unlike Saturday.

I did felt slightly better today but since I did not saw any suitable jobs interviews to try for in the ads, I just felt like going home. I did and thus, I dropped the idea of going down to pass the bloody overdue presents again. Hurray for procrastination!

But I think I'm back to normal. Of course I am when I just had my dinner for the first time in three days. Hahaha. Tomorrow is a new day, I think it's time to stop worrying too damn much and give myself a chance.

Meme of Four

2006-03-09T12:12:00.000+08:00

As I wait and wait patiently for the phone call from the rather hopeful interview which I went a few days ago, I am thinking that interviewer lady is just giving me false hopes again, just like the other ones that I had tried for. She didn't promised to call but she sounded like I am 99% sure of getting employed. Maybe I was too hopeful. OT, sai kang, clear the rubbish, I can do it all. Just get me out of my terribly uninteresting and boring slacking life right now.

Saw this meme somewhere.

4 Jobs I've had in my life

Recycled Materials Collector
Warehouse Sales assistant
Convenience store assistant
DSTA intern

4 movies I could watch over and over

Memento
LOTR: The Two Towers
Fight Club
Saving Private Ryan

4 TV shows I love(d) to watch

Lost
Desperate Housewives
Amazing Race
Fear Factor

4 places I've lived

Ubi
Toa Payoh Lor 5
Kim Keat
Toa Payoh East

Is it a sign that I'm going to be always stuck in Toa Payoh all my life?

4 places I'd been on vaction to

Malacca
JB
Xiamen
Errr...Sentosa? HAHAHA

Malacca is such a boring place. Same with Xiamen. But their weather is cool. Not to the point of snowing, which I like very much. It's a shame mid 10 degrees type of temperature won't ever happen here.

4 places I'd would rather be

HK
Taiwan
Germany in June
In a bedroom with twins having a jolly good... *Ahem*

4 favourite foods

Subway Sandwiches
Lor Mee
Kway Chup
Mum's Nasi Lemak

4 websites I visit daily

Soccernet.com
fark.com
Youtube.com
Gamefaqs.com

4 persons to tag this to

My mother
My grandmother
My dog
My Pooh Bear

I don't have friends who blog. Not that I can think of anyway. Most of them prefer to be an anonymous blog voyeur. If anyone happens to read this and you're bored, then go do this lor.

World Cup and Paranoia

2006-03-04T22:48:00.000+08:00

Ahhh, 2006. The year where the 4 years once World Cup tournament would be held. For one month, eyes of football fanatics would stay glued to the telly to watch 22 men chase and kick a small ball around a grass patch. Many people, non fans or women simply do not understand why they would do that for. It's for the honour of their country and the right to be called world champions of course! Simply put, the World Cup is the holy grail of football.

The winning team would be awarded the World Cup trophy. But the thing is, they ain't getting the real 18 carat solid gold trophy weighting 5kg as the rules state that it would never be won outright. Instead, a replica gold plated trophy would be given to the winner to keep until the next tournament.

So when the real World Cup trophy was slated to go on a world tour for the first time ever, fans of the sport were probably hoping it would come to their country. Even though we are only a tiny island, we are the 18th stop in the 3 month tour covering 29 countries. I quickly secured two tickets a week before the exhibiton was to be held.

I think I must had the surprise of the month when my friend called me while I was on the train. He said he somehow met our classmate there. I was like 0_o. No way in hell would he ever come to Suntec carrying his bag and wearing those uncle clothes as usual? I was proven wrong. He did had his usual school bag and wore those unfashionable clothes like I had thought. That was a pleasant surprise to start the day off. Apparently, he was there for the Career Fair.

Of course we had to drag him to see the trophy with us, though I can pretty much guess he had zero interest in it. After he queued up to get the ticket, we all went in. While we walked around, he kept asking me where the trophy was. Bloody hell, even the football fan in me isn't as impatient and eager as him. Then we got into a hall and was told to sit down to watch some movie.

It was a short 3D movie and it was a miracle I walked out still having the ability to hear. Throughout the movie, I had to tolerate the loud sound effects as the damn speakers were just behind us. As we walked out, I finally saw the thing we were here for. But first we had to queue up to get our turn to take a Polaroid photo with it.

That was the best shot I could get of the trophy. The other photos I took wasn't as clear because the gold of the trophy just reflected back to my lenses and made the photos blur. Haha. As I stared at the trophy when it was my turn to pose and take a picture with it, there was an urge to touch it. But of course I would be out of my mind to do that because there were policeman all around looking at your every move. Nontheless, it was a fascinating moment to be so physically close to the real thing as all along I had only seen it on TV.

While we were playing the new FIFA2006 game on the fabulous XBox 360, the geeky friend of ours had to excuse himself to visit the Career Fair again. I suspect there must be lots of hot babes there for him to visit it twice. Haha. Anyway, after getting trashed twice, we decided to go have lunch. Usually when I am in the area, I would most probably visit Carl's Junior @ Marina Square and stuff myself with junk food.

I think I could count with my two hands the times I had patronised it since their first outlet was opened here last year. Since then, they had two more oulets if I'm not wrong. Fast food in Singapore kinda sucks in the sense that the burgers are usually small. The only one I could half tolerate is Burger King. But still, it pales in comparison with Carl's Jr as the food serving is definitely not JUNIOR, unlike the name suggests. Of course, the price is a little steep. You can buy two McDonald's meals with one meal here! The system is like MOS Burger where they would deliver your order and there's free flow of drinks. It is worth it as you would feel pretty full later.

While we ate, my friend suggested watching a movie. The first flim that came into my mind was "Munich" but he insisted on watching Big Momma House 2. I mean, even if you don't know what the movie is about, once you hear the title, you would probably guess that it must be something silly. Even the newspaper 2 ticks rating couldn't changed his mind. He would rather watch a brainless and lame show than to watch one which is nominated for Oscar awards. All along, I had suspected his taste in movies but I reluctantly agreed to go along with his choice as it was shown at an earlier time than mine.

While we were walking to the cinema, that geeky friend of ours finally called. I think I nearly scolded him when I heard his voice but I resisted. It is because I told him to switch on his phone while he left us in Suntec and later I tried to call a few times as we were going to eat but all I got was the damn voicemail. My friend told me to ask him if he wanted to ~~waste money~~ tag along to watch the movie with us. I think he would be a fool if he said yes. Of course being the good boy, he declined and asked me which is the cheapest way to go home. DUH! I think I really wanted to *$*#@^@* him for asking such a stupid question. But of course being the nice classmate, I told him to take a bus home. I don't know why but he also told me that he saw two female classmates of ours at the Career Fair. I can only say WHAT'S WITH THE CAREER FAIR SERIOUSLY???? How come so many of them go there?

My friend wasn't satisfied with only recruiting me to agree to his evil plan, so he called those two female classmates and asked them to join us to ~~waste money~~ watch with us. Thankfully, they were smart enough to say no also. Only some idiot like me would say yes. But that is only because I could afford to waste money. All thanks to Mr Hasselbaink :) I was surprised to hear those two applied for jobs at the IT Fair? I can't imagine them as showgirls really. Maybe they aren't. But if they are, surely there are better jobs out there?

As we passed by the bowling alley, I pointed to the one lady who threw the ball into the "drain". I told him I was like her. My money is already down the drain. The movie was pretty lame as expected. I think I only really laughed like twice throughout the movie. The other parts were so corny but yet the audience laughed like idiots at every other scene. All I can say is AVOID WATCHING BIG MOMMA'S HOUSE 2 IF YOU PLAN TO. It is that bad. Even the gay themed Brokeback Mountain would make a much better choice really! Oh well, at least my friend admitted afterwards that it was rubbish and we should had watched Munich instead.

Maybe I was too worried inside while watching to really enjoy the movie. I am getting paranoid by that decision made by that one individual. In fact, I still am thinking about it now. Arrgh, I don't know why but I can't stop thinking about it. But first, I got to find out more before I go crazy for nothing.

Birthday Blues

2006-02-26T15:46:00.000+08:00

Today is a great day. The weather is fine, cloudy and not a hint of sunlight. Just perfect for playing football or just lazing at home. Unfortunately, I still feel a tad unwell and don't really feel like doing anything or going anywhere except lying on my bed.

Looking across my messy table, I see some presents in the form of chocolates, flowers, a Pooh bear with an inflated head and a birthday card with a specially made handmade keychain lying in one corner. Actually, most of it have been prepared weeks ago and all ready to be given out today. But why is it STILL there when it should be in the hands of rightful owner? Long story short, I don't like to make it look like a big deal nor attract attention if I was to personally pass it. So, I prefer to send all these anonymously and secretly.

But the thing is I don't have the address of the recipient. Ironically, I remembered going to the apartment once with a bunch of friends sometime ago? I am pretty sure of the block and unit but not the exact storey. Last ditch plans to get the address from close friends drew a blank. Ah well, guess it ain't fated. I have been tempting to go down now to where that someone lives and somehow find the exact unit and leave it outside. But I know myself well, I am not that daring to do that. It always have been my Achilles heel.

Hmmph, no worries then. It won't be thrown away to the rubbish bin. I probably give it away to my sister then. She has been eyeing both the soft toy and the bloody chocolates ever since I bought it. I guess the mere consolation here is at least I did made someone happy after all.

*Sigh*

Observations from an unwell fan...

2006-02-24T00:25:00.000+08:00

These few days, I have been feeling a little under the weather. It's as if my throat has a lump in it and the tissue in my room would be used up soon if the damn sneezing don't stop any time soon. I guess it's due to my sleeping cycle. I sleep at around 5-6+am everyday and then wake up in the evenings. That is a tad screwed up really. I blame those companies for not calling me to fill their job positions that I had went for. Ought to start working soon. No more bumming around wasting time at home.

Despite being ill, I managed to catch the Champs League on both days and these are some random little things I had noticed...

1) Real Madrid, a Spanish club, had more English players on the field than Arsenal, an English club whom didn't even had one single English player? But well, I guess Campbell and Cole would be in the lineup if they were fit.

2) Woodgate. Awesome for Real ever since he came back from the long injury. But is he really made of glass?

3) Liverpool. The European champs proofs further that they are nothing but a one man team?

4) Inter Milan. They might as well be called Inter South America. Alarmingly, 8 out of their starting XI are from the South American region!

5) Messi. Had noticed him from last season and now he has finally been fully unleashed by Barca this season. One to watch for the future. But that rolling around play acting that led to the sending off was a little disgraceful.

6) Mourinho. Love the man for the most parts but all I can say is he had this coming for a long time. It would be interesting to see how he overturns the deficit in Catalonia in a fortnight.

I love these two ads...

2006-02-23T02:30:00.000+08:00

Creative and funny. But surely will be banned if it was here.

One is for an optician while the other is for anti smoking.

Familiar people and First Times...

2006-02-18T19:54:00.000+08:00

Went back to the office to play football with the guys on Thursday. When I step into the cubicle, I felt calm for some reason. My colleagues were surprised to see me. They asked what I am doing now, how am I and all that while I waited till for the guys to knock off from work. Before I left, they passed me a big white envelope. Inside contained my testimonial. Actually I didn't really cared much about it, after all I do not intend to work in this industry anyway so whatever that is written inside won't help me much. It was my team mate who requested my supervisor to prepare one for him as unlike us, he had already served the nation and is going to seek employment right now.

After that, we want to the open field to play football. I really couldn't understood why we couldn't played in the usual basketball/futsal court. Then they told me that it was because the PGMs(Program Manager, aka highest ranked in the office) didn't want to go that far to play. The grass field was nearer than the basketball court. It wasn't the best pitch honestly, with all those holes and uneven patches, but I guess it didn't really mattered when all they wanted was to exercise. It was the first time I had played with the big shots from the office. Normally, we would just play with guys around the office but this time we roped in the PGMs to join us and surprisingly, they agreed. One of them was still pretty good though he claims to be horribly out of shape.

What is the first time I am referring to in the title? No, not THAT. Saturday I had my first times. I was preparing to watch the big match and suddenly my classmate called to invite me to go down to his apartment to gamble and relax. I agreed as it was just bloody boring to watch football at home alone. I think I made the right decision after watching the highlights. It was a typical boring Liverpool 1-0 win.

There were 5 of us including his colleague. We played Blackjack, drank alcohol, talk cock until the early morning. Bloody hell, my classmate lost $15 in less than an hour. 1 left midway but it doesn't matter as he couldn't take in any more liquid. We finished 1 bottle of scotch and then 2 of the others collapsed soon after. Then only left me and my classmate still sober enough. That crazy dude insisted on finishing the 2nd bottle of scotch when I really just wanted to watch the Newcastle/Saints match on his laptop.

"Come on, we two finish this bottle then we collapse and sleep after that!"

Don't be stupid. 2 people how can finish it? I not as hardcore as you.

"Aiyah. can one. You same age as me surely good in drinking. Let's play Blackjack again!"

At that moment any sane person would just had walked away but I didn't. I was still perfectly alright even though I drank quite a bit. But I got to admit I was a little high at that time so I agreed. In my mind, I told myself that I rarely consume alocohol and knew very well that I was a lousy drinker so I probably won't last long. How wrong I was.

We managed to finish it 2 hours later. I drank quite a lot at the start and I felt like the whole room was moving and my head felt heavy. Though I was drunk now, I remembered very clearly that I laughed quite a lot of times and talk a lot of nonsense. My drinking buddy just kept on asking how long more I could last. I just told him a few more till I cannot take it anymore. Then my classmate just kept on losing and losing and losing. He couldn't even count the points on his cards properly! Hahahaha. To think that I am more sober than him, a hardcore drinker.

I could see that he couldn't last much longer and thank god there is only a little left. I knew I would have a terrible hangover if I continued to drink. So whenever I lost, I would just act drunk(I was pretty wasted but I KNEW and remembered perfectly everything I was doing) by...

1) Pouring my drink in the dustbin
2) Spill in on the floor
3) Make an excuse to go toilet to piss when all I wanted to do was to pour the scotch in the toilet bowl

I guessed he probably knew but couldn't remembered anyway. He asked me if I ever got drunk before. I said maybe a few times. But the truth is, I had never been drunk. My parents are strict with me on this matter and anyway, I hate drinking. The best part of the whole thing was he took a shower TWICE in like 1/2 hour. I knew something was wrong when he took that long to piss. So I went to check on him in case something happened. Holy cow, he was naked like a baby sitting on the floor and showering himself. I didn't knew how to react because this was the first time I had seen a guy's private parts in real life. This was just....surreal.

He tried to pull me in to shower with him. I just threw him a towel and told him to wipe himself and come out. He walked out as if he would fall down any moment. I tried to guide him to wear his pants but I gave up after he mistook the towel for his pants and tried to wear it. ¬_¬ Oh well, he's pretty much gone case I thought. Then he insisted on continue playing so as to not waste the drink. At this point, I just wanted to go home. But I couldn't until I 100% confirm that he really passed out and slept. You won't want to see accidents happening to intoxicated people. We managed to finish the whole thing but soon after he went to take a shower again. But this time when he came out, he finally collapsed with a blanket covering his body. I breathed a sigh of relief as it's finally over.

I had faded memories of messaging my friend to come drive me home. At 7am. I really really didn't knew why I did that. Maybe at that time I just wanted to get back home fast. I think the most amazing thing was I managed to take public transport home. I remembered and knew everything I did but come to think of it, I seriously didn't knew how I managed to still act so normal and pull all these off.

I woke up 4 hours later with no signs of any hangovers. I was back to normal. I guess I really underestimated myself. But next time, I am not going to be that foolish anymore. Being drunk gives you a temporary escape from the reality but that ain't for me even though I remembered and knew what I was doing when I was pissed drunk. What about my friend?

Well, he called me later and asked me what happened to him when he was drunk. He was amazed that I could recalled so many things as he really didn't remembered anything. He actually was stunned to find himself clothless when he woke up and thought I was the one who undressed him. ¬_¬ He commented that I am a hidden talent in drinking. Eeeek, no way and no more of this. After that, he collapsed again and went to sleep. HAHAHAHA.

Goodbye, Good Food and Good Riddance...

2006-02-12T19:18:00.000+08:00

This week was significant as it spelled the end of my three year tertiary education finally. I have been waiting for so long for this day to come but when it arrived, I felt nothing special. It was just like any other ordinary day.

My viva was like on the first week of this month. Overall it was alright even though there were a few screw ups. In the end, I thought I did the best in the presentation despite not having the chance to rehearse unlike my two other team mates. The demo had a few cocked up moments as I forgot the page address and where the database was. The second marker was like very very curious about the system. He didn't really asked me much but instead shoot a lot of questions and also irrelevant ones towards my team mates which thankfully my supervisor answered.

Though the viva was already over, we still had to come to the office for one last week. I still had some work to complete whereas my team mates was free and slacked the whole day away. But during the last two days, my colleagues finally told me to forget about it and let them complete my stuffs. I felt a little guilty about it but thankfully, they ended my misery. No more bloody programming ever, I swear on that. I realized how out of depth I am when I got into this internship. The IT industry ain't suitable for me, that's for sure.

But the last few days before we left, we ate a lot of stuffs. Good stuffs. Thank god I'm not

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://not-a-real-namespace/http://not-a-real-namespace/http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5593/164/1600/DSC00151.jpg"></a> This week was significant as it spelled the end of my three year tertiary education finally. I have been waiting for so long till this day to come but when it came, I felt nothing special. It was just like any other ordinary day. My viva was like on the first week of this month. Overall it was alright even though there were a few screw ups. In the end, I thought I did the best in the presentation despite not having to rehearse unlike my two other team mates. The demo had a few cocked up moments as I forgot the page address and where the database was. The second marker was like very very curious about the system. He didn't really asked me much but instead shoot a lot of questions and also irrelevant ones towards my team mates which thankfully my supervisor answered. Though the viva was already over, we still had to come to the office for one last week. I still had some work to complete whereas my team mates was free and slacked the whole day away. But during the last two days, my colleagues finally told me to forget about it and let them complete my stuffs. I felt a little guilty about it but thankfully, they ended my misery. No more bloody programming ever, I swear on that. I realized how out of depth I am when I got into this internship. The IT industry ain't suitable for me, that's for sure. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://not-a-real-namespace/http://not-a-real-namespace/http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5593/164/1600/Long%20Beach.jpg"></a> But the last few days before we left, we ate a lot of stuffs. Good stuffs. Thank god I'm not a girl, otherwise I would had put on weight! On Thursday, we had a company sponsored 7 course set lunch at Long Beach East Coast. Yeah, that one with the famous pepper crab. I think the company is pretty well off, half of the office was there. Even some who were at the users' site came down. Who says there's no free lunch(literally) in the world? But I wasn't really full until dinner time. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://not-a-real-namespace/http://not-a-real-namespace/http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5593/164/1600/DSC00145.1.jpg"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://not-a-real-namespace/http://not-a-real-namespace/http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5593/164/1600/DSC00141.0.jpg"></a> Since we interns were leaving soon, my colleague suggested we go to Geylang to sample the claypot frog(田鸡) porridge for dinner. I love eating frog legs since young. We also ordered some side dishes. A few of them on the menu were exotic, like Marmite(!!!) crab. I had never heard of mango chicken until that day we tasted it. Everything was delicious really and the best thing was my colleagues foot the bill. So damn generous. Next time must patronise again. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://not-a-real-namespace/http://not-a-real-namespace/http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5593/164/1600/DSC00142.0.jpg"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://not-a-real-namespace/http://not-a-real-namespace/http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5593/164/1600/DSC00143.0.jpg"></a> After that we walked down to the famous Taiwanese soya bean curd store and washed it down with a bowl of beancurd. It is still as soft as I had tasted few months ago. After all this, I think I felt like puking after that. I felt really full. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://not-a-real-namespace/http://not-a-real-namespace/http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5593/164/1600/DSC00147.jpg"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://not-a-real-namespace/http://not-a-real-namespace/http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5593/164/1600/DSC00148.jpg"></a> On the last day, it was the turn of my supervisor to treat us. We went to a Japanese restaurant nearby for lunch. I really wanted to record a video of my colleague eating. Watching her eat is really a joy because she is very focused in it and takes her time to chew her food. I think even if it's like the worst tasting food but after you watch her consume, it would be like the most delicious food. Next time I would record a video when we meet up. Again we didn't had to pay. Bloody hell, I really felt damn fortunate. Throughout the past few months, they treated us interns so well. So at least must get something for them also. I ordered a Lana Cake of course, even if I STILL thought that it was way overpriced and overhyped. One of my colleague said she was touched that I bought the cake. I just honestly said it was nothing and I had to do this. Of course I would cut a big piece for my supervisor and one of my another colleague, who helped and guided me when I was doing my project. But when I cut a big portion, they declined and settled for a smaller piece instead. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://not-a-real-namespace/http://not-a-real-namespace/http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5593/164/1600/DSC00149.jpg"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://not-a-real-namespace/http://not-a-real-namespace/http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5593/164/1600/DSC00150.jpg"></a> The surprise of the day must be when another colleague from another department came and gave us coffee from Coffee Bean. The nearest outlet was at Tiong Bahru Plaza and it was like a 10 minutes walk from the office. So I guessed he deliberately walked there and bought back coffee for us. He acted like it was no big deal and just wanted to treat us as it was our last day. This is just crazy. Everyone at the office are just so nice people. Of course we had to pour him a cup of his own caffeine and I also cut him a large slice of cake to go along with it. The remaining portion of the cake was distributed around the office. When I was washing the plates and knife in the pantry, a female colleague from another department made small talk with me. She asked if next week was the last week of our intership. I told her today was the last day. She asked what my plans were and then suddenly offered her hand, intending to shake my hand. I was taken aback by it and was slow to stretch my hand out. She laughed and said I shouldn't be shy and all along called me Xiao Di. I replied that I was already not young anymore. I was 21 and she still called me that! But she laughed again and commented that I am still youthful compared to her. Though I only really talked to her a few times before this, I always thought that she's kinda like the out going and friendly type. She then genuinely wished me good luck for the future. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://not-a-real-namespace/http://not-a-real-namespace/http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5593/164/1600/goodbye.0.jpg"></a> While walking to the MRT station at the end of the day, my colleague asked me if I was happy to leave the office for the last time. I told her I felt nothing because life goes on. Inside, I felt relieved because I need not touch any more IT stuffs but I also felt a little sad to leave the workplace filled with nice people.

a girl, otherwise I would had put on weight! On Thursday, we had a company sponsored 7 course set lunch at Long Beach East Coast. Yeah, that one with the famous pepper crab. I think the company is pretty well off, half of the office was there. Even some who were at the users' site came down. Who says there's no free lunch(literally) in the world? But I wasn't really full until dinner time.

Since we interns were leaving soon, my colleague suggested we go to Geylang to sample the claypot frog(田鸡) porridge for dinner. I love eating frog legs since young. We also ordered some side dishes. A few of them on the menu were exotic, like Marmite(!!!) crab. I had never heard of mango chicken until that day we tasted it. Everything was delicious really and the best thing was my colleagues foot the bill. So damn generous. Next time must patronise again.

After that we walked to the famous Taiwanese soya bean curd store and washed it down with a bowl of beancurd. It is still as soft as I had tasted few months ago. After all this, I think I felt like puking after that. I felt really full.

On the last day, it was the turn of my supervisor to treat us. We went to a Japanese restaurant nearby for lunch. I really wanted to record a video of my colleague eating. Watching her eat is really a joy because she is very focused in it and takes her time to chew her food. I think even if it's like the worst tasting food but after you watch her consume, it would be like the most delicious food. Next time I would record a video when we meet up.

Again we didn't had to pay. Bloody hell, I really felt damn fortunate. Throughout the past few months, they treated us interns so well. So at least must get something for them also. I ordered a Lana Cake of course, even if I STILL thought that it was way overpriced and overhyped. One of my colleague said she was touched that I bought the cake. I just honestly said it was nothing and I had to do this. Of course I would cut a big piece for my supervisor and one of my another colleague, who helped and guided me all the way when I was doing my project. But when I cut a big portion, they declined and settled for a smaller piece instead.

The surprise of the day must be when another colleague from another department came and gave us coffee from Coffee Bean. The nearest outlet was at Tiong Bahru Plaza which is like a 15 minutes walk from the office. So I guessed he deliberately walked there and bought back coffee for us. He acted like it was no big deal and just wanted to treat us as it was our last day. This is just crazy. Everyone at the office are just so nice people. Of course we had to pour him a cup of his own caffeine and I also cut him a large slice of cake to go along with it.

The remaining portion of the cake was distributed around the office. When I was washing the plates and knife in the pantry, a female colleague from another department made small talk with me. She asked if next week was the last week of our intership. I told her today was the last day. She asked what my plans were and then suddenly offered her hand, intending to shake my hand. I was taken aback by it and was slow to stretch my hand out. She laughed and said I shouldn't be shy and all along called me Xiao Di. I replied that I was already not young anymore. I was 21 and she still called me that! But she laughed again and commented that I am still youthful compared to her. Though I only really talked to her a few times before this, I always thought that she's kinda like the out going and friendly type. She then genuinely wished me good luck for the future.

While walking to the MRT station at the end of the day, my colleague asked me if I was happy to leave the office for the last time. I told her I felt nothing because life goes on. Inside, I felt relieved because I need not deal with any more IT stuffs but I also felt a little sad to leave the workplace filled with nice people.

Great idea + great execution = Comedy Gold

2006-02-09T02:20:00.000+08:00

While surfing in on the my current favourite site, I browsed around the top favourites and found this gem. I viewed it a few times and I just think that it's pure genius. Makes you wonder what people will do for free stuffs.

There's a part 2 but it's not as cool as this.

MV of the Week #1

2006-02-04T21:37:00.000+08:00

Most people have a high speed connectionl. Other than utilising it to download ~~porn~~ illegal copyrighted stuffs, play online games or listen to online streaming radio, what else could one do with it? Well, they could watch videos of course! Youtube is a great site for this. It is basically a free website for users to upload their video clips and share it with the rest of the internet community. Except for offensive stuffs, you could find just about anything under the sun.

For the past few weeks, I have not been sleeping well for whatever reasons. It's like I find it hard to get to dreamland. So to cure the insomnia, I would switch on the telly and watch whatever is showing on both MTV channels on cable till I collapse on the bed. So whenever I visit the site to waste time, I would search for music videos to view also.

From today onwards, I would post a favourite video of mine from the site on here weekly. They may range from funny, classics, contrversial or just nice to look at. This one falls under the first category.

(Pause the video, go do something else and wait for it to be fully loaded up.)

I like how their dance actions fit the music so well. I actually thought this dance group really existed but later found out that's not the case. Nontheless, it's still a brilliant piece of work. Never fails to make me laugh.

I found the remedy to ace the presentation...

2006-02-01T22:36:00.000+08:00

The conclusion to the project is coming. I'm having the viva at the end of this week. Pretty fast indeed, right after the CNY holidays. I saw this article just now and got me pondering a little.

Sex helps calm nerves before public speaking

Full sexual intercourse offers the best results, psychologist says
LONDON - Forget pretending you are talking to one person or concentrating on a single point in the audience — having sex is good way to calm nerves before giving a speech or presentation.
But Stuart Brody, a psychologist at the University of Paisley in Scotland, said it has to be full sexual intercourse to get the best results.

He studied nearly 50 men and women who recorded their sexual activities for two weeks and analyzed its impact on their blood pressure levels when under acute stress, such as when giving a speech.

Brody discovered that the volunteers who had sexual intercourse were the least stressed and had blood pressure levels that returned to normal more quickly than people who engaged in other types of sex.

But people who had abstained from sex had the highest blood pressure response to stress.

Even after taking into account stress due to work or other factors, the range of responses to stress were best explained by sexual behavior.

“The effects are not attributable simply to the short-term relief afforded by orgasm but rather, endure for at least a week,” Brody told New Scientist magazine said on Wednesday.

He believes that the release of the so-called “pair bonding” hormone oxytocin might explain the calming effect.

I have one question for the researchers. Hmmm, so only full intercourse would have an effect? Anal and oral sex won't calm one down before a presentation huh? HAHAHAHA. Damn, like that I must be really stressed up according to this article. HELP!111!!

In fact I would need a little help from above if I am as crap as I was at today's practice. But no fear, I have got a rough script ready for the occasion. That should tide me through safely. Of course it's lame to do a presentation by reading from your notes thus I need to memorise a little of it and get myself familiarized with what I am going to talk about that day.

Honestly, I think the grading system for the FYP is flawed to say the least. 50% for the viva? What the hell? Are they trying to say that the stuffs you had done for the past few months isn't as significant as the hour of presentation/demo? So alright, as long as you are a smooth talker and understand your work well even though your project might be shit, you basically would had passed your FYP. I had never really felt comfortable with their weird grading system. This is pretty cocked up. Even my colleagues agree when I told them the grading percentages.

Oh yea, also gotta fix that last pesky error of course. Sigh. That is why I hate IT. It's just never ending. When you think everything is fine and done, out pops some thing. In fact that error is 2 weeks overdue because I was occupied with the report and presentation. If I don't solve that, I'm pretty much screwed on Friday. Hurray!

OMG!!! I'm gonna get lucky!!!11!!

2006-01-30T18:34:00.000+08:00

The horoscope must be spot on. I am gonna get laid this year. OMG OMG Praise the Lords!!!

Yeah right. Normally I would just click every box in my spam folder and delete everything without looking but this one caught my eye among the numerous fake degrees, penis enhancements pills and those "send $ over to get someone's fortune" bollocks. I really have no clue how the spammers got my email really. My Yahoo and Hotmail don't have any spam mails.

Since I was terribly bored, I'm gonna play a game and reply to the email. I'm interested in what tricks those spammers have up their sleeves. Heh heh.

Bye Bye Sissy...

2006-01-28T22:24:00.000+08:00

I awoke this afternoon to find out that Pool got themselves Robbie Fowler on a free transfer. That was quite a surprise really, it came out of nowhere! I have never thought he would be back after how he was booted out by Houllier. My first thought was that it was a pretty shrewd decision by Benitez to bring "God" back. Firstly, the deal is only till the end of the season. If he makes it and Benitez likes what he sees, they can give him a longer deal. If it doesn't works out, he can be dumped. It's a no risk transaction really. Secondly, I guess he wants to have a core of homegrown players in every department, I mean like Carragher in defence and Stevie G in midfield. They are all born and bred in Liverpool and will bleed for the club. Now with Fowler back, everything is well again.

Secondly, he's fixing their striking options without splashing cash. Their upfront looks a little lightweight. They only really have 3 recognized strikers and no, Sinama doesn't count as he's still a raw talent. What they need is someone who's experienced and a good finisher, Fowler can provide that but that is definetly not what Cisse possess of course. Especially after that horrendous open goal miss from so near the goal against ManU last week. Even a neutral fan like me watching it was disgusted and shouted vuglarities at the telly. Bloody hell, even my grandmother could had tapped it in with ease.

He came with a huge reputation and hype but have not really shown what he is truly capable of like in his Auxerre days. It must have been frustrating for Pool fans to see so little of that from him ever since he came on a record fee. Cisse is only good with his pace and it's not an open secret that Benitez doesn't really fancy him, judging from the early season where he wasn't played much and when he did, placing him on the right wing? WTF? I can guess Fowler's return would pretty much spell the end of Cisse. While I was reading the news, I'd noticed this article also.

Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse was cautioned by police for assaulting his pregnant wife, police said today.
The 24-year-old French international, who married wife Jude last June, was arrested at his home in Frodsham, Cheshire, last night. He was taken to a police station nearby and questioned before accepting a caution for common assault.

A Cheshire Constabulary spokesman said: "At around 9.40pm on the evening of Thursday 26th January, police attended an address on Manley Road in Frodsham after receiving an allegation of assault on a 30-year-old woman.
"As a result of police inquiries, a 24-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of section 39 assault. The man was interviewed at a police station and cautioned in respect of the assault."
Last October, the flamboyant forward announced that he and his wife were expecting their first child together in spring of this year. The couple both have children from previous relationships.

In the same month, he admitted assaulting a 15-year-old boy in a London park after the teenager mocked him while he filmed an advert. A spokesman for Liverpool FC declined to comment.

That is no way to treat any lady, let alone one who is carrying your damn baby for heavens sake. What a bastard. Anyway if he does go, I would miss his horrible hairstyles...NOT.

In the mood for CNY?

2006-01-23T21:54:00.000+08:00

Honestly this year I don't feel the Lunar New Year mood. In fact when my mum asked me to do a spring cleaning of my room on Saturday, I laughed as I thought CNY is 2 weeks later. So what's the hurry eh? She then pointed to the calendar then I understood her urgency. That is a good example that I don't even realized when it was.

Maybe it's because I outgrown Chinese New Year. Maybe it's because I now dread having to be act friendly(when you are in fact annoyed by them) towards the relatives you rarely see more than once a year. Maybe I am tired of the same old relatives who are forever asking me when I would get a girlfriend to meet them. Other than stuffing my stomach with all the endless CNY goodies and bak kua and not forgetting the hongbaos, it is just another holiday to me. I rather go abroad if I had the choice. Celebrating the new year here is pretty superficial to me. Moreover, it's always the same old boring shit.

Last weekend I tagged along with my sister and mum to go down to Chinatown as I was terribly bored at home. I regretted that decision later. It rained when we reached and the bloody irony is my sister messaged me to bring along a brolly before going out as the skies didn't looked friendly. But she didn't bring hers when I asked if she could share with mum when we alighted from the bus. ¬_¬ The place was full of people as I'd expected and to get away from them, three idiots shared one tiny umbrella.

After it stopped pouring, we went to the street market. It was crowded of course and I absolutely hated having to squeeze with people when walking through. It was noisy and the air was stale as if I was going to pass out anytime. Of course those two females enjoyed it as there was a lot to see. While my mum got some decorations and my sister got ripped off by those Taiwan mua ji thingy, I didn't left there empty handed. I got myself an Argentina replica jersey at half price from OG.

Their Adidas section had stuffs like jerseys and other stuffs at 50% discount. I had always held the strong belief that buying jerseys is really stupid and not worth it. I mean $100+ for a piece of clothing? My god, it is just ridiculous! Even if I was a fan of any particular football club or national team, I won't splash cash over merchandise. But not this time. Though I know the upcoming World Cup means new jerseys would be introduced and neither am I a fan of any clubs, I thought it was still a steal at $50. But next time I won't be that dumb to visit Chinatown during this period. No way in hell.

Back to the office after submitting the report, I feel a tad tired after staying up for the largely boring and disappointing big match the previous night. But there's still work to do when I got to get rid of the restore database error that's been unsolved for weeks now ever since my colleague discovered it. She suggested me to try "drop dataase" SQL method to solve it but warned that it might not work and I have to find another tedious method to solve it. When I tried it just now, it really didn't worked like she had predicted. Damn! ARRGH, JUST LET ME OFF FROM PROGRAMMING ALREADY!!111!!! I thought I won't have to do coding anymore but seems that won't be the case.

Then another colleague reminded me I had to do the documentations that was assigned months ago. Bleh, I didn't even remembered until she mentioned. The worst thing was this Friday was the deadline. Shit. This week is really packed. Thursday there's a few hours of time wasting meeting which doesn't concerns me while Friday going to have a company sponsered CNY lunch at the restaurant at East Coast. Whoever said after report can slack a little? How untrue in my case. And oh, not forgetting I have to prepare the viva which would occur days after coming back from the holidays.

Happy Lunar New Year? CNY mood? Hardly at all.

What they didn't show you on the telly....

2006-01-18T23:54:00.000+08:00

....after the amazing 5-3 comeback win in the FA Cup last week.

I watched the replay that day and it was a cracking match. Reminded me of that night in Istanbul where I stayed on to watch the 2nd half despite them being a hat trick of goals down. I doubt those hardcore Pool fans would had stayed on through the night like me.

Anyway, the highlights of the match was a fine curling shot from the captain himself and also two stunning goals from Xabi Alonso. The second goal he scored was pure WTF and oh I hate this guy. What a lucky bugger.

I'd always like Xabi since I saw him in Spain where he was the captain of the Soceidad team at a young age. In my eyes, he is the best buy Benitez had made so far from his homeland. He's a damn good passer of the ball but what I didn't knew was his cough packed such a force that Mr Liverpool himself slipped. Next time don't stand next to him ok? HAHAHAHA.

A typical workday...

2006-01-14T02:18:00.000+08:00

I only remembered that this would be implemented soon when I happened to check the inbox just now. Oh crap, I actually wanted to take some photos today but I was occupied with the report. There goes the chance of ever using my cam phone in the office again. The email makes it sounds like I work in a top secret company eh? Not really. It's what that is being done that is confidential. But anyway, I doubt anyone inside would be enthusiastic to tell their friends what they do at work because honestly it is hardly any exciting. Now I got to find someone with a crap non-camera phone to loan me. I don't trust my expensive phone falling in the hands of my sister. Thankfully, it would be only for a month as the internship is ending pretty soon.

But I actually found some photos in my folder. I think maybe from few months back and the irony is that most of them were not taken by me. So before the ban is implemented soon, let's take a walk around the office with ya tour guide.

These are the first two obstacles I see every morning. I dislike the two doors system and the need to enter a password everytime before you are granted access very much. It is troublesome but necessary to prevent unauthorized people from getting in. Like I had said, what's inside is top secret. GRADE A CONFIDENTIAL TOP SECRET 111!! So don't tell anyone after you read this post finish yea? HAHAHAHA

Everyone else in the office has their own cubicle or share one. But my team is special, we have a lab to ourselves. Wow, so good ah I hear you say? I beg to differ. It is a lab where there are lots of workstations and bloody noisy servers that get on your nerves at times. And not forgetting the countless number of people from other project teams that walk in and out to fiddle with their servers. So in reality, it is a public place. But really, it is alright when you get used to it.

This is how the lab looks like. There are 6 people in the team excluding my supervisor. You know it is pathetic when half of the team comprises of us interns. Before we arrived in September, it was worst there were only two working on the system. Then they assigned another one to join us. The most surprising thing must be when I heard that my supervisor was the only one working on the whole project before he requested for help. 0_o That was where the last batch of interns before us came in and they also got oursourced help in the form of contract staff.

When I went back to school a few days ago to fix my crappy lappy, I got offended by this comment from Xiufang. (You say Alex copy and paste for you to read the last time I mentioned you. Do it again, man) "Wah, pack lunch for your female colleagues is it? So good ah?" WHAT? Damn it, I where got so kind one? I mean who would be that stupid to walk from Canteen 2 to Canteen 4 just to buy lunch? Oh wait, it did happened. Look at the picture below. These are the female colleagues you are referring to eh?

They are actually my friends from school who are working with me lah. So it proves one thing. ~~I am still a faggot~~ I am not biased leh. Regardless if it's guy, girl, dog or alien I will still help if I could.

Other than us interns, there are 3 adult employees in the team. 2 of them on contract and the last one is a permanent one. I still remembered my friend on the left in the above picture jokingly commented that I was fortunate to be sandwiched in between 2 chiobus everyday. I told him WTF? Where got? Only 1.5 leh. The remaining 0.5 is a witch in disguise who reprimanded me countless times until I got numbed to it. She would always remind me that I should be honoured because I am the first one that made her blood boil. Somehow, I still miss her scoldings. Errr, I am not serious hor. Seriously, I think they treat me as a little brother and in my eyes they will always be good elder sisters. I don't have any and I dislike being the eldest in the family.

It's a small world after all. I realized this line rhymes so true when I started this internship. it's like everyone in the team has a connection with each other. For example: I live in the same town with the colleague on my left. She's just two roads away from my area. Speaking about her, the most amazing thing must be she is the long lost childhood friend of my 3rd colleague whom lost contact and then reconciled when they were assigned to come here to work as contract staff. Freaky stuff. The third connection is the colleague on my right is the senior of my friend in primary school. This just sounds too coincidence.

There are some perks working here. When it gets boring staring at the screen, my friend and I would go to the recreation room to relax. Though there are darts, DVD player, cards and a PS there, we would only usually play some table football. There are 3 such rooms around the office but I had never gone to the others. The only rumour I had heard is one has a foot messager machine. There is also a mini "mama shop" where tibits and other snacks and placed there for sale. This system works like you take what you want and pay the amount in a tin there.

The pantry is pretty awesome. In the first fridge, canned and packet drinks are sold. In the 2nd fridge, there are those free microwavable meals like curry chicken rice, nasi padang, laksa etc etc for those who work OT. One microwave and one oven. Sometimes I buy some popcorn to heat up. Heh heh. But what I still cannot figure out is why are the printer/copier, shredder and the binding machine (in the background) placed in the room?

Let me recall what events had happened ever since I came. Every month or so, there will be some kind of meeting and then they will get those people whose birthday fall on the current month some gift and then cut some cake for everyone. Fridays are where the Sports Hour is scheduled, our team would knock off early and go play badmintion. Half of the office went to Safra Mount Faber to attend talk and then play some silly team buidling games for the whole day. Pre X'mas lunch at Sizzler Suntec paid fully by the company and then went back to the office and slack the rest of the day. Attended my supervisor's wedding at Sentosa. Played football with the guys in the office a few times after work. I would had thought work would be damn boring. It is boring but all those things makes it less painful.

I think I am very fortunate. When I agreed to go out to do IP, I didn't even knew what sort of company I would be working in. I had never even heard of DSTA before. But when I reached here, it exceeded my expectations. I mean it wasn't a small company nor did I had to do the FYP myself as I could still seek help from my experienced colleagues and the people around the office are pretty friendly. Without being biased, I think my company ain't that bad a choice for those who want to work in the industry. But the minimum qualifications is a degree as this is a government linked company. Most of the people around here have more than that actually. Masters, Honours etc etc. But the truth is I do not see myself in this industry. Even if I want to continue on, I am not fit to work here anyway. However, it's been a very good eye opening experience on how the industry operates.

Rain Rain Go Away

2006-01-10T12:03:00.000+08:00

Dear God,

Could you stop crying anymore? Granted it makes for a cool comfortable sleep at night, this little boy here ain't very happy at your constant display of making everyday like that. I would had thought all this would had stopped when the new year started. But no, a check at the Meteorological site says you would continue to mess with the skies till next week at least.

By right, last week and today at this time I am supposed to be out there kicking a ball around with my kakis but you spoilt it all. I can guess it would be the same thing this weekend which would mean I would not have touched a ball for 2 weeks straight. I am now stuck at home bored like crap and typing this on my bed while looking out the window cursing. It's not only me who's not too excited about this. For the past few weeks, I have been enduring my mum's complaints that the clothes can't be hung out to dry because of you.

Here's hoping you would stop all this nonsense before Chinese New Year comes around. Please?

Yours truly
Jul

New Year Resolutions

2006-01-06T00:20:00.000+08:00

I have never set resolutions ever. I mean just look at most people, they have a list of what they intend to achieve for the rest of the year but when the next year rolls in, most of the darn time they rarely even get around to fufiling what they had set out to do in the beginning of January. Take for example say, say one day Xiufang swears to cut down on chocolate. *Ahem* It would never materalize.

Most of them say they will do this and that but what they failed to realize is that action speaks louder than words/thoughts. This time round, the cynic in me would make an exception since this year would be significant. My last few months before going bald. Let me come up with some realistic and feasible ones...*Drum rolls*

1) Save $ when inside

Yes, the pay is pathetic. But I would want to save as much as possible. Main reason is I would want to retake driving again. I guess it will have an effect when you are paying from your own pocket. Because I didn't really gave a crap when I was learning as my dad was the one footing the bill. I was like "Fail fail lor, not my $ mah". This time I would be serious and not screw up again. Really.

2) Be at least half fit before going in

My friends serving now think I stand a good chance being a sargent, officer etc etc. I take them as being joking or something. Truth be told, I don't give a crap about being a high ranked army boy. Glory and Honour and all that bullcrap does not have an effect on me. Didn't they know that SAF stands for Serve and Fuck Off? Being an officer means more years of reservist in the future. But if I am chosen, then so be it. I am not particularly bothered. 2 years is still a tad lengthy to be honest. But one thing for sure is that I do not want to struggle inside. Thus, I got to improve on my pathetic pull ups and my stamina.

3) Gain a little weight

I blame my high metabolism and genes. My parents ain't fat (maybe not my father with that beer belly of his...HAHAHA), my siblings also. No matter how much I eat, I won't gain weight. Sometimes I wonder if my weighting scale has a problem but my weight stays at the same number always. Roughly around 56-57 and my BMI is around 20. Girls would probably envy people like me but I dislike it. I need to break the 60kg barrier.

4) Less moody and negative

Most of the time, I feel that way. In fact, I had been like this since my father despised me when I flunk my Os. I had never really got through it. It probably moulded me into what I am now. Quiet, boring and lacking in confidence. Every morning I look in the mirror, I see a hideous face staring back. Every morning I see ugly Singaporeans that pisses me off. I am not liking what I study. I am worried about my father. I am worried about my future. I am worried about what people think about me. Arrgh, I think I am too bloody paranoid at times.

Most people probably notice that I frown and rarely smile most of the time. It's like PMS every day. Honestly, I can't find a lot of things to get joyful about. I dislike being me and I dislike the life I lead. But how come it be? When you hear me crack lame jokes and talk so much cock? Hmm, the lame crapper side of me is just an alter ego perhaps. To get away from the real me. You see, people dislike being with negative people. So all that is just a smokescreen perhaps. It's just like a comedian, when he steps down the stage, do you expect him to tell a joke every other time also? Of course not.

I need to be more positive and see the lighter side of life before I really drown into depression again.

5) Overhaul my wardrobe

From young and until last year, all the clothes I wore were all bought by my mum. It's not a bad thing if her taste is good but more often it's not. She prefers cheap T shirts and casual polo tees. The warerobe is full of them and I dislike 3/4 of it because either the colors are awful or I had overgrown them. I need more variety and better quality ones. I told her that next time she wants to buy clothes for me, I'd go with her. Otherwise, I will now buy them myself. So the lesson here is never let your mother decide what would look good on you.

6) Grow some frigging balls

Everyone tells me to go for it, give it a try. And I only laugh at that and continue to hide inside the tortoise shell. I think this disease is called running away from the truth. If I am that girl, I would be pissed with the bloody wishy washy attitude. My gut feeling is that she roughly knows that I fancy her. But why am I not taking the initiative? Maybe it's because I had never felt desperate to get attached. I never did had a girlfriend so maybe I got used to it. I never did had an urge to be intimate with the opposite sex. Yea right, you must be wondering what a load of rubbish excuses. Everyone have urges.

Seriously, the reason why is a four letter word starting with F(no, not THAT one), F-E-A-R. This small word has crippled me in many ways for many months now. How you say?

-Fear of being not good enough. I am not someone desireable from a girl's point of view. I can understand why. I am neither tall, good looking, filthy rich nor one who know how to sweet talk people. Why would anyone ever take an interest in someone like me?

- Fear of rejection. It would be a hard pill to swallow if I'd asked and got a negative reply. So if I never open my mouth, there will be this false illusion that I am not rejected. Hurray! Yeah, I love to lie to myself.

- Fear of being laughed at. This is the reason why I don't want people to know. But I guess I don't keep it well. After a few friends saw through me, I revealed to a few more and told them to keep it private. If I had told everyone else, they would probably laugh like there's no tommorow. Another reason is if I didn't told them to shut up, they would had told her which would had made it looked like I'm a wuss(which I am anyway) in her eyes.

- Fear of being dumped into "Friends Only" category.

So you see, there's more risks and more chances to get embarassed. Why bother? I'd rather stay at the same place and look from afar.

But after so many months, it gets a little annoying that I keep something inside for so long. Actually I had always thought of ways to ask her out, but in the end, I usually do not execute my plans. But I did tried once before. Kinda lame now that I recalled it. It was like I got two movie vouchers then I called and asked nicely if she would be available to go out with me because I was stressed out from working and the excuse was I'd tried asking two of my other friends(A and B) and they were not free. She said no as I expected as there's a birthday party she had to attend. I was furious because I thought she was cooking up an excuse to brush me off. But I later asked around and realized she was telling the truth.

But what she didn't knew was I asked A to lie to her that I got called A before I called her. Because I figured she would call the friends I had mentioned to confirm. Later, A told me that she indeed called her to enquire if I got ask A out. OMG, I have sixth sense. Of course my friend repeated the lies I instructed to her. My friend was disappointed at my indirect way and wondered why I must be like that. I felt horrible for being dishonest.

This new year, I'm sick of being a coward. No more lies, half hearted attempts and no more hiding behind the curtains. I tired of being paralyzed by this anymore. I don't want to live by with regrets, it's time to face the music and stare fear straight in the eye. Before I lose the opportunity.

Ushering in the new year...

2006-01-01T19:37:00.000+08:00

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Not sure why this year my classmate hasn't organized his birthday party, thus the pitiful me just sat at home thinking what to do. As uninteresting as a person I am, sitting my arse down at home watching the telly was the last thing I wanted to do on the last few moments of the year. I just had to get out. I messaged my friend and asked what his plans were. I won't mind anywhere except going to a club/pub or the bloody crowded and messy Orchard where you would find lots of young punks ready to temporarily blind your eyes with those foam spray or be surrounded by groups of foreign workers who are there to molest young girls. It is not an urban legend, I had seen a few instances a few years ago. I just read this and shaked my head.

I saw a glimmer of hope when he gave a positive reply. But when I was to go out, he said to find him at a Mohammed Sultan pub. Last minute change of plan. Bleh, that bugger. Then my football kaki messaged and questioned if the kickabout was confirmed. Being all ready and nowhere to go now, I asked if I could join him. But since he was with his poly friends who I do not know at all, I figured that would be awkward. Ahhh, screw it. I think of what to do next after I fill my stomach.

So there I was at Burger King 2 hours before the new year, munching on junk food. Everywhere I looked, everyone seemed to be with their loved ones and friends whereas I was alone. I figured since I am already outside, might as well go down somewhere. Sometime later, the bus reached Suntec and it was 1/2 hour away from the next day. Traffic was a killer and many places and roads were closed. I just walked aimlessly without knowing where I was really heading.

Moments later, I climbed up some unknown stairs and there were already lots of kiasu people there awaiting the first fireworks. In fact, there were many cars parked beside the Expressway. Most of them were armed with their tripod cameras. I like to watch fireworks. On National Day, I went to Marina Square to catch the fireworks that was being released over at Esplanade. Months later, here I am standing on the Sheares Bridge footpath looking at the whole thing from a different angle. Actually I did not knew this spot at all, I just followed the crowd blindly. It is actually quite a fantastic spot to catch the whole spectacle.

As people around me marveled and screamed their lungs out(as you can hear in the video clip) at the beautiful pyro over their head, I silently watch and wonder how much taxpayers' money was wasted just like that. HAHAHA. Not really, I also got excited but only kept it inside. I'm not one to express such feelings among strangers. At the same time, it felt awful as I was like the only loner watching the aerial display surrounded by people with their family, friends and couples. A sense of deja vu overcame me. I felt like the same way when viewing the fireworks down at Marina Square. How much better it would be if I had someone beside me enjoying the show with me. *Sigh* Anyway, it was over in 10 minutes.

After that, had to quickly get away and beat the crowd to the MRT station. The traffic congestion was worse, cars were honking and people just anyhow walked around as if they owned the roads. The Citylink underground pessage path to the station was jammed pack with people. It was slow moving and it felt like an oven. The air was stale and people were sweating. Just when finally reached the station entrance, the crowd just stopped there. Bloody hell, must be lots of people inside the station.

Waiting was not what I had in mind if I had to get home fast. Thus, I got out of the maddening crowd and get some fresh air outside and search for an alternate route home. Thankfully there were still buses I could take home. The Nightrider or the taxi would had been a tad expensive for a poor intern ~~who just won $100+ from football recently~~ like me. *Ahem* Ahhh well, at least I end the year off with my wallet a little fatter, which is a scant consolation.

Auld Lang Syne 2005...

2005-12-30T00:28:00.000+08:00

Since the year is about to come to an end, here's a look back at how it has been for me.

School

It was pretty much less of a drag and I sort of enjoyed it at times. Maybe it's because there ain't much bloody programming modules to worry that much about. In terms of results, the previous two semesters were the ones I did the best so far (2.85 and 3 overall GPA). Sure, not spectacular compared to the top brains in my class, but it's good enough for me. In fact, I got my first A in my 4th sem(so late I know) and then my first AD last semster. For someone who loathes the course with a passion, I thought it was a sizeable achievement. Partly have to thank my classmates for covering my sorry arse for the elusive first A from ECAD.

I would really have to disagree with my cock ex supervisor whom many months ago asked in a sacrastic tone if it was group project that helped me achieve that A . He was suspicious as I had always scraped through my Java modules for the 1st three semesters in a row. I would have this to say - Go screw yourself, old man. I only got B+ for the project. I still had to work hard for the A. Why don't you ask the one who set the exam? The paper was a freebie, so damn easy and no kick. I will remember him for telling straight to my face that I did not stand a chance of doing internship. I'd proved you wrong.

And oh, I still did not get what you meant by "You seem like no life leh" when you said that to me in the lift while I was listening to my iPod. Thank god I'm not in school. Getting supervised by a weirdo would be uneasy.

The previous semester was a breeze. Easy modules for the most part, and the timetable was so slack. What more can a student ask for? And yes, taking PI was the easiest and wisest decision I'd ever made in my poly life. I mean where else can you watch movies, talk cock, write blog and then score an effortless AD? That was a no-brainer. Nobody can dispute or argue with that grade. Maybe it's because I'd always love to write, though I don't use a lot of bombastic words. Maybe it's because I'd always did well in English in school.

Whatever the reasons are, in fact I sort of harboured dreams of getting into Mass Com. But I'm not that smart nor cool to make it in, neither in Business. That's why I'm in IT. Honestly, IT is like home of the rejects. I can see that most people probably failed to make it into their first few choices like me and ended up here. Given a choice, I doubt most would want to get in here. Thank goodness, my three years have not been exactly a total waste because I'd got a great bunch of classmates, which brings me to my second point.

Friends

I don't really keep into contact with my primary nor secondary school friends. I don't want to anyway, most of them make me remind of bad memories. A few of my primary school do ask me out at times to meet up for a gathering as I was sorta popular last time in school. After some relentless persuading, I did went once. It was awkward as most of them are just like strangers to me now. I don't hate them, but I just can't feel a connection with them anyway. Thus I vow never to go to any of such events anymore.

Secondary school friends? The situation's better a bit as I do keep into contact with a few. Some live near me and I bumped into a few more last time. I would not mind catching up with them again some time later to see how they are doing now. But the thing is, I do not have their phone numbers. It's more depressing when most of my football kakis are in army now. I do feel a tad lonely at times. Hard to find someone to watch movies, talk or go out with me.

But one thing for sure is I would still want to keep into contact with my current poly friends. Especially most of them from my class. After we graduate, there would be a major significant change in our lives. The guys would go serve army while the fairer sex would probably work/further study. Everyone would become adults with responsibilty. Well, of course it would be great to keep a contact list as next time you can call them up and ask them ~~to buy insurance from you~~ how they're doing. It would just make me feel comforted to know that the people you care about are doing well. I enjoy this feeling, though I don't know why.

Work

9-6, 5 days a week, OT, staring at boring and uninspiring crap while sitting your lazy butt for hours behind the desk. After the day is over, the only thing you want to do is go back to your bed and sleep till the next morning. In summary, you're pratically like a no life loser. I must admit I struggled to come into the reality that my future would be like that. For the first few months, it was a drag waking up and going to the office. Weekends were precious and Monday mornings were the devil.

I knew what was in store for me when I agreed to go out on an internship. Among the three of us interns, I can safely say I am the most atrocious in programming. When assigned my project to do, I simply had no idea how and where to start. Even when I had an idea and knew what to do, the numerious errrors just keeps popping out. I reckon more time was wasted in dealing with errors, surfing the net and looking around to solve the error than me doing the actual coding.

I was easily pissed and put off by it. I was at the end of many scoldings from my irritated colleague as I couldn't grasp what she was trying to tell me and also due to my reluctance to remember what she always told me. I am not pissed at her, in fact I have to thank her instead. Her @&#&@#% made me understood more in what I was doing. I mean she could had left me to deal with my own stuffs, but she was always there to lend a helping hand no matter how busy she was.

Thankfully, we were assigned to a great company(no bias really!). At least we could approach someone to ask for help. Not to forget that the people from other departments aren't stuck up arses and my supervisor/colleagues are great. But still, it doesn't change my view that my future lies in this industry. What I noticed is even if you are a software engineering maybe say specializing in programming, you would still have to multitask and do other stuffs like database, neworking and all that. That means you are being under paid really!

Another thing is if you don't upgrade your skills to keep up with the ever changing technologies, you would risk getting phased out. I can imagine that it's hard to survive in this industy. That's why most people are hired on contract basis. The turnover rate is high. The last reason would be I find office jobs mundane and I'm neither skilled enough. Whatever it is, now I got to do a good job with my report and then try to convience my markers that the stuffs I did over the past few months was superb. Though honestly, the latter would be tough.

Relationships

Nothing much has changed. Months had flew by, it's still the same. Many times, I did prepared what to do but what it comes to real thing, all I do is just sit there and stare quietly like a blockhead and drop the idea. I hate the spineless me.

In the mood to get married....

2005-12-24T17:23:00.000+08:00

This week has been a fairly relaxing one. On Thursday half of the office went to Sizzler for a pre X'mas sponsered lunch and then came back and played some Bingo and then proceed to do next to nothing for the rest of the day. I guess most people are in a festive mood to even do any work. Coming down back from the production site, my colleague got us a log cake. The most amazing quote must be when my friend asked what a log cake was. I was half tempted to answer that it was a cake made of wood. But I guess being the youngest in our team is a fair enough excuse to forgive his ignorance. To end the week off, my supervisor's wedding dinner was on Friday.

Smart Casual was the dress code specified in the invitation. Oh crap, I really didn't fancied wearing formal attire but there was no choice. I had never felt comfortable in them ever since I had it on once on the first day to work. I was going to wear the same long sleeved shirt(I had only one) I wore on the first day. They are right, I look more like a banquet waiter instead.

Right after work, we hitched a ride to get there. Without doubt, the Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa must be the most ulu hotel to get to. You would have to drive so far in to reach it. I only had faded memories of the location, as I remembered been there once with my secondary school friends to play sports at Siloso Beach and then went to the hotel to wash up. It has been a long while since I ever stepped on Palau Blakang Mati. I can only say it indeed has changed a quite a lot. I could spot some renovations at the front of the entrance, the buses ain't the same ones anymore and no more monorail huh?

What about the hongbao for the newly weds? Holding a bash at that place surely ain't cheap. I guess $80-$100 would be the standard market rate to place inside. Even before my supervisor handed the invitations, I reckon he would had understood that 3 of us interns aren't really working nor is it likely that we can give that much with our miserable pay. So, the idea was to combine it to $99 as it sounds auspicious. 2 of my working colleagues said it was a custom to scribble down your name on the red packet so that they would know who gave how much. But who would want to write when we only gave that little? It's better to leave it anonymous and who was given the holy task of passing over the combined hongbao to him? Me of course. The other 2 of my friends don't have the testicular fortitude to do even such a simple thing.

A table can sit 10 people but ours had an empty seat. 3 ex interns before us + 6 of us current employees. A postcard on the table gave away a very clear sign that there won't be any shark fin served later. The substitute dish looked like the real thing and no, that isn't blood but vinegar. Actually, the food served was alright, nothing to shout about. I still felt my stomach rumbling after the whole thing ended. That is probabaly what a wedding dinner is, eat for fun only but won't ever make you full.

I had never really liked my mug taken ever since many years ago. The reasons are fairly simple. One being I'm not photogenic and another would be no matter which angle you snap me, I would still look so damn tanned. But too bad, I am not an expert in Photoshop, or else I would be like the notorious her and do some changes to it. Since they insist on taking one for memorance sake, I just had to play along. Not that I'm very eager about it.

The highlight of the night must be when the couple was up on stage to gave a speech to the crowd. The things the groom said was a little weird but heart felt. Something along the lines of "I want to thank her parents for accepting me" and "Merry X'mas and Happy New Year to everyone".

I was like "HUH? What is he talking about?". Nontheless, it bought some laughter from the crowd. I would had never expect my supervisor to say such stuffs but I think even the most brave people will inevitably get a tad nervous and emotional on the biggest night in their life. He probably just said what was on his mind without really thinking that much. Heh heh. I envy him, going to Turkey for honeymoon while I'm stuck here. I also have this urge to get the hell out of this boring island and see the world before I am conscripted. Maybe after I graduate.

Idiots who deserve a big spanking from Santa

2005-12-19T23:41:00.000+08:00

Idiots. They are all around you. But you won't know they exist until they open their mouth or do something annoying. Some of them really makes you want to bash them up or test your level of patience. Everyday I might have the misfortune to meet some of them.

1) Smokers in Lifts

Some people think it's perfectly alright to step into the lift holding their fags. I give them a glare and they don't get the hint. Usually I would cover my nose to give them another very clear signal but most don't give a shit. I have nothing against smokers really, but not those inconsiderate ones. I mean they can smoke all they want and go to hell earlier but why should they force us non smokers to breathe in THEIR second hand smoke? And worst still, in an enclosed space? Most of the time, I really want to tell them to put out their lights, but I never had done it before, for fear that I might not make it to my floor alive.

2) Bus Drivers who drive like women

There’s a direct bus for me to take to work or I could also take the MRT and then walk and walk for 10 mins. Of course the train would be a faster option. But considering the fact that the trains are always crammed in the mornings, and also the sleepyhead in me have to walk that far and because I have to take a feeder bus to the interchange, it’s a no brainer that the bus pass would be more worth it.

I really pray that I do not get anyone like that behind the wheel. These drivers just take their own sweet time and move at a snail pace along the road that I reckon I can cycle faster than them. They are just like most women, so cautious and scared of this and that. Sheesh.

The worst cases was when taking the bus down to school. This bus service travels along the PIE for most of the journey and I always usually would got on one which just travel real slowly along the expressway, hogging the right lane as if it's their grandfather's road. Even if the traffic is clear in front of them, they still do not accelerate a little. Mr Bus Driver, you might not be in a hurry but spare a thought for your passengers, who are rushing to work/school on time. We aren't telling you to speed and risk our lives but it would be appreciated if you bring it up to an acceptable speed. So come on, step on the damn accelerator and stop pissing your passengers off.

3) People with no legs on the bus

Every morning/evening it's like a race to get on the public transport with the working crowd. Most of them are lean mean machines with years of experience under their belt whereas I'm still a newbie in this. They shove you, get into the best positions and do whatever it takes to board the bus. Where I live, there's only one feeder service that gets to the interchange and it's always bloody crowded when it reaches my stop.

As I am usually someone who reaches work on time or minutes late, I calculate carefully the time needed to get to work. Thus if I miss one bus and do not get to the interchange before the second bus I have to take which is scheduled to leave at the same time, I would be more late, which would not please my supervisor of course.

Even though you could see that there are still some space at the back of the bus, some people just stand like a statue at their original position and deny those wanting to board, a chance of a place on the bus. Even when the driver shout to the back to move, sometimes those arses just refuse to do so. Bloody hell.

4) Bus Drivers stopping at every stop

Yes, yet another concerning buses. There are some drivers who would pause at every stop regardless if there are anybody boarding or alighting. They deem it compulsory to turn into every stop, even if there are no passengers to pick up. I honestly don't get it. I can only think that they have the awareness and special ability to see something that us normal people don't?

5) People who can't read signs on the MRT

Continuing with the theme of public transport. Years ago, SMRT introduced this "keep to the left" campaign. It was so that the commuters would move to the that side when riding the escalator and enable those in a rush to have a clear right lane. You would had thought people would had naturally make this a habit and followed that, but no, there are still some who are acting like extras.

I only take the MRT when I overslept or if I reach the interchange quiet late. Thus that means that I am running late for work. Most people do keep to the left but there are ALWAYS some who still cluelessly stand to their right. And when you are behind those people, you would had half expect them to know that you want to overtake them but no, they still do not move. Sometimes I just have no choice but have let out a loud "EXCUSE ME" which then they would realize there is indeed someone who is behind. Sheesh.

The big irony is many of such signs can be found plastered all over the station but it still ain't enough to educate some people in basic courtesy. I guess next time I'd rather use the stairs instead.

6) Neighbours with Killer Litter

If you thought the neighbours staying above you dripping their wet laundry on your clothes is irritating, I can only tell you that is just small case compared to what we have been getting. Actually I do not personally experiencing this first hand as I do not wash my own clothes but sometimes I do help my mum in getting the clothes back in at the evening. My mum had told me that the clothes she hang out to dry had been dirtied by hot water, curry and Maggie Mee before. I am serious. On one occasion, I seen some colored liquid being thrown down from above. Unfortunately, she does not have a clue who does it but she narrowed it down to one unit.

Once my mum went to approach that said suspect but that lady just flatly denied and told us to produce some proof. Well, that would be next to impossible. Unless we install a survillance camera at the windows pointing above to see who that inconsiderate one is. Not only that, sometimes, the kitchen floor near the window is filled with food/sweet wrappers, leaves and some other small trash. It annoys me as my room is near the kitchen and when I step out of my room, sometimes I see the mess. I am led to believe it's the same moron doing all these. I really wonder does he/she have a rubbish bin at home?

7) Neighbours with annoying kids

Neighbours with kids are honestly a pain in the arse. The ones here run up and down the laughing while playing block catching, pee outside your corridor, steal the clothes you hang outside to dry etc etc. Where are their parents while they were running riot? I honestly have no clue, maybe they are screwing around in their bedroom trying hard to add more brats to annoy me in the future. All these are one off incidents so it's alright.

But what I can't stomach is this neighbour of mine leaving directly below us. They have two kids who shout vuglarities at each other, slam the door loud, argue and fight with each other every other afternoon. It's like nobody at home gives a damn. Well of course, when their mother is out at work. Once I went down with my mum to confront and tell her nicely to keep the noise down and control those ~~monkeys.~~ children of hers. But it seems like that lady is a little mental unstable or something and thinks that we are threatening them. She just rudely told us that it isn't any of our business that her kids are out of control and then slammed the door in our face. Like children, like mother. Sheesh. Sometimes I also spout some dirty words towards them when the crazy kiddos are shouting. For the hack of it.

Work, Watch and Listen

2005-12-12T22:44:00.000+08:00

Work

For the past two weeks or so, been doing the same portion of this particular part of my project. Involving backing up, deleting database data and creating folder/files, error checking and all the nonsense, it sounds simple in theory and I thought it wouldn't take too long but boy, was I wrong. It really made me pissed off somewhat because I encountered a lot of errors and it didn't worked like I wanted it to. But the more time I spent in it getting it to work right, the more I understood what all the lines and lines of code meant. In fact, I think I am more familiar with that portion than any other part I had done before this.

I really could not see what other way there was to get it work perfectly. Thus, last week I came up with a lame way which somehow solved the bothersome error and showed my colleague. She didn't approved of it and told me to find another way to get around that error. I felt pretty demoralized. Well, you do get a little sick with facing the same ol' crap for weeks. Oh well, I figured I had to spent more time on it. But today we asked my supervisor and he said the only way to deal with that problem was actually what I had done. The lame way! Fah, I was right after all.

He also told me I need not do the last part of my module as it wasn't necessary. That was like the best piece of news ever since I came here because that part would be more pain in the arse than this. All along I had questioned the need for that as it was just something to make my module look more fanciful and wasn't really compulsory to the user. Damn, I could finally see the light at the end of the dark tunnel. I think I am about 95% done with my project if I need not do that part. :)

Now the little problem was I couldn't really remembered how I accomplished writing the code for the lame method. Could only recalled bits and pieces of it. Just now when I coded it back to test, there were errors. Arrgh. So the lesson here for anyone of you is to BACKUP REGULARLY. You never know when you would need it sometime later perhaps.

Watch

Today I knocked off on time to go catch a movie, which I rarely do at all these months. I haven't watched a movie since last month or so. I actually arrived at the shopping centre 1/2 hour early. For someone who is exactly or somewhat a little late when getting into the cinema, I surprise myself at times. My regular movie kaki must had been pleasantly pleased that we need not fumble our way in the dark to get to our seats this time.

I had watched the first part before(also with him and another friend) which was an awesome and gruesome indy movie shot on a low budget. Blood, gore and more blood with a surprising twist at the end of the film made it the sleeper of last year. Thus I HAD to watch Part 2 of course even though the director wasn't the same and they now had a bigger budget and shot in Hollywood.

Let's just say there's still a twist at the end but overall I thought the show wasn't as great as compared to the first. Rated NC16 and with a few cuts. Bloody hell. Not recommened for those who are squeamish but perfect to watch with girls just because it's worth it to hear them SCREAM out loud and feel sick in the stomach over the violence. ;)

Listen

Someone with an age like mine should be rightfully in army and serving the nation. I think I'm considered sort of old compared to the usual recruit. Guess I can do nothing about it and wait for my turn to go in and waste time. Being the odd one out among my football kakis, I hear a lot of stories from them every weekend. They whine, debate and recall their experiences out at Tekong. I would also ask them some questions so I would be somewhat mentally prepared for my turn. Pretty soon enough.

My companion for the evening just talked freely about his experience during dinner. I had learnt that he gone from 0 to 7 pull ups currently, thought that BMT was the best time of his army life despite being tired due to the tough training, POPed, wanted to sign on, 24K route match, field camp etc etc. After the movie, he kept on speaking about what went on with his company. If he is to be believed, Scorpion(his) is the most welfare(not that tough) company while Mohawk is the most siong one. He also confirmed my doubts that Sispec ain't as cool as I thought to be. Basically you're in the middle of the food chain. Having to take orders from someone above and then passing them on to your men. Kinda hard to please both sides of the fence. He said if you want, either aim for the best (officer) or just be average(men).

If someone like him, who hated NS before he went it and isn't that fit can endure BMT, I think someone like me with a reluctant attitude towards all these would be able to conquer it also. I would not expect it to be as relaxing as his, but it's the damn army for goodness sake. The system might be flawed and screwed up at times but almost anyone born here and who has a penis on this small island are going to serve it anyway, like it or not. At least I can thank that it's only 2 years unlike a few of my JC friends who served 2.5 years.

Tick Tock Tick Tock. I can hear them calling me. But I would had really preferred to watch the World Cup before surrendering my head over to be shaved and be a chao recruit. I hope.

Jingle Bells Jingle Bells Wedding On The Way

2005-12-10T12:09:00.000+08:00

Back to office feeling a tad better after the terrible cough plaguing me the whole previous week. Actually this week I felt much better. I felt less frustrated with my work and frowned less than usual. My colleague told me she actually haven't scolded me this week which was surprising because it's not ususual for her to not berate me for being bloody rubbish in apprehending what the program I'm writing is doing. She said maybe it's because after I'm sick, I looks more focused in my work. Well,not really. It was just because I understood what I was doing lately. But still, I reckon I'm awful with programming overall.

Some time before noon or so, my supervisor walked in. I guessed he was here to demand my MC but nope, he was here to spread his joy to his subordinates. I thought most of such invitations were pink in color but his was a bright attention attracting red. My permanent employed colleague sitting on my right asked if it was the first time I'd received such a thing. Of course it was. Normally such invitations would be addressed to my parents and they would drag my arse there to attend even though I usually have no clue who the couple are. I agree just for the sake of going there to eat, drink and be merry. But this time it was different.

Sort of heard that my supervisor would get hitched months ago as he mentioned they would go to Turkey for their honeymoon. Actually all these nearly didn't materialized due to the demise of his future father in law. But thankfully, it was alright for him to get married. 33 and married. Sound fine for a masters graduate working as a project manager for a while now. For me, I think 35 is the ripe age for a guy to settle down. But ultimately, it depends on how far you are in your career. If you're successful and saved quite a bit of moolah, you can afford to settle down earlier definitely.

I think he planned it very nicely. Just before X'mas, a great location and on a Friday somemore. That means right after work rush down to attend. But I'm not so sure how much to pack in the hongbao to give them. I'm thinking $40 would be alright but kinda like cheapskate and don't give face to my supervisor who have been treating us interns pretty well honestly. Furthermore, I doubt it's cheap to hold a wedding at that hotel. But I don't want to give too much as I gotta buy some stuffs after I get my pay. My colleague suggested we interns combine a hongbao and pass it to them.

The only gripe I have is I can't shower before going. Ah crap. Have to wear the same clothes to work and then to the wedding.

Audio Therapy of the Week #12

2005-12-04T17:30:00.000+08:00

If you had watched the movie Closer, you would probably had heard a couple of th songs in it. I haven't seen the movie but I did chanced upon the "Blower's Daughter". At first I thought the title sounded suggestive. BLOW? But it actually refers to the daughter of the singer's clarinet teacher. It was an enchanting and heart rending little song that made me felt a little touched inside. So I went to find out more about the singer behind it.

His name is Damien Rice. An Irish fellow whom used to be the lead singer of a rock band but quit because he didn't liked the direction their band was going. After that, he followed to a quiet place in Italy where he learnt to play acoustic guitar and also to sharpen his songwriting skills. He went around Europe busking peniless before he moved back home with many ideas and the eagerness to translate them into an album.

He went around borrowing $ to record a demo and send it to a renowned producer and luckily for him, the producer liked what he hear. Thus, he could now make a record. The end result of that was "O", released in 2002. All the songs in it were written by him. And in some of them, a voice of a woman can be heard signing also. His band is made up of 5 people. He shares the vocal duties with that woman, while the remaining ones deal with instruments.

Track 3,4,6 and 7 would be my favourites off it.

DOWNLOAD ALBUM

Sick and tired of bloody programming...

2005-12-01T23:27:00.000+08:00

Literally and figuratively speaking. Last Friday started with a mild cough and now it just gets worst. The feeling's like if I try hard enough, my lungs would get coughed out anytime now seriously. Whenever I try to smile, I would let out a loud cough first. Seems like the daily two spoonful of pi pa gao ain't doing wonders. Puked out my dinner when I coughed just now. That was damn shiok as I feel slightly better now. But still the coughing won't stop and everyone at home can't stand it. Looks likely I will be visiting the doc tomorrow and be more behind in my work. Hurray!

Unlike the typical FYP attachment where you can bring your project home, mine can only be done at the workplace. This is positive and negative. Positive because you don't have to see those damn lines and lines of nonsense at home. Negative because for someone like me who is awful in programming, I won't mind spending my own sweet time at home after work/weekends and try to find some solutions and catch up on lost time. But I can't.

To be truthful, when I realized what I was going to do. I sort of regretted going out. But well, staying at school won't be any different anyway as I don't think I would do as much as what I am doing now. One of the reasons why I wanted to go out was to see if the IT industry I had in mind was real. It pretty much matches what I thought but working at a government linked company is at least slightly better. If I was good in it, public sector would be the way to go. Doing VB and other stuffs wasn't what I had in mind honestly as I only have some knowledge of VB.net. I would had preferred doing something like my friend's who run around the island fixing up systems etc etc. No programming at all. Actually, I chose that before this. But dropped out after finding that have to work 6 days week and lots of programming. Bleh, kinda ironic now I think of it. I remembered my supervisor said it's good to do something you are weak and really hate in because you would be forced to conquer your fear in it and like it a little better.

But that is definitely not true in my case. I still HATE it and do badly at programming and have no enthusiasm nor motivation in doing them. In short, programming just makes me sleepy and bored. Every morning when I wake up, it's a drag (actually for the past 2.5 years, it has been like that) because no matter how I tell myself to be positive and look forward to do what I dislike when I wake up, my mood just drops back in the afternoons because most of the time, I have no clue what those lines mean and what am I supposed to type, even after looking at code syntax and getting some hints. I'm just like a lost sheep whereas the others just seem to know what they are doing and kind of enjoy it. To me, I just have this painful and helplessness feeling inside. But oh well, two months had already gone and I'm still here struggling.

While the other 2 of my colleagues have pretty much finished their part, I am only about 90+% done. The system is about to be deployed for use soon and I really do not think that I can finish the last part dealing with zipping and unzipping files, which is the most pain in the arse task. And oh, I still have to do those tedious documentation after that. I just have this feeling that I'm so near yet so far. It's like I'm in a fog and can't see the finishing line, One of my colleague is like so free. Well, maybe the thing he was assigned to do after he came back from a month of net surfing at the other department, was easy or he pick up things fast. I think it's a combination of both. He and the other colleague of mine is doing the same part whereas I'm doing a completely different one.

The only saving grace about this as compared to what my friends had gone through is we here actually have some help available. There's 2 contract based and 1 permenant female colleagues doing the same system with us. The programming idiot in me usually seek help from the one sitting beside. Most of the time, she would be frustrated when I ask her to explain it a few more times before I get it. I am very slow with all these thus anyone teaching me would have to be patient. I don't blame them for being pissed at times because I admit that I am, and will NEVER be good in it. Even after 3 sems of Java crap, I scored the same rubbish grade to scrape through. So that says a lot about my ability. I don't like to ask or bother people actually. It makes me look stupid but when it comes to programming, I really have no choice but to open my mouth. But I really hate it when she says that I am sleeping or still haven't woke up. Though I might look uninterested and speak in a monotonous tone when asking, I am listening hard inside and trying to digest and understand what was being said by you. You can't fault me for looking bored. Try as I might, lines and lines of code hardly can get me in an excited mode.

If I said I don't worry or think about my project, that would an outright lie. I don't really care how I complete this shit, as long as I finish it and get it out of my mind, that's all I want. I don't even mind a D grade in the end, I won't be going a local nor foreign uni anyway with that mediocre GPA of mine. I do want to further my studies but not in IT, a hat trick years is more than enough already. For me, as long as I just graduate and bugger off and waste 2 more years to the government and not do anything with IT when I come out of course.

I'm praying for a white X'mas and to finish all those bollocks before that day comes of course. Who knows maybe I won't get to see last till that day in office. I might already had got sacked for not finishing what I was required to do. Hurray!

One good reason to watch Lost

2005-11-25T23:56:00.000+08:00

Mediacrap finally ended their SLOOOOOOOOW run of Lost's Season 1 yesterday. Nontheless, I finished viewing Season 1, time to make way for all those Season 2 episodes I'd downloaded. Oh, like I had mentioned in one of my previous post, I predicted that they would probably show it late like they do for most of the other American shows. And hah how right I was. They ran an ad announcing that Season 2 would be back from March next year. All I can say is, good riddance to bad rubbish. By the time they showed the first episode, I think Season 2 would had already end it's run over in US.

Thus, I started watching Season 2 last nite. Seems like one group meets some other survivors of the plane crash and the other one are now finally going down that mysterious hatch. And not only that, my eyes were treated to ice cream when our favourite resident criminal on the island crawled around in the ventilation duct like the hot little kitten she is. Hmm Hmm, what a nice surprise there. And oh, not forgetting also the shower scene. Viva La J.J Abrams, you know what your male audience have been wanting to see all these while. Please continue whoring Kate with more of such kind of titillating scenes. We would be very please to continue following your show. Thank you. ;)

*Ahem* Those damn hormones of mine. Where was I? Ohh yeah, Season 2. Well, seriously, Lost is more than that display of cleavage. Definitely. It's a thriller, mystery and adventure all wrapped into a 40+ mins show. But after viewing a few more episodes today, I am sensing that it's kinda getting boring. I have this feeling that it's just not as exciting nor refreshing as Season 1. It's like they're running out of ideas on how to continue with the story. Let's hope things get interesting soon or I will run out of patience and switch over to watch Desperate Housewives solely instead. But even that is getting draggy also. It seems like these two shows are just suffering from the unavoidable sophomore season slump. *Sigh*

UPDATE: (My wish might come true after all. I just read THIS. Now Abrams has only one show(Lost) on hand and more focus would surely be put in it. I hope...Haha)

Audio Therapy of the Week #10 Special Edition

2005-11-20T21:37:00.000+08:00

This week I will not talk about any particular group/singer but instead zoom in on one hit wonders. What are one hit wonders ya say? Well, it means that particular singer is generally known for only one hit song and then fade away or when they try to come up with another song, it isn't as popular as their first. Example of one would be the hideously annoying "Macarena" by those two Spanish guys(?). That would fall under this category very well.

Most of such songs are kind of corny and I won't be caught listening to them but there are some which floats my boat. Though a lot of them are kinda oldies and only someone like my mum would had remembered them very well. Once a while, it's nice to blast them loud and sing along in the room when nobody's at home. Sometimes.

I present 16 of the best and less embarrassing ones.

Shocking Blue - Venus

A-Ha - Take On Me

Semisonic - Closing Time

Toni Basil - Mickey

Cameo - Word Up

Spandeu Ballet - True

Katrina and the Waves - Walking On Sunshine

New Radicals - You Get What You Give

Cardigans - Lovefool

The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony

Terry Jacks - Season in the Sun

M - Pop Muzik

The Buggles - Video Killed The Radio Star

The Romantics - What I Like About You

Wild Cherry - Play That Funky Music

The Wonders - That Thing You Do

Dream a little Dream

2005-11-18T23:57:00.000+08:00

Do you remember your dreams/nightmares every morning when you wake up? Well, I don't. All my teenage years till now, I have been suspecting that I do not even dream at all when I'm sleeping. It is because when I wake up, my mind is a blank. 99% of the time, I do not have any flashbacks of what happened when I was in dreamland. It was only when I came across this article that I realized that I wasn't a freak after all

Q: Does everybody dream? Why is it that I don't remember my dreams?

A: Everybody dreams. Not only all humans, but in fact all mammals are shown to have Rapid Eye Movement (REM sleep, which is associated with dreams. It is a normal and necessary function of the body (though the details, especially the exact reason why it is important, are unknown). So if you think you don't dream you probably just don't remember.

People vary greatly in how much they remember of their dreams. Perhaps the most important reason why people forget their dreams is that they don't care.

[Research shows that recall of dreams is correlated with depth of sleep. People who sleep lightly tend to recall dreams; those who sleep deeply go through a change of brain activity as they awaken which makes dreams harder to remember. ]


Can you predict who will recall a lot of dreams and who won't?
In studies that compare people who recall several dreams a week with those who recall one a month or less, the biggest difference is that the people who recall have a greater interest in dreams and therefore a greater motivation to pay attention to them. For some reason, these people have decided that their dreams are worth remembering. Sometimes it is because they had one that seemed to come true, or one that fascinated them. The main reason we know "interest" and "motivation" are important is the high recallers say on surveys that they think dreams are important. But we also know it because some low recallers are stimulated to recall when they read about dreams or take a class on them.

It does make sense then. I am a deep type of sleeper. My mum had always told me how hard it was to wake me up in the morning for school. Even when she nudges me or shouts at me to get my lazy arse out of bed, I just do not have any response to any of that. Furthermore, I don't really believe in dreams also. To me, most of them are just fantasy bullcrap. So yea, that's probably why I don't seem to recall them

Once in a blue moon, I do recall my dreams. Not the whole thing but only fragments of it. This week was surprising in a way that I actually remembered what I dreamt. Maybe the reason why is because both were weird and unexpected.

Tuesday

~ I was walking around after shopping with that someone and XF at the Jurong Point(I guess). Then they claimed they were tired and wanted to go home. So all of us took a bus home. I sat with that someone while XF sat alone beside me. Both of them were yakking away for the whole journey while I kept silent throughout. Then we reached Kallang (that I was sure of) and then both of them alighted and said they were taking the train to go home. Before they alighted, that someone passed a BIG, I mean REALLY big Char Siew bao to me. What the...Then I woke up.

I don't get what all of that meant. Firstly, in real life, both of them live around the west side area yet they took a bus all the way down to Kallang and then took a train home from there? It just doesn't add up. Secondly, how come I dreamt of XF? AHHHHHHHH!!! Thirdly, what about that huge bun? That was scary. It was like the size of my head.

But nontheless, I guess it's due to this pic I saw on Sunday down at Alex's blog that caused all this?

So there's a link after all. My sis sleeping below me on the double decker bed told me the next morning that I was laughing to myself and seemed happy while I slept.

Thursday

- I was watching a performance by this group of Shaolin monks at a bus interchange with a female classmate at night. Don't ask me why it was with her or why it was held at such an odd place. I also have no bloody idea. Anyway, those monks performed their incredible acts like climbing up a wall with one finger, running around with two fingers etc etc. Amazing huh? Buses kept arriving and leaving the interchange and when it was midnight, most of the people left. Some annoucement came on through the loudspeaker and advised us to leave right now with the majority before something big happened.

A group of us just did not heed the warning and continued to watch those monks do their thing. Then we decided to leave as we were tired. Upon boarding the bus, another annoucement came on through the loudspeaker telling us that it was too late. Then it let out a continuous evil laugh. Those monks turned into BIG BLACK HAIRY SPIDERS with blood all over them. Seeing that, the bus driver just quickly sped off.

At that moment, I woke up. There was sweat all over my forehead. I looked at the clock and it was 5+am. Bloody hell, 2 more hours to go before I really wake up for work. So I slept on. Then I returned back to the scene of the dream. The bus was now stopping and I quickly grabbed my classmate and ran up the block of HDB flat's stairs to reach as high a storey as possible so as to evade the Shoalin spiders. Then we suddenly stopped at this storey(couldn't see which floor it really was) and then we just walked to this apartment and I saw my grandmother in it. She told me to hide under the bed so those spiders won't see us.

After that, I awoke. It was a crap nightmare with no meaning I think. As compared to the last dream, I don't know why I dreamt of my classmate, went to watch Shaolin monks and then the spiders thingy. What the hell? I can only think of a common link which is buses. I take buses to and fro work almost everyday.

I think this two are the first ones I remembered for many many months but how come I don't remember all the wet dreams instead? BAHAHAHAHA.

And you thought your willy was small?

2005-11-13T23:50:00.000+08:00

You ain't see nothing yet! Next time if ya ever felt unsatisfied with your manhood or if your partner ever laughed at you for the lack of length/size, console yourself and look at THIS VIDEO. You would feel much much much better really, trust me. It goes without saying that it ain't safe for work/school of course.

I couldn't believed my eyes when my friend sent me the link just now. Oh my god, It was bloody hilarious and sad at the same time. People often claimed that size doesn't matter, but hey, if you had one of those like any of those men had in the video, that aged old saying would be a darn outright lie. HAHAHAHA.

According to the Kinsey Institute, there have been several instances where the genitalia do not exceed 1cm when fully aroused. Doctors call these a micropenis. Those unfortunate enough to be equipped with such organs can undergo reconstructive surgery to extend it to about, say 3 inches(7.6cm).

Only 3 inches? Ah well, better than 1cm I guess.

Audio Therapy of the Week #9

2005-11-12T17:29:00.000+08:00

In the late 90s and early years of the new millenium, I remembered clearly that punk was suddenly popular and hip with the crowd. Spiked hair, skinheads, piercing, baggy clothings and all that were in fashion. Mainstream acts like Blink 182, Green Day, OffSpring, Sum 41 were names associated with this genre. What actually makes Punk rock popular with the youths? Well, in my opinion, punk is about rebelling against the system, anger, creativity and wanting to be different from the norm. Most youths could identify with all these so that's probably why those bands made it big even though many do not really consider the current punk acts you see on MTV as true punk.

Punk rock had it's roots around the 70s as a reaction against genres that had overtaken popular music, punks did not really liked those disco music, metal and soft rock songs that filled the 70s. Punk rock in UK actually started with the rise of Thachterisim. Many of the punks were not happy with the monarchy system. They did not agreed with a queen ruling them and they wasn't pleased that they were alienated as they dressed, thought and acted differently from the average person at that time.

The movement started after the legendary Ramones had a concert in London in 1976. Many future punk rock groups attended and right after that, formed their own groups and got the UK punk rock scene started. Among them were The Sex Pistols and The Clash, where the latter is the one I am going to introduce today.

The Clash are known for being leftist and wearing clothes with revolutionary slogans. Like many of the early punk bands, they rejected the idea of aristocracy in the UK. But however, unlike many of the early punk bands, they did not agreed with nihilism. A lot of their songs are filled with these beliefs of theirs. With a solid showing in their homeland, they crossed the Atlantic and started touring the States in early '79 but didn't released their first US album until mid '79. It was called "London Calling", which was the height of their lyrical and commercial success.

Besides punk, the album contained different styles like raggae, rock and roll. The album is considered one of the best rock albums of all time by many. "London Calling" and "Train in Vain" are two of the more requested tracks from this. In 1982, they came back with "Combat Rock", their best selling album of all time. It contained "Rock the Casbah" and "Should I Stay Or Should I Go", which got into the charts.

The Clash split in 1986, a mere 10 years after they were formed. But still, they would be remembered as the forefathers of punk rock.

London Calling

Train In Vain

Should I Stay Or Should I Go

Rock The Casbah

Audio Therapy of The Week #8

2005-11-06T23:55:00.000+08:00

Mention local music to any locals and ask if they could come up with some names, most would probably come out with those Chinese singers that went to Taiwan and became household names. What about the pretty non-existant English music? Honestly, if you questioned me to name one English singer/group from our island some months ago, I would be stumped by that. But not any more, when I happened to tune in to a pretty grainy and edgy MV many many months ago.

The song was easy listening and catchy. I thought the MV was pretty low quality and who the hack was them? The name is Electrico, a band consisting of 4 dudes and 1 lady(!!!). I never heard of them before. It was when I tuned in to Perfect 10 sometime later after I viewed the MV that I finally knew the answer. They were a group from our island!?!?!?!?! That was impressive and surprising.

After some investigation, I found out the song on the MV was called "Runaway", which was their second single off their debut album. Their first hit single was "I Want You". Just a few weeks ago or so, I think I heard "Good Time" also. I love 'em all. After them, there was this female singer called Corrinne May who released her 2nd album this year. I guess it's time for the local English scene to catch up with the more popular local Chinese market here.

I Want You

Runaway

Good Time

I finally got this shit right...

2005-11-05T00:58:00.000+08:00

Finally. I started when I finished my dinner and after 4+ hours of trying different scripts, fiddling with the codes and nearly screwing up my template, I finally done it. Sheesh. What a pain in the arse.

What did I expriemented around with? Well, the "read on" thingy I mean. I used the previous post to test around. It is where a small part of the post is shown and the rest of the bullshit can be read when you click read on. I had been wanting to split my nonsense to this way so that it would look neater but I never really got down to it. Until now. It looks way neater I guess.

Damn, to think I nearly gave up just now to take my shower. I was so persistent and pissed off to get it right then I didn't noticed the time. Must thank my brother as he hogged the shower or else I would had proscrastinate again.

If only I had such enthusiasm in doing my daily FYP crap.

Everyday's a Friday this week

2005-11-03T17:37:00.000+08:00

This week must be the most screwed up week in terms of holidays. Sure, everybody loves not going to school/work for a day but what the hack? 2 holidays sandwiched in between 5 days. That is surreal. Normally I can't wait for Fridays to arrive any sooner as work is so darn uninteresting. But this week it's like everyday is Friday. Normally I have Monday blues, but not this week as Tuesday was a holiday.

Yesterday when I went back to work, it seemed that the office was quieter than usual. Hell, even the traffic was more smooth and free of jams. I guessed some of them took the day off. I wished I also could be like them and laze at home the whole week. But I don't have that privilege. It's just strange to go to work for one day, rest the next, go to work the next day blah blah blah. That is how it is like for this week. In a perfect world, I would had preferred today's holiday to be moved to a Friday on the next few weeks.

Yesterday was significant for the fact that I finally got the guts to do something I had been wanting to do all these months. Maybe it was because of what my colleague said to me last weekend.

A different way to spend a weekend

A Typical Saturday to me...

• Wake up late
• Catch up on the TV shows I had downloaded/watch my taped shows.
• Sleep again in the afternoon
• Watch footie on the telly
• Sleep late

Yes, I spend my time lazing around at home like the boring loser I am. But last Saturday, I actually got out of this cycle for a while. My department organised a cycling outing at ECP. 6 of us plus 4 ex interns before us went out to have fun and get away from looking at lines of lines of codes.

At the end of the session, my colleague (the one I get along with better than the other perm colleagues in my department, the one who helps and teaches the programming idiot in me and incidentally the one who also lives VERY near me) suggested going bowling. The others had left and I was now with the ex-interns whom I do not really knew that well. But my clothes were dirty and I was wearing slippers. That idea wasn't feasible. I suggested going to Settlers and play some board games instead. A few of them had heard before but never really did went there. I showed them my membership card and their eyes lighted up.

Stopping at Marine Parade for lunch, I told my colleague I was going to purchase a new clothing and then went off. 20 minutes later, I came back and I was surprised that they were only beginning to consume their food. Apparently, they went all around the hawker centre to search for me. They thought I was missing. I laughed out loud. My colleague said she didn't remembered me telling her that. So blur. Anyway what are handphones for? They were probably too worried to remember my status is just a call away. ¬_¬

Then some promoter came to introduce some fragrance at a cut throat price. She assumed that we were all students and was surprised when we told her that we were all from NP. She was also from NP, Mass Com. She even thought my colleague was like us, still schooling. She let out a laugh and told her that she have been working for a few years now. I think she must had felt really good inside. Someone thinking that she's still young. At first glance, she does look like the typical poly student. I was pretty surprised when she told me her age on the first day of work. She really don't look like it.

When we reached, I looked around for an empty table but it was all occupied. Imagine coming down all the way from ECP and getting turned away. That would had really sucked. It's always popular on the weekends but thankfully, there was still a spare table. Wasn't the first time I was here of course. It was my footie kakis who introduced me to this place. Been here like 5-6 times with them. I still liked it better than their Holland V branch.

We asked our helper to introduce some games. Never did played the first two before. But I did played before the last card game once. The helper was friendly and all and talking loudly like a bitch but she's pretty nice nontheless. Again, we were asked the same question by a stranger. She assumed that we were all still studying. I told her to guess how old my colleague was. Of course she got fooled by the first impression. My god, I guess she was really feeling damn high that day. Two strangers in an hour thought that she was still a teenager. The helper took the place of the other male in our group to play as he had cramps. Of course she owned us all with her quick reflexes and always grabbing the thing faster than us.
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Poo Poo and Words of Wisdom

"I think we take taxi home lah. You want or not? I am running late and want to shit liao. We share"

You should had done your business in their toilets before we came out mah. So funny leh.

"Aiyah. I came out then felt like pang sai mah. So you take bus ah?"

Here like no direct bus to our area leh. I share cab with you lah. But at this time like hard to get a taxi one. Maybe by the time it comes, the sai already come out liao. Hahaha.

"You keep quiet lah. It's not out yet. I can endure to Toa Payoh lah. How come the taxis here all occupied and not free one? Grrrr."

Cos they scared later you poo poo in their taxi mah. Smelly leh. I think we walk further up and try our luck lah.

"You don't say liao lah. Come let us cross the road to the otherside."

We walked to the junction and crossed to the opposite side. There was a couple standing waiting to cross the road. My colleague greeted that guy with a pretty surprised look. Later she said that it was her ex poly classmate whom she had not seen for a while now. We stood at the pavement for quite a while and still we ain't got any luck getting a cab. Thus, she decided to take the train instead. I really feared that she would crap in her pants on the train. Next time she really ought to get some Adult diapers lah. HAHAHAHA.

While we walked to the station, she revealed that she secretly admired him during school days. When we finally reached , we saw them again. What are the odds on that happening really? Throughout the train ride, it was pretty awkward. Both of them tried hard to be friendly and talked while me and that guy's girlfriend just kept quiet. Thank god it was over when we reached Dhoby Ghaut.

She mentioned about what my friend said over lunch that week. We (us 3 interns) were eating with her and one of my them mentioned about all the stuffs that happened to me last sem . In particular, me and that someone. I don't like to talk about that really. She said from my tone that day, she could sense that I liked her and told me I should give it a shot. Bloody hell, she doesn't even seen what's did went on and she knows? Apparently, she had asked that guy we saw twice just now to go steady. But everytime that guy rejected her. It was surprising that she's the type that would make the first move. Oh wait, I have never seen such girls before anyway. She added that she also made the first move on her current stead. Oh wow.

She said she tried asking once every year for 3 year but that guy flatly said no, she gave up and she didn't had regrets. She said I should live life without any regrets. I laughed. As I know I am not as persistent nor brave like her. I could never do the things that she did. I told her to forget it as the circumstances wasn't right. Yes, I do fancy that someone but it doesn't look like anything would come out of it. There I said it. But I don't have any expectations or anything. How can I? When I am outside and she's in school? How Can I? When I am going to be enlisted soon? My chances are next to zero. So I had never hoped for anything.

Balls to Call

Her words lingered in my mind the whole weekend. She was right. I would really let myself down for not trying. You only live once. Last night, I finally decided to do something about this. All my life, I had never called and asked a female out 1on1 before. Because I didn't had the balls to do so. I don't want to keep living with fear anymore. Fear of being laughed at. Fear of sounding stupid. Fear of rejection. To hell with it. I picked up the phone and dialled the numbers. A familiar voice answered, one which I had nearly forgotten.

Asked if she wanted to go out and watch a movie as I wanted to relax from the tedious working life. I cooked up an excuse (a rather weak one) that I'd asked my friends and they wasn't free blah blah blah. Alas, she got to work the next day. On a public holiday? That is weird. Strike 1. I asked what about Saturday then? She claimed it's her pal's birthday, which I thought was last week? Oh well, Strike 2. I'm not sure if she was telling the truth of just giving excuses to brush me off. But I later verified that she wasn't lying. Guessed that I'm unlucky then.

Surprisingly, I wasn't nervous at all when speaking nor did I felt sad after that. Alright, I lied. I felt a little disappointed. So full of hope but being shot down like that hurts a little. But that's about expected. I'm numbed to this feeling of setback already of course, when most of my pathetic little life so far is one sad joke. I didn't felt good lying to her. But if I was direct she would had been surprised. I shouldn't had bothered calling. The outcome was already what I had envisioned in mind and it came true.

So yes, that is why you are reading this now. Because I am at home. In the perfect world, I should be down at Orchard now. Enjoying a movie, having lunch and talking cock with that someone instead of with my usual gay army kakis friends. But no, that only happens in my dreams. And dreams never does come true for me. As usual. Why do I even try the impossible? I wonder at times.

Steven Tyler is right after all. What a great song.

Pissed off on Deepavali

2005-11-01T22:58:00.000+08:00

(WARNING: Lots of boring football nonsense)

Normally I am a very mild and easy going person. Not one who would take things personally. But not today, on the Festival Of Lights. Even thought it's still 4 hours+ after the worst ever experience I had in my years of playing footie on the Street Soccer court, I am still pretty fired up inside my belly.

Since my army kakis were free today, we went down to our familiar ground to kick around. We were just playing among ourselves as there were no other teams. Around 3pm+, came a group of Chinese boys riding your bicyclesto the court. I am guessing they are poly/secondary school students. They had around 10 people. I thought that was great as we would play them. My team made up of 5 people played their first team. We won them 3-2 with me scoring the last decisive goal and providing an assist. I just didn't really liked one of them as he only knew how to boot the damn ball out every other time or shoot the ball as if he's taking a rugby conversion. What a waste of time.

Then we played their second team, which was their 'A' team I presume. There were like 2 really arrogant looking guys in the team easily identifed by their flashy boots and who thought that they were all that skilful. They had a little skill to be honest but most of the time, their team only knew how to play rough and use cheap tactics like kicking the ball out whenever the ball is near the goalie in their half or when my team members is chasing the ball in their half. There are no corner kicks in Street Soccer and that is why when the ball is booted out by their people, it's a goal kick to them. There's nothing wrong with that and I sometimes do that myself but it's really a pain in the arse when they do that ALL THE TIME throughout the match. I hate playing such teams. Even my friends waiting outside to play after them didn't approved of their style of play also. Despite the frustrations, we whoop them 3-0.

3rd match, my kakis(2nd team) were playing against us when one of the guys from the first match(Mr BOOT THE DAMN BALL) requested for a 2 goal half court rule. We had always played 3 goals and full court (meaning can shoot from anywhere, even in your half) as they had more friends of theirs that had just came and they wanted it to be faster. Normally, it is the winner of the previous match or the team that came first(which in both cases is us) that decides on how it's going to be played. But no, they insisted on following their rule as they said it was a public court and blah blah blah. I told them either they play with our rules or just go to other courts. In the end, all of us agreed with a 2 goal full court rule. I can sense that they were pretty unwilling to compromise.

4th match my team was still in the court. We won the other team of my kakis. The outsiders came in with their star player. Even before he came in, I had already thought that he was an arse. As I was playing as goalie in the previous match, I could heard that he kept commenting and passing sacarstic remarks during the previous match. He just had the "I-will-own-you-all" snobbish look. The match was full of fouls and rough play with both teams kicking each other left, right and center. I didn't played rough. But I was kicked twiced and pushed a few more times. And there was even a high boot on my side of the face. I didn't even retaliate back unlike my team-mates. Tempers nearly flared when my friend squared up with the other guy for kicking his leg. it happened a few times throughout the game and I just stepped in and act as peacemaker. I guess the afternoon sunlight made them easily irritated.

5th match my team was STILL playing. We won that other team as they pressed the self destruct button by scoring a spectectular own goal. We were now playing my kakis again. I stayed in goal the whole match and I saved quite a lot of impossible shots if I didn't remembered wrongly. One of which was absolutely incredible now I think of it. I passed the ball out to my friend in front of me from a goal kick. He was standing on my right. Then the other team close in on him and my friend was hesistating when he suddenly passed the ball back to me.

The ball looked destined to be rolling into the left hand side of the goal. I was still standing at the same right side position when I finally realized what was happening. I quickly ran back to the left side, dived down and palmed the ball away in time. That was a pure reflex save and the most crucial one as my team was 1-0 up. But it came at a price as I brushed my left thigh against the ground. Pretty painful but I was very satisfied that I manage to kept out a potentially hilarious own goal. But I did concede one in the end(1-1) and then I came out of my goal to play outfield. I heard one of the outsiders sarcastically shouted "NGEE ANN GUY COME OUT LIAO." Then the other of their friends just laughed. I don't know why someone(me) wearing a Ngee Ann PE T-Shirt would be funny to them. They have a weird sense of humour perhaps.

My team won our 5th consectutive match. Some left and we were left with 8 people. Down from the original 13. We all went out of the court to take in some water. When we came in, the outsiders already were in the court getting ready to play each other. But when did we ever said we didn't want to continue to play? Did going out to the sidelines to drink some water meant we didn't wanted to play anymore? I guess they had this impression. I told them my team would continue to play as we won our last match and they had to choose one team to play against us next. There was one guy(SP shirt wearing) who then said "we couldn't wait to see you all leave and you should tellus when you leave." I could hear that he wasn't happy at all that we wasn't leaving. Of course, when your teams and anyone else couldn't beat us, it's natural to get jealous.

The 6th match was when the trouble began. It was about the same as the 4th match. Lots of rough play, time wasting and all that from them. Sheesh. I continued as goalie and conceded a really silly goal. My weak pass was intercepted by the guy in front of me and he scored easily. Arrgh. I was really angry with myself for that kelong freebie. I decided to switch with my friend and play outfield again. Then my team mate went in for a 50-50 ball with the opposition and then both squared up to each other as there was a foul. Both thought there was nothing wrong and then I stepped in as a peacemaker again.

But then the guy suddenly told me that he had a problem with me and now switched his sight to me. He said I should be less Sia Lan. What the bloody fark? I was just stopping them from getting into a fight and I was that? Then their other friend came in and shout angrily at me also. He said he couldn't stand my attitude and told me to change or else he would beat me up. I could honestly told you that if I was younger and crazier, I would had threw the first punch on him. But no, I was more matured than them. I had a brain which they pretty much lacked and one who thinks violence solve matters. Moreover, they had more people.

I just felt really confused inside. I didn't even do anything to piss them off. When I spoke, they just cut me off with their shoutings. I told him to calm down and relax for a moment a few times. They didn't gave a shit and kept talking in a tone like Ah Bengs wanting to get into a fistfight soon. I didn't even shout back to them even though I was getting a little angry at them. My team mates now acted as the peacemaker and told me to stop talking anymore. They told me to apologize to them. I did and offered a handshake and a "I'm sorry" even though I thought I wasn't wrong. I only did that because I wanted to get on with the damn game. I was gracious and acted like a gentleman, but that guy said I was not sincere blah blah blah. He only accepted it when their friends told them to shake my hand and then all the crowd went out of the court and the game resumed.

I was calm outside and angry inside. I would had kicked the hell out of them but I didn't do that. I don't believe in inflicting pain. The best way for revenge was to win the game. I later scored a goal to make it 1-1. I didn't celebrated nor do anything in case they thought I was xia-lan again. Moments later, my friend passed the ball to me. I was in the clear and one on one with the goalie. I shoot and then the ball hit his glasses and both the lenses fell off. I quickly went over to pick one up for him and to apologize to him for this. But then he angrily shouted at me. "I just made this yesterday and now it's spoilt. I want you to pay me!" He then continued that I deliberately aimed the ball hard to damage his glasses. SAY WHAT? He actually thought I wanted to take revenge by kicking the ball against his glasses? Hello? If I was so damn accurate to hit whatever target I wanted, I would have been in the EPL playing professional football liao lah. If I was deliberate, I would not had picked up their stupid lenses and pass it back to you and even wanting to apologize liao. Sheesh. I just kept quiet and walked back as I just did not want to argue with an idiot. Their friends pulled him away as he kept cursing at me. I was laughing inside.

My friends suggested that I sit on the sidelines as this was the best way for both parties. Thus I was subsituted against my will. I really was pissed watching the remainder of the game. How can he said that I deliberatly did that? I really did not meant to I swear by god. That was just an accident. Really, those playing sports regularly would know very well not to take your best glasses to play but instead wear your cheap and spare backup one. I always do that. On a few occasions playing in goal, I also got hit by the ball, lenses flying and sometimes even get cut near the nose. But do I bitch and whine or act like a crybaby? No, I understand very well that it's an accident. All this would be solved with a sorry. So I really could not figure out why that guy didn't knew all these beforehand.

My friend then revealed to me that they heard them said I looked really stupid when I was making a save by punching the ball which then flew over the fence. They claimed they would record it on their phones and show them to their parents and laugh together. I knew it. Their sense of humour was really weird like what had I thought. Then I suggested to my friend that they should had recorded the shot I took that hit the face of that idiotic goalkeeper and then bring it back to their parents and laugh together also. They should capture that moment because the glasses flew so far. That MUST BE FUNNY to them also. No?

I clapped very loudly when my team mate scored a great header to end the game. After the game, my friends and those outsiders talked, shook hands and laughed for all the nonsense that happened today. But I didn't. I just quickly stormed off home. Why should I stay back and apologize and get ridiculed by those buttholes? They are after all just inmatured young punks still. A few even threatened to beat me up if they saw me on the streets before I left. Bloody hell, I nearly pissed my pants when I heard that. Damn, I better go get myself some bodyguards later. Oh crap, I forgot I had to work tomorrow. I better equip myself with a few penknives and parangs in my bag just in case. Yea right. As if they would really do that. Talking big and making an empty threat is just so easy.

My mood was spoilt the whole evening and probably until the weekend. Next time if I saw them on the court, I might consider roughing them up. They were arguably the most low class and worst bunch of people that I had the pleasure to play against. Actually not the whole bunch, just 4 or 5 of them. Hell, even those Malays have more class than them even though sometimes they are irritating. The moral of the story is, next time you are playing Street Soccer or any other sports, better get as much people as possible, so that your chances of getting beaten up and facing an argument with ignorant uncivilised people would be much lower.

Audio Therapy of The Week #7

2005-10-29T19:45:00.000+08:00

With Mr ~~Gay~~ Jay "Mumble-His-Way-To-Fame" Chou's new album about to be released, it reminded me of an MV I saw a few weeks ago. He wasn't singing, but was just guest starring in it. For a group called (南拳妈妈). Even if you do not follow the Chinese music scene closely, you would had at least heard of Jay before, him being the prince of R&B, ex boyfriend of Jolin Tsai etc etc. But who the hell are the group that managed to get a big name like him to act for their MV you wonder?

Firstly, why such a weird name? Well, it's the name given by Jay. The "南拳" means strength as he likes martial arts whereas "妈妈" stands for teamwork and friendliness, like his mother. Just WTF is he on when he thought of that? It just sounds silly. He discovered them and is like a mentor to them. Kept on hyping them up before they came out. Originally they USED to be an all guys group. But then lately, two of them moved to production of the new album for the revamped group which now consisted of a girl and a new dude. She shares the vocals with another guy on the group.

I briefly listening to every song for a few minutes each yesterday and then carefully listened again just now. Overall, the album is passable, but nothing really ground breaking. They cover everything from pop, folk, hip hop, rap, R&B etc etc. I felt a sense of dejva vu as some of the songs just sound so awfully familiar to Jay's. I like the songs better when Lara sang. Her voice is kinda like Chen Qi Zhen. I would say tracks 1,2,3,4,7,10 would make alright listening.

But like the first album, I still do not find what's the bloody big deal with them. They are recommended by Jay himself but that doesn't mean they are good. But I got to give credit to them for writing every song and producing some songs on the album themselves. I don't really like them. Only wrote and reviewed all these for August, my man. Though that Lara is yummylicious. 17 and mixed blood. Hmmm Hmmm. *Ahem* I mean that is about the only saving grace about them. Sorry Jay, they are overrated, like you.

Album Download

*Mental Note To Self or anyone reading: Don't use WinRar when zipping files for uploading to YSI. I had thought that it was my connection screwing up but I tried it twice over two days and you know there's something weird when 1/2 a day is gone and it's still trying to upload the 50MB+ Zip file. I guess they do not accept .RAR files. Sheesh. I wasted my time. ¬_¬ *

Crap Course (Part 4)

2005-10-26T21:52:00.000+08:00

Rubbish Course + nonchalent student = blog post

Even before I got my Os results, I had already set my heart on getting into a Business course. My dad encouraged me and furthermore, I liked the idea of ~~being surroundered by hordes of girls~~ learning about how the economy works and other business stuffs. Anything except boring Engineering nonsense or courses dealing with a lot of Science hocus pocus.

First 2 choices were Biz courses in SP and NP. Whereas for the others, I anyhow chose as I honestly thought I could had gone in to my first choice anyway, so why bother carefully choosing the others? All this even though I was one point off the cut off point. It was really moronic of me to think that way. In the end, I got into this shitty course I am in now, my 6th choice and I only have myself to blame for all this.

Though I was not totally an IT idiot, I did not see how am I going to endure 3 years of this. Moreover, I had heard of this evil thing called programming before I got in. I also had this assumption that there would be a lot of losers and geeky people in IT. I really feared for the worst. My friends were congratulating me for finally making it to a poly, but I felt skeptical that it would be a smooth ride.

Entering the classroom for orientation, I saw a few that matched my description of geeky losers. Oh damn, I was right after all. It was uncomfortable sitting in a room filled with strange faces. I guess I made an immediate impression when the mentor asked everyone of us to introduce ourselves. While the others were talking about their interest in computering and proudly proclaiming that this was their first choice, I thought that I really was in the wrong place.

Somehow I thought some of them were fakers. They didn't sounded excited nor really sincere that they got in here. I'd got company then. But I can bet they only said that to go with the majority and please the mentor. I didn't liked to lie. I straight up announced that I didn't had any ounce of interest in IT nor am I delighted to be here. I have the balls to say what I thought,unlike them. The tutor asked why didn't I tried to appeal and I remembered very well that I said I was forced to be here, so I am going to go with the flow then. I really should had have gave a shot appealing. But since fate wants me here, I guess it's no point going against the system.

Struggle, unhappiness, frustration but alright classmates

As my mindset was different than most of them, it was hard to adapt to the new course. Year 1 was blissful for most parts actually. It was carefree and fun as we get to know each other better. The guys made full use of the LAN to play all their CS or whatever games. They were like crazy mofos, almost everyday stayed back to play. I didn't joined them as I don't know how to play it. I rarely paid attention to classes and thus I had pretty average grades(around C) but it didn't mattered much to me as I just wanted to quickly get past this 3 years.

I told myself to like the course. I tried but I still do not find any love for it even till now. It was painful to me to wake up every morning to go learn something I didn't liked, but I survived barely. Programming was indeed a pain in the arse for me like I had predicted. It was boring looking at lines and lines of codes and not forgetting those irritating errors.

I was lousy in it. Some people just ain't talented in some stuffs. For me, even if there was an MCQ Exam on programming, I would had flunked anyway. That's how rubbish I am. I remembered when I flunked my PSP2 Common Test, I went to the loo and looked at myself in the mirror and thought hard that I should really give it up. I really felt helpless at that time, how can I ever advance beyond to Year 2 if I can't even handle simple programming?

I seriously thought of switching over to Business if I did not pass my PSP2. I was finally going to end the struggle and get into something which I actually would enjoy. Bye Bye to I(Shit)T. But my good pal in class actually believed that I would pass and kept encouraging me and told me that this was just a little setback and that I could surely conquer it even though I told a lot of them that I don't see how I can make it. Somehow in the end, I scraped through. That was surprising to me. I guess Lady Luck was smiling at me. Perhaps, someone up there don't want me to leave.

Year 1 I kept a pretty low profile, talking to only a few of the guys. I only started to warm up to the others in Year 2. I realized some of them finally opened up and agreed that given the chance, they would had not come in here. Hah Hah. No turning back now. The class was getting smaller as two of the dudes dropped out. I'd thought I would be the first. But if I was younger a bit like most of my classmates, I would had switched over without batting an eyelid. But I was not getting any younger now and my dad would not had been happy with my decision. Better just bear it for 2 more years and graduate.

Despite my deep hatred for the course, I actually think the class is pretty united and close with each other. It can be seen through the chalet we had, birthday celebration outings, cycling activities, playing LAN games in class, going to everyone's favourite Chinaman Fei's house to get drunk, gamble and be merry, helping out each other during projects/assignments and a lot of other stuffs. It was like we were more than friends. Just like a close knitted army unit. Even I was not that close with my class in secondary school.

A few of my friends from other classes have conflicts, do not give a shit nor get along well with some of their classmates etc etc. So it is pretty comforting to know that despite coming from different backgrounds and having different personalities, everyone is alright with each other. Thank god at least my class ain't that screwed up, or else I would had felt MORE painful.

The End
*That's about all the bollocks I could remembered on my past. 4 chapters of it*

I miss school...sort of...

2005-10-23T22:30:00.000+08:00

Made a trip back to school yesterday as I wanted to loan some books which would hopefully aid me in what I am doing now, where I have not even the slightest knowledge on. Why didn't I went down to the nearest National Library then? Wouldn't it had been nearer? Well, the funny thing is the programming technology I am using now is an old version and I had already browsed the whole IT section in TPY Library few weeks ago and still couldn't found any materials on it

My colleague didn't believed me until she searched the online catalouge of NLB and she finally realized they really only have books of that programming langauge in it's latest version. Bah. So efficient and fast moving huh? All my years in campus, I had never borrowed a book before, only videos for viewing. There were times when I had wanted to, but I didn't knew my password. Thus, I did not bothered about it. Until now.

After an online check, I realized my card had expired. Funny, I haven't even graduated and they already cancelled my card. Those bastards. So I asked my colleague for his. He was reluctant as I nearly forgot to return him his handphone but in the end, he passed his precious to me. (If you are reading this now, I can only say FARK YOU for not trusting me. HAHAHA. Look at the pic leh. Your damn card is safe with me ok? Me not THAT blur now lah.) But anyway, with a card like mine which looks like the mice had bitten through it, I wouldn't had dared to ask the librarian for assistance. They would had #%@%^@ me, laughed at me or a combination of both.

Alighting at the familiar bus stop there were some people, which was surprising for a school holiday. I thought I had stopped at the wrong one when I saw this.

Renovations huh? I guess they are going to make the bus stop much much bigger which is a good idea as it's always bloody crowded after school hours. About darn time actually. There was even a new bus service passing through. 52 or something. How come they only start to improve things when I am not in school? Grrrr...

Walking through the ghost town like Atrium and up the stairs, I was finally in the air conditioned environment of the library. The books I wanted were on the top level. Not much people around the top level also, which was sort of errie even with me tuning in to my Poddy. After getting what I came here for, I went down to the much busier first floor to borrow a few books to read for leisure. There was this middle aged guy in my section. He was secretly enjoying this "How to find love" book and moved away when he saw me. Aiyah Uncle, no need to be shy lah. I'm not gonna laugh at you what.

While I was looking around, I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was that guy again. He asked if I was finding some nice books to read. I nodded, stopped listening to the loud music and followed him. He recommend this "Winners and Losers" book. Then went on and on, conviencing me that I should take a look at it as he had read it before and that it was a good book. It was a thick book and the contents were interesting but I didn't borrowed it in the end as I wanted some light reading.

After leaving the library, I strolled to Canteen 1, expecting to have my lunch of chicken rice. But it was closed. Arrgh. So long haven't ate it liao. The Canteen was filled with groups of people. They looked at me as if I am an alien when I walked past them to the bus stop. Oh well, I probably am one now, seeing that I do not go back to school anyway. Looking at the rugby field, those goalposts were gone and they were building some path across the field which lead to the bus stop. Kind of like a shortcut. Apparently, it is only part of a bigger plan as I saw this board near the gate.

Sounds great. Makes NP more hip actually but I wouldn't have the chance to use it. Bleh.

Audio Therapy of the Week #6

2005-10-22T13:18:00.000+08:00

Recently, it was reported that the above Rolling Stone cover was the greatest magazine cover ever for the past 40 years. Actually, I do not understand why such a creepy picture and one which shows a naked man in such a position could get so many editors excited. But I can fully understand the talent behind that naked man though.

Better known as 1/4 of the Beatles, the bespectacled John Lennon sings, plays the guitar and co written a lot of their popular songs alongside Paul McCartney. Towards the end of the Beatles last few albums, it was rumoured that the woman above, Yoko Ono was the reason behind the unhappiness brewing in the band. She wasn't popular with the other bandmates. He was so mesmerised with her that he actually dumped his wife and son for this Japanese woman. Lennon later went on a solo career after the band's split.

Many people consider "Imagine" as his greatest work. It is a simple, stunning and thought provoking song. In it, he describes his ideal utopia, one where there would be no religions and where there would be peace all around the world. Anyway, most of his songs carry a message behind, be it political, religious or love. He sings it all.

Lennon died in 1980 at a young age of 40, shot by some fan of his. The chilling fact about this was in the 70s, when asked how he expected to die, the reply from him was that he would probably be popped off (gunned down) by some loony. He was right after all.

Imagine

Stand By Me

Woman

Instant Karma

So much telly to watch, so little precious time...

2005-10-20T09:30:00.000+08:00

I follow quite a bit of American shows as you can see on the right of my sidebar. Most of the time they are shown on cable and thus I rarely watch sub par local telly on the free to air channels. God bless SCV though you have to agree they are *&@#@#&#@&$#* for not showing ~~boring~~ tatically different Italian Serie A and worst, giving lame excuses for the absence of one of the top European football leagues.

That really made me pissed off. I might not follow it as much but I want to enjoy the option to be able to switch over to watch it when I get tired of the EPL. But no, we won't have the chance to do that anymore this season as they say they would only bring it back next season.

Bloody hell, we as subscribers just paid for an increase for the Sports package a while back and this is how you treat us? Screw monopolisation of the cable TV industry here. The gahmen really needs to open up and let a few more companies in and give the consumers more choices. But yea right, as if they would do it. Why don't they you ask? It is because Starhub is (indirectly) partly owned by the gahmen lor, betcha didn't knew that!

Enough of the conspiracy theory. Back to local TV. Reason why I rarely watch it is simply because there's always the same ol' faces, same old format for the shows ala the 5463473438th eating/food shows, the tedious charities shows that's out to suck your wallet dry, laughable gameshows and bloody boring dramas. Especially those with a hidden message behind. Like those NKF, Heart disease foundation, "giving-birth-to-more-babies-to-save-the-dreadfully-terrible-low-birth-rate" kinda shows. Gahmen propaganda at it's best.

What captures my attention then?

I'm following Amazing Race(new season), Apprentice(3rd season), Lost(first season), Arrested Developement(2nd season) on the local telly. Lost and the Apprentice are in their new seasons over at the States currently. Thus, I have to wait till it finishes it's run here on local telly before I can start watching the new episodes from the new season that I had downloaded.

Unlike last time when I had to wait weekly to see the outdated (first season's) epsiodes of Lost and Desperate Housewives, this time I will download and watch. This is due to Channel 5 being slowwwwwwww and I can bet they will show the new season MONTHS later AGAIN. Sheesh.

I also have some stacks of tapes waiting for me. Usually get my sis to record the shows as I got to sleep early for work. Weekends I maybe watch one tape worth of shows(3 hrs), but still I have quite a lot more left. AHHHHHHHHH. So much to see, so little time.

Who wanna watch FREE movie?

2005-10-15T18:17:00.000+08:00

Anyone free or bo liao to accompany me to watch this? I've got a complimentary pass which admits two people. Normally I would had watch it with my good pal, but the problem is, he's stuck in this miserable little island of horror called Tekong. I don't mind watching it alone but well, I felt that would be a waste of another ticket.

If you're wondering how I managed to secure the pass, my sis won 2 pairs of it through an online contest. Those generous dudes even threw in some official flim's merchandise in the shape of lighters and rubbery things related to the movie. I used it as a water balloon just now. HAHAHAHA.

But there's a catch though. Can only watch on Monday to Thursday as it ain't valid on weekends, public holidays and after 6pm on Fridays/eve of public holidays. Bleh, I knew it. There's no such thing as a free lunch. Guess I only can watch after work then.

Interested? Well, you just need to ~~be a virgin~~ give a shoutout here on the tagboard, SMS or call me. If not, I guess I will sell it away.

Audio Therapy of the Week #5

2005-10-15T09:20:00.000+08:00

A few of my friends look at all the junk I've filled my Poddy with and ask me if I ever considerered buying original music instead of being be a cheap pirate bastard? Well, the answer is yes. I DID purchase music albums in the past before. Not that much now though. In fact I have quite a collection. Mostly Chinese ones though.

I used to listen to 933 in secondary school days. Remembered the DJ was recommending a new album and they played a ballad about breaking up. I thought it was bloody awesome and went out to purchase it even though I had never even heard of the singer before. Did not regretted it one bit as it was one of the best albums I had the pleasure to listen to.

His name is Zhang Zhen Yue (张震岳) and he's one cool guy with his I-don't-give-a-shit attitude and bad boy image. The album's called 秘密基地 and it's one mostly filled with rock songs and a few ballads. I like every song in it, no kidding. That is how good this gem of an album is. I tune in to it regularly even though it was released back in 1998! What's amazing is all 12 songs(+1 hidden track) were written and composed by him. He has talent alright.

I'll rip it and share with you guys then. Enjoy :)

Album download

Click here

P.S The chorus in Track #9 so perfectly describes my feelings now. *Sigh*

P.S.S Whoever has his earlier hit song (就是喜欢你) tell me hor. I can't find it anywhere for quite some time now.

School scared I racist ah?

2005-10-14T19:55:00.000+08:00

Ever since attachment started, I very rarely check the school email out. I'm glad I did just now. Because I am laughing my butt off after reading this.

Wah, they really care about us huh? But I mean I can't even take them seriously with that horrigible powderful England of theirs. Well, at least they didn't ban us from blogging.

Diary of a convenience store employee (Part 3)

2005-10-11T22:33:00.000+08:00

Working life in a convenience store

After my Os, I had loads of time until school starts. ~~Relaxing~~ Rotting at home was not I had wanted. Imagine doing nothing but sleeping late, waking late and wasting your time like that for months? I am not the sort that can stomach such a lazy lifestyle. Furthermore, my mum kept nagging at me to go find a temp job.

That was when my aunt asked me if I'm interested in working with her down at the convenience store. She told me that the outlet belonged to my uncle in law's sister and they would prefer that their employees be somewhat related to them as there have been cases of employees whom stole money from them.

I was fine with anything. I didn't even asked about the working hours or pay. As long as I'm not staying at home, I didn't gave a crap. Even though honestly, I am not close with that side of my relatives. Had heard of them before through my other aunt that they were somewhat well off. She told me they used to franchise a KFC outlet before switching to 7-11, where they had 2 stores.

I had never worked before and was like a naive and ignorant 18 year old. First few days at work, I was paired with my aunt who gave me a crash course of everything on how to make the store running smoothly. Before this, I thought those cashiers at the convenience store had an easy time. Just scanning the items and collecting $, what's so difficult right? How terribly wrong my assumption was until I got into it.

Maybe it only applied to the morning and afternoon shifts. But on the night shift, there are lots of crap to do. Let me list them all out. Clean the Softee machine, pour the Milo/Lemonade or softee mixture in if it's empty, mop the floor, fill up the shelves with stock, check the stock if the deliverymen comes and then move them into the storeroom, go search for expired sandwiches/meals. Count all the stamps, cards left before shift ends, restart the cash registers. Throw the rubbish out. Count the leftover newspapers/count the fresh newspapers that come in the morning. etc etc. Add all these to handling the customers. Multi tasking "cashier" indeed. That extra $10 ain't that easy to earn.

The first few weeks I found it really tough going but I did not bitched at all as I had my experienced aunt beside guiding me through. Some stores have only one people doing all the tasks I'd mentioned above. So you can imagine how farked up it is. But, I enjoyed the tranquil early mornings.

Working at sunrise shift suits me just fine. My boss placed me on that shift for the first few months. Occasionally on the afternoon shifts too. I was at the same outlet until she decided to switch me to their main one at Tanjong Pagar (there's only one in that area if you're wondering) anyway.

New enviroment, new people

When I first got there, I immediately realized why this was their flagship store. There was a long line of queue and customers kept coming in. It was definitely busier than the one I'd been in all those months. Another tell tale sign was their drinks/beer chiller was so much bigger than the first outlet. Behind the chiller was a freezer to store all the cartons of beverages. This was better for us as refilling of drinks would be much easier and colder of course.

The store is definitely much busier. Staring work at 11, the stream of customers would only die down at around 2am. It might be due to PSA being nearby and of course, not forgetting the rows of pubs just down the street. I'd also noticed cigarettes, condoms (well, it's just opposite a hotel), liquor and cards sell better here. The best (or worst) thing was there were all sorts of customers you would meet when on the job. Like...

------------------
1) The drunkard

Most dangerous type of customer. They would make a lot of noise, talk very loud and ~~refuse to admit they are indeed pissed drunk. Not even when they can't even turn a few rounds properly~~ Errr...I mean...walk unstably into the store, approach the chiller to grab beer. Sometimes they would keep talking to you in a gibberish manner. My partner advised me not to offend them or make them angry as they might hit you, like a few did to her sometime ago. Some even walk off without paying and you won't want to chase them as someone who's wasted cannot control their actions. I usually pray that they do not puke in the store. It would be troublesome for us to clean up.

2) The cardboard/can collector

Harmless, elderly and occasionally smelly. They usually pick up all the cardboards and empty drink cans we throw to the rubbish bin outside. Sometimes they would come in and ask if there was anymore. There was one which I hated. Whenever he came in, the store was filled with a digusting odour. The worst thing was he walked really slowly to get his can of Red Bull. My partner hated him more than me. I don't blame her. Even I hold my breath whenever he comes in.

3) The horny middle aged man and the hooker

They usually come in to stock up on "raincoats" and to buy some cards. Most of the time, the prostitutes don't look local and occasionally there are some Ang Moh men in their 30s accompanying their escort. I bet they would cross the road to Amara to ~~watch TV~~ "you-know-what" in their room. It's not hard to notice that some of them wear a ring on their hand. I can't help but imagine do their spouses back home know their partners are out there fooling around?

4) The "Wah lau eh why so expensive" whinger

I guess some people just are too dumb to realize that it's not called a 24 hour store for nothing. Some of them complain to us. But it's not like we set the price of the items. Blame them instead alright? Some just storm off and vow never to come back. Suits me fine, one less idiot to handle. Just stop bitching and don't patronize if you think that it's unfair. Sheesh. Even I do not buy stuffs from them when I am off duty as I think that it's honestly a rip off.

5) The underaged Ah Beng wanting to buy ciggies/liquor

They would try everything to fool us like speaking in a more matured voice, wear grown up clothes etc etc but we're not that dumb. You still have to hand over your identification. Some beg, ask us to turn a blind eye or give the most lame excuse ("Oh, I forgot to bring IC lah!) but no card, no talk lor. Bugger off then, little boy. Sometimes I know they are underaged but I would still let them off. Only when my partner ain't beside me that is.

6) The impatient/illiterate newspaper desperado

Some of them would keep on coming in and ask us when the newspapers would arrive. We tell them that we have no damn clue as it's due to the deliveryman's route. When the deliveryman is late, I really hate it as it means that I have to repeat the same answer to every few minutes. Grrr. When the stack of newspapers finally arrives, I have to quickly count it so that I can place it on the shelves. But some of them just grab what they want from when I'm counting. Bloody impatient bunch of rude fellas.

Afternoon shift when the Chinese newspapers are sold finish, we would put a sign in various languages by the shelves which informs them that there ain't any more. But still, we have people annoying us asking if it's true or whether we kept any extra copies. ¬_¬ Sometimes, I really want to scold all of them but I can't as I cannot be rude to them. Even my boss agrees with me. Why should we bloody lie to you all? Nothing better to do ah? Duh.

7) The Holier-Than-Thou arses

Sure, I might just be a lowly employee. But I am still a human being after all. Kindy keep your voice down when voicing out your dissatisfaction. Be it the Straits Times you bought is missing a section or the bread you got tasted funny, it ain't any of our fault anyway but we would gladly exchange it for you if stop being so unreasonable. Yes, I know you despise us from the way you look us.

Go ahead and threaten about complaining to my boss about rude service, I don't give a shit. Because after all, you are in the wrong as you verbally abused us. At the end of the day, you might be richer, smarter, older, better or have bigger tits than me but the fact of the matter is you're still an asshole.

------------------
Despite all the idiots I might come across, I am quite alright with this job. I mean, well, even when it was the holidays, I went back each time to work for the first 3 semesters. It was because I enjoyed working with the people there. I am among the youngest there. Most of them can be my mother/father/big brother.

I might have a love-hate relationship with my boss as she's fierce and tomboyish looking with short hair (she's called Audrey hahaha), but still, I think she likes my workrate despite me being inmatured when handling customers at times and late for a lot of times. Morever, all of us there are sort of related. They do take care of me well. I won't mind going back after my boring attachment to work for fun and pass time until enlistment. But I doubt there's a place to accomadate an old bird like me.

To be continued....

Blogger has gone bonkers

2005-10-08T00:26:00.000+08:00

I have been experiencing this bug thingy for a week or so now. Whenever I want to type up a new post. This is what I would see on my screen.

The icons go all the way DOWN when by right, it should be positioned ACROSS the screen. It is a pain in the arse to compose a post but the worst thing is, a few of the buttons ain't usable as it's broke. Stupid bug.

I thought it was my browser's problem. Even when I switched over to M$ IE, it was still the same. I tried downgrading my Firefox to an earlier version, but it doesn't do any difference. Must be spyware then? Even when i scan finished using Ad-Aware and Spybot, it still stayed there!

So I thought of logging out and back in to see if it would mattered. This was what I saw.

Duh, even their main page is a little weird. Thus, I emailed their support team few days ago and asked what the hell was happening. Unfortunately, I only received an automated reply advising me to check out their FAQs section. It ain't do any crap to solve my problems as there wasn't any thing on there about cocked up layout.

I wonder if I'm the only one experiencing this. Anyone with a Blogger account would verify if you're facing this problem too?

Update: The layout's back to normal now. No more cursing and frustration when typing up a new post again.

Audio Therapy Of The Week #4 D-Day Special Edition

2005-10-06T15:18:00.000+08:00

Blood, Sweat and Tears

Today is the day when the exams results are released. Normally, I could barely sleep well the night before. But strangely, I slept like a baby last night. Though it did not meant that I was 100% confident about doing well. There were still a little doubt that I might flunk in one module.

On the way to work this morning at 8+, my classmate messaged me asking how I did. The hell, So fast know already? Not even 9 yet and they released it? Maybe he subscripted to the SMS option. I never did, not even from the 1st sem as I did not want a message revealing my results. Imagine if you were having your breakfast and your phone beeped. You happily expect an SMS from your friend but to your nasty surprise, it's the results you're reading instead.

If you did crap, the rest of the day would felt really rotten. I'd rather found it out by myself by logging on to the school's site. If I expected myself to scrape through/borderline results, I would wait until at night to check it out so I would not feel that horrible in the afternoons. At least I am well prepared for any setbacks

How did I do? I did what I had predicted. Pretty good. But I should had done better for my SS. Grrrrr....But I can take comfort at the fact that I finally got my first (and last) AD and moreover, this sem was my best results ever if you judge it by GPA.

(Click for clearer view)

Yea, I know. Not top student standard but to me, it's pretty good enough. Even though I am at office staring at all these lines and lines of boring ASP nonsense, I still feel terrific. It's like nothing can bring my mood down today. Life indeed feels much better today somehow. I rarely am satisfied with myself and a lot of things. But today I feel GREEEEEEEEEEEEEEATTTT. :)

Stop the bragging, what's this week recommendation then?

Whenever I feel down or pissed off, I would seek out Weird Al Yankovic's songs. It never fails to make me feel a little better and laugh like an idiot . He is really a genius.

He's a parodist, meaning that he sort of copies other people's work for comic effect. Listening to his songs, you would feel how come the tune is familiar whereas the words are changed. That is what he does. He writes the lyrics to the songs and uses the tune of popular songs to make a new song.

Not only that, he also spoofs music videos. I managed to find a few and compared with the original singer's, there were lots of similarities. Oh man, he is damn bloody hilarious. To avoid misunderstandings, he would always seek permission from the singer before he spoofs their songs.

Being funny does bring recognition too. He has won 2 Grammys over the years for Best Comedy Album. No kidding. He does write his own original songs also. But still, he's more famous for his parodied works.

Try guessing the songs he copies from. hahaha

Eat it:
http://s17.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=261MQ10RODSGE30EJCLJDOD77O

EBay:
http://s13.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1OTMMG9BBDWDO0INNBJARG90DA

Fat:
http://s17.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=27GQBTBOBFQPT1RXDFUDBSOX46

Like A Surgeon:
http://s13.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=107JXWNJPD8J82SMJYH041AHZF

The Saga Begins:
http://s17.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2BTJN6HJJC6IU12PJ19AUCJ4L4

Dare To Be Stupid(Original):
http://s13.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=23LDGT6N08NVB1AHO6QY6Z2ICA

You Don't Love Me Anymore(Original):
http://s13.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0DFNC951HJ52X3TDEDE3MH0GOG