Life's a Journey, Not a Destination.

25 June 2009 (Thursday)

2009-06-24T01:50:00.001+08:00

This is the day my life will change. For better or for worse, no one knows.
But one thing's for sure, I am gonna miss AR, Mum and my family back here in SG.

Last Day

2008-11-25T10:25:00.004+08:00

24 Nov 2008 (Mon) - my last working day in NEA.

There was a farewell breakfast (Nasi Lemak) for me and another colleague who was also leaving on the same day. I had requested NOT to have any farewell party cos I felt it was meaningless and a waste of money too, but then because there was another person involved, I guess they wanted to 'kill 2 birds with 1 stone'.

Anyway, I returned all my stuff and left before noon.

Mulyadi asked me if I did shed a few tears, of course not! And he asked me if I felt even a little sad about leaving, of course not! Why should I be? Why do I have to feel sad about leaving a great big wayang and meaningless lie of a job behind me? LOL

Final Task

2008-11-15T21:51:00.002+08:00

at long last, my final task in NEA has come and gone. It was the culmination of more than 3 mths of sheer hard work, frustration, and certainly some uplifting moments as well, when some of my colleagues came together to really work as an effective team, in order to make this event a succeess, even though at the end of the day, we knew we were doing for the sake of having to do it. there was really no sense of satisfaction at the end of the day. nothing substantial was achieved, people will not change their mindsets overnight, and certainly not in the near future as well. what's the point of doing something so meaningless then? well, because we just had to do it. brainless? yeah. totally.

*~*

and of cse, i shld dedicate a few lines to the few people who have exploited our collective sense of responsibility and just left everything for us to do, even when YOU have been assigned to do it. you may feel that you have won it this time (and perhaps many other times in the past or in the future as well), by slacking totally and conveniently leaving everything to us. but i tell you, you know who you are (not only one but a few), you have really lost it. not only did you lose what little respect we had left for you as a colleague, but you have also totally lost your credibility and reliability as well. You should really be ashamed of yourself, although I know you probably have no sense of it at all. come on, in the pte sector, you would be the first ones to be axed.

*~*

24 Nov - that will be my very last day in NEA. In a way, I am very glad that I am leaving as I really hate dealing with the unreasonable public. Maybe it's bad karma; I had been a nasty member of the public before, so it's payback time now. and payback time is finally over.

*~*

a new chapter of my life will begin soon. and i noe it'd be good from now on.

A new career

2008-11-05T17:42:00.004+08:00

It's been ages since I last wrote something in this blog, and many, many things had happened since then:

Sept 2006: Last blog entry

Dec 2006: got married! went for honeymoon in Melbourne+Tasmania (1 whole month!!)

Jun 2007: Left Science Ctr and joined MOE (big mistake! left soon after), went for short holiday in Bangkok+Kanchanaburi

Aug/Sep 2007-Nov 2007: bummed around aimlessly, did some meaningless jobs here n there, just to get by

Dec 2007: joined NEA, thinking this is where I'd spend the rest of my working life (come on, it's less than 30mins away by walk-bus-walk and only 3 bus stops away from home!)

June 2008: Vacation in New Zealand (South Island) - about 10 days

June 2008: applied for XXX Cadet Pilot programme (had applied before in 2007, but turned down the chance to go for the 1st interview due to personal reasons)

4 July 2008 - got email to attend 1st interview at XXX Training Centre

18 July 2008 - went for 1st interview

24 July 2008 - received email telling me to go for 2nd interview on 30 July

30 July 2008 - finished 1st amongst 10 applicants for morning's psychrometric tests (fun!), had lunch at canteen with fellow applicants (food was alright..), last person to go into interview room at around 4:30pm (long and tiring wait for me turn..), came out for tea party. Thought I fared badly at interview, cos I was actually having stomach cramps (kan cheong? hungry? cold? dunno..). went home thinking I won't make it and will be stuck in NEA forever.. sadness..

31 July 2008 - had to call at 11:30am to find out results of 2nd interview (super kan cheong!) morning went down to SRP with Mulyadi, Shaun and Mun Wai to see-see-look-look.

11:30am: "Congratulations Mr Wong! You have made it through the 2nd interview, please go for your medical checkup tomorrow"

Yes! I made it! Huge sigh of relief.. I think my psychrometric test results helped me (honestly, I had fun during the computer tests), despite my poor showing in front of the poker-faced interview panel.

1 Aug 2008 - went for medical checkup

18 Sep 2008 - after a long wait, finally got a call from XXX, telling me I have to redo my blood pressure test, just to be sure, once I submit the results, they will offer me the 17 Oct OBS course. Hmm.. but it's a little too late for me to tender my one-month notice, plus I had lots of work and responsibilites on my shoulders now. If I leave now, what will happen to my colleagues? Nevertheless, went to redo my BP, everything was okay and I was offered the 17 Oct course, but I chose to defer to 28 Nov due to current work commitments (even till today, I wonder if I did the right thing.. ha..)

19 Sep 2008 - offered the 28 Nov OBS course

24 Oct 2008 - tendered resignation with NEA, last day will be 24 Nov

1 Nov 2008 - employment package came via Speedpost, but no one was at home, so it got redirected to the nearby post office

3 Nov 2008 - picked up employment package, letterhead is from XXX itself; sent back receipt confirmation on the same day via Speedpost (costs me $9.15..)

5 Nov 2008 - AR returned from her school's Shanghai trip this morning, went to T3 to pick her up. She's sleeping as I'm writing this new blog entry now. Life is gonna change, for me, for AR, for everyone close to me and my heart. I don't know what's in store for me in the future, but I can rest assured that it's all in God's plans.

Amen.

10 Commandments of Marriage

2006-09-26T12:35:00.000+08:00

COMMANDMENT 1

Marriages are made in heaven. But so are thunder and lightning.

COMMANDMENT 2

If you want your wife to listen and pay strict attention to every word you say, talk in your sleep.

COMMANDMENT 3

Marriage is grand -- and divorce is at least 100 grand!

COMMANDMENT 4

Married life is very frustrating. In the first year of marriage, the man speaks and the woman listens. In the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens. In the third year, they both speak and the neighbours listen.

COMMANDMENT 5

When a man opens the door of his car for his wife, you can be sure of one thing: Either the car is new or the wife is.

COMMANDMENT 6

Marriage is when a man and woman become as one; The trouble tarts when they try to decide which one.

COMMANDMENT 7

Before marriage, a man will lie awake all night thinking about something you say. After marriage, he will fall asleep before you finish.

COMMANDMENT 8

Every man wants a wife, who is beautiful, understanding, economical, and a good cook. But the law allows only one wife.

COMMANDMENT 9

Marriage and love are purely matter of chemistry. That is why wife treats husband like toxic waste.

COMMANDMENT 10

A man is incomplete until he is married. After that, he is finished..

Wedding Photo Shoot

2006-07-22T23:56:00.000+08:00

SATURDAY 22ND JULY 2006

finally, the day of our long-awaited photoshoot has arrived.

we promptly arrived at our bridal studio 15 mins to 10am, but found the door locked. so, we just went for kopi first at a nearby ya kun shop, returning only at 10:30am.

by the time the first makeup for her was finished, it was almost 12noon...

then followed another 3.5 hours of posing, changing in n out of costumes, re-apply and touch-up makeup, before we could finally take a break at 3:30pm... and we had not even had lunch!

i was coughing really badly and was having a bout of flu n slight fever as well then, but fortunately i survived. thinking back, it was quite fun, but certainly quite tiring as well.

at about 4:15 pm, after having a quick bite, we headed out for our outdoor photo shoot.

first stop: Botanic Gardens. well, we lost our way. sort of. anyway, people were amused and kinda tickled to see us there, in gown and suit. fortunately, it was a rather cloudy day, else i would have perspired even more!!

second stop (final stop actually): Fullerton Hotel area.
ang mohs walking by us (presumably tourists) would all congratulate us and stuff... while fellow Singaporeans will either stare at you as if you are some weirdo from another planet or they would all 'siam' you like the plague.

was told by the photographer (quite a funny chap) to 'run' towards him but not to be 'too drama-mama'. wah.. beri cheem... after 3 unsuccessful and highly embarrassing trials, and also quite tiring, we gave up and decided to just wait for sunset to take a few nice pictures with the Fullerton as the backdrop. (very cliche i know.. but its nice okay..)

hopefully, the pics will turn out fine and that we will not have too much trouble choosing 24 out of the more than 120 shots we took for the whole day...

and paying extra $75 for each additional 15R or $30 for each additional 4R? no way man..

3rd August 2006 that's the day we will choose the final 24 pics...

here's a pic we took in Perth in June by ourselves:

Lala pics

2006-05-12T23:39:00.000+08:00

Bridal package settled...

2006-04-22T23:06:00.000+08:00

well, today was quite an eventful day. AR n I had planned to go search for a bridal studio n package after our marriage prep course. once we alighted from bus 145 at tanjong pagar, we got approached by a staff from the bridal studio (situated strategically just behind the bus stop!)

we went in, yakked n haggled for 2 hrs, and finally signed up for a package costing $2488, paid $888 (nice number!) in advance, and left. we are gonna select the gowns on 20th May. well, so much for going around different studios to compare prices... we settled for the first one we went to.. ha..

Really thank God for everything...

Wedding Bands!!!

2006-04-16T22:18:00.000+08:00

got our wedding bands from Lee Hwa Jewellery yesterday! was a bit over budget but we are overall very elated that we finally got something done! heh.. but because the rings are CMO (custom-made order), can only collect in June..

next will be looking for the Bridal Gown + photography package and hunting for a reliable ID (Interior Designer) to do up our home! yay! Gonna collect keys in June.. so excited..

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

on wednesday (12th Apr 2006), i got a new hamster (syrian) from great world city. it was meant as a gift for AR, to reward her and make her a happier person since she's been working really hard over the past month (preparing exam papers!). We named the little fella 'La La', shall post pictures of him when i have more time.

now, he's sharing the same habitrail cage as Momo, our Roborovski hamster. Everything seems fine but i can tell Momo ain't very happy now that there's someone in what used to be his territory... shall get another cage from a fren soon, which means there's be one more cage to clean! adoi! what have i got myself into??? but i like them both a lot and i'm sure AR would agree with me.

Confirmation!

2006-03-18T10:39:00.000+08:00

got a call yesterday when AR and I were about to leave wild wild wet. it was a call from our church!

and they have confirmed our wedding date to be 2nd of Dec 2006! yeah!

it's really God's grace that we are able to get a confirmed date! at least now everything else seems to fall into place and we can start making preparations..

next week gonna go down to Suntec to book our honeymoon package and we are aiming to go Europe for 3 weeks! woot!

3rd Jan 2006 - 3rd month anniversary

2006-01-03T19:41:00.000+08:00

Here's me with 'Darth Maul', a character from Star Wars.. but he's so short.. ha..

today's the exact 3rd month anniversary of me working at ssc. seems like i've been there for a long time.. gosh.. am i starting to get sick of my work? i guess sometimes i am.. i mean, how exciting can it get doing shows everyday? or conducting classes and doing shows, now that the sch hols have ended.

but at least, i can get a $300 rebate if i buy a PDA now that i have worked for 3 months.. heh..

ssc has lost 2 very capable science educators (SEs) over the past month and i must say mgmt has a part to play. n i do foresee that more people are going to leave as well.. just pray that mgmt n HR can wake up their ideas and do something to rectify the problem; they know it is there, they are just choosing to ignore it as if we are all so dispensable..

otherwise, all my fellow colleagies have been a wonderful and fun bunch of pple to work with! n i dread to think of the day when more SEs were to leave us..

2 more days n i get to celebrate AR's 26th b'dae with her!! wonder whether we can get married by end of '07.. must save money!! but now that Nikon just released a 10.2MP DSLR camera that will set me back by at least S$5k, i dunno... haha...

AR recovering!!!

2005-11-01T12:17:00.000+08:00

AR came down with the dreaded dengue fever last week. she was admitted to a hospital near town (SARS hospital) on 22/10 but was discharged on 23/10 for a mere 'blood viral infection'. but her condition got worse and on 27/10, she was admitted to SGH for dengue. stoopid hospital-near-town!!! can't even detect dengue!!! dammit!!! my colleague's mum also nearly lost her life as they did not detect that she had pneumonia and my colleague transferred her to NUH instead.

anyway, AR was discharged (thank God!) yesterday and is now resting at home, covered in mosquito nets by her now super kiasee mum and eldest sister. and they said if she goes out, she must cover herself with mozzie repellent!! omigosh..

but i'm mighty glad she's okay now. it made me realise how impt she is to me and how much i really love and treasure her.. heh..

Forces of Flight

2005-10-24T14:58:00.000+08:00

3 weeks into my new job at the SG Sci Ctr. I must say i'm loving it (no, it has got nothing to do with having a Macdonalds at the entrance!). My big day is tomorrow, where i'd be giving a lecture on the 'Forces of Flight' to a group of 266 sec sch students (St. Andrew's)! omigosh! i hope i dun freak out! There's a prepared powerpoint presentation but i have made some changes to it for the past few days.. I hope i pull through without being too overwhelmed.. heh..

Nikon D50

2005-10-16T21:40:00.000+08:00

i wonder if i should get this camera, which i expect will take up my entire 1st paycheck if i were to get its accessories (zoom lens, external flash, extra battery etc.) but, is it really necessary?

obviously, the present digicam i have (Canon A95) cannot satisfy my photographic needs. but consider this: i am already very lazy to bring my A95 and tripod out to take pics. will i bother to bring the Nikon D50 (which will weight about 700 gms with battery pack installed) out to take pics? haiz...

but it will definitely make a very good Christmas present for myself, considering I am on duty on X'mas Day itself!! yes, i gotta blardy work on X'mas Day!! but then again, i get to have a day off-in-lieu after that. not too bad lah. and since Star Wars will be showcased in sci centre then, perhaps i can dress up as Santa-Darth Vader-Claus. ha..

so now back to the question. Nikon D50? to buy or not to buy. tough choice.

2005-10-04T20:05:00.000+08:00

As above. LOL

First day at new job

2005-10-03T20:59:00.000+08:00

today is the very first day of my new job at the SG Sci Centre, working as a Sci Educator. to be frank, i did not sleep well last night (new job jitters, as according to AR).

well, i had an uneventful first day, going through endless policies and more HR briefings.. coupled with a tour of the entire grounds of the sci centre and the omnitheatre, the place is rather huge, well mebbe i'm just too tired... so tired that i'm having a headache now (most prob also due to the lack of slp).

the hardest thing about starting a new job is not the job itself, but to remember the names and faces of numrous new colleagues and getting them to like and accept u as part of them. i'm sure everyone faces this problem. i was introduced to perhaps 25% of all the staff there today as about 75% were either on leave or on off (they dun really operate on mondays). so that leaves me to get to know the next 75% from tomorrow onwards. but frankly, i can only remember the faces and names of less than 5 people now..

i can't really imagine myself handling a class of rowdy pri sch or pimply and rebellish sec sch students. guess i will learn how to in due time.. but the good thing is, as put across to me by the staff there, unlike school teachers, we only see the students for 1.5 or at most 2 hrs. school teachers have to face them EVERYDAY.. so to all school teachers, i salute u!

i'm still having a headache. hope i can slp well tonite.. yawn..

POOL is soooo BLUE... nice..

2005-09-29T19:46:00.000+08:00

in last night's champion's league match between Liverpool and Chelsea, Liverpool was denied a definite and crucial penalty.. haha... just too bad... although i had wished for Chelsea to lose and shut the damn big mouth of jose mourinho and roman abramovich, but somehow, i'm pretty happy too that Pool was denied the penalty.. ha..

Macritchie adventure

2005-09-27T19:56:00.000+08:00

me went macritchie reservoir to take pics today and as expected, i saw some really cute monkeys over there. but there was this little one who was so fearless (and thought that i had food on me, i wished i did as i was super hungry then!), he approached me rather quickly on the boardwalk.

the right thing to do in this kind of situation would be to remain calm. but when he showed me his fangs, i knew he meant business. so, with eyes still on my camera's LCD screen, i took a few steps back (with the fella still chasing me..)

unfortunately, i did not notice a change in the boardwalk's direction (behind me) and my right leg fell through (left leg still on the walkway). if not for a slender tree behind me (which supported my body but scratched the back of my right arm), i would definitely have fallen into the reservoir!!

looking back, i guess it's okay for me to get wet, but if my camera were to spoil because of that little fella, i'm gonna take it upon myself to ensure that it will not live to see tomorrow.. ha..

convo pics, finally..

2005-09-26T16:51:00.000+08:00

after many weeks of delay (due to rain and stuff) and laziness, i've finally taken convo pics with AR. she had graduated 2 years before me but willingly donned her convo gown with me in the extremely hot weather.

well we had fun posing for some stoopid but funny-looking pics but the weather was almost unbearably hot! unbelievably, we managed to wrap up everything in under 2 hours! under my constant grumbling and complaining about how hot it was to walk around in the gown.. heh..

perhaps, this is good training for when we take wedding photos next time! =p

2005-09-23T19:52:00.000+08:00

Here's a new picture of Momo!!

Tomorrow must buy 瓜子 for Momo

2005-09-23T19:31:00.000+08:00

for the past 2 days, my pet roborovski, Momo, isn't in a very good mood, cos he has no 瓜子s to eat (sunflower seeds, de-shelled). this is because his treasure trove of sunflower seeds has been invaded by Ahzit's (see here) friends, the ants. i had no choice but to throw the entire jar away.. and i haven't had the time (actually i'm just plain lazy) to go buy new seeds for him (he can't really de-shell the seeds that u find in normal hamster food, well maybe he's too lazy too, like me! ha!).

anyway, since i'm going out tomorrow to (finally) take my convo pics with AR (pray it does not rain again!), i will definitely drop by Carrefour and get the little fella some fresh sunflower seeds!

today is my last working day as the (temp) taxman. honestly, i dun feel sad about leaving at all. but i shudder to think of how screwed up the tax agency really is.. and how i might possibly get a penalty next time (even though i swear i had filed my taxes on time!). one thing's for sure, i'd miss the teh-tarik there (found in cafe on 5th floor).

a POOL of RED DEVIL-ish crap (i.e. sh*t)

2005-09-18T21:25:00.000+08:00

everytime there is a MAN U - LIVERPOOL clash in the EPL, fans here in SG are sure to wear the jerseys of the respective teams they support, today is no exception. however, it is with great disappointment that the match should end in a goal-less draw.

my 2 elder brothers are Liverpool fans, so are some of my friends, like Alvin, Justin and Jac (who's more likely a Steven Gerrard fan rather than a Pool fan! Ha!).

to be frank, the last time i sat through a soccer match on TV was during World Cup 2002, i HAD to as i was sitting in front of one working as a call centre customer service officer at SCV (present day STARHUB). yeah, we could watch TV at work and DURING work. and we were watching the WORLD CUP! eat your hearts out!

anyway, i'm no big soccer fan but like all boys back in the good old secondary school days, our topics of discussion tend to include things like which girl has the shorter skirt, whose pimple is bigger and of course, EPL. and so i became a soccer fan (then, not anymore). my favourite team was Manchester United (as they had won the EPL then). and my favourite player? Lee Sharpe and Peter Schmeichel.

these days, i still wear the Man U jersey (cheong one! ha!) on certain match days (like Man U vs Pool, Man U vs Arsenal or Man U vs Chelsea), or if i came across the papers that the day was an impt match day (like i said, i dun watch soccer anymore! besides, i can't afford to pay $2 extra for the digital set-top box from SCV, or the heightened charges for Sports Channel minus Italian Serie A - the best soccer in the world!).

these days, i only support Man U to spite my 2 brothers. even my two favourite nephews (i only have 2 nephews, by the way) are Man U fans! ha! how cool is that?!

Edwin (in quite cheong jersey), me (in cheong jersey) and Edmund (in beri beri cheong jersey)!! Man U (spite-my-brothers-n-ur-father) fans!

Lest We Forget

2005-09-13T21:14:00.000+08:00

13th September 2005. Yesterday was the 60th Anniversary of the Japanese Surrender in South East Asia. I had intended to go down to the Kranji War Memorial and pay my respects to all those who fought for Singapore and died here in WWII; unfortunately, I was down with a fever and headache yesterday (dengue? No la not so sueh..)

Despite the fact that I was still nursing a slight headache, I decided to skip work today and made a trip down to Kranji War Memorial and Cemetery.

It took me about 2 hours to get there and I was reasonably tired out from the long traveling time. The route into the cemetery was a quiet and somber one. Except the occasional fluttering of wings from the resident doves, the only other sounds that greeted me were from the crickets and the rumble from the approaching thunderstorm.

“THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE” – When I saw these words on a stone tablet erected just at the entrance to the War Memorial, a gush of gratitude suddenly just overwhelmed me. How many Singaporeans still remember or even bother to remember what these men had done for us? I believe there are none, I’m not saying I am the one and only one. Perhaps I was there just because I was a genuine History buff and I get excited just reading about how gallantly these men had fought against the invading Japanese. Perhaps I was there just because I wanted to expand my personal photo collection. (how many people you know of take pictures in a forgotten cemetery?)

All these ‘perhaps’ simply disappeared the moment I stepped foot onto the Memorial. Hundreds of gravestones lay before me, many of them are nameless and only ‘KNOWN UNTO GOD’. The memorial is shaped like an aerofoil, with 2 imposing structures at the centre, one of them a Christian’s Cross (Many who were buried there are Christians, there are locals too).

I was walking amongst the numerous well-maintained and dignified gravestones when one particularly caught my eye. It says: “FOR YOUR TO-MORROW, HE GAVE HIS TO-DAY”. I stood transfixed there for a while, I was absolutely awestruck.. How true! But the sad thing is, I can bet my life that no other Singaporean would care. We have become too materialistic and money-crazy. We have become an arrogant Nation. We no longer give a damn about our past, our History. How many of us actually know how important Singapore was as a trading port in the past? True, the British and its Allies may have defended Singapore due to our economic importance to them. But the fact was, many many lives were lost trying to defend this island nation.

Then, it started to rain. I felt that the Heavens were feeling the same way as me.

After the rain had cleared and as I was making my way up to the Memorial Hall, a group of Ang-Mors came into the cemetery. From their age, I reckon they were war-veterans.

The Memorial Hall was actually made up of several walls of names, 24 000 names to be exact. Names who fought so bravely for the survival of Singapore but eventually the tide of fate was against them. Names whom (Singapore’s) people have forgotten. Names whom shall LIVETH FOR EVER.

Along some of the wall, people laid wreaths (should be from yesterday, the official 60th Anniversary). I read a card from one of it and as I reflect upon the words, I was almost choked by my own tears.. People lost fathers, sons, siblings, friends, compatriots in this senseless war. But it’s only in death that all bygones are forgotten.

This is probably the last time where surviving war-veterans are able to attend such memorials (most are 80+, 90+ years old). I have no hope whatsoever that Singaporeans nowadays, especially the younger generation, will remember or bother to find out more about WWII and its impact on Singapore and the World as a whole. Perhaps they have no choice when studying History in school. It’s sad and disappointing that we have turned out as such. No one appreciates sacrificial death anymore. What good then is a memorial?

Momo in the house!

2005-09-10T23:02:00.000+08:00

Momo dozing off while in his 'meditating' stance..

aahh.. now this is a better position to fall asleep in..

who goes there?

spare me the (camera) flash!! i'm just trying to find a quiet spot to sleep!!

Turbulence ahead!!

2005-09-05T19:54:00.000+08:00

i went for my 2nd interview as a science educator today. n little did i expect that my 'turbulence' comment at an earlier interview would land me the job.. ha.. i tink perhaps they thought i had a good sense of humour, although i was really quite freaked out while making my presentation then..

and so, i shall become a 'Science Educator', though they did not say what my salary was (and i did not ask! i kinda forgot..) n even though they did not tell me a definite day n time to report for work (although i said i can only start in Oct, due to my COMMITMENT to the govt tax agency! ha..) and also, even though they did not specifically say 'Welcome Aboard!' (but the CEO did say he was gonna 'offer me the job'), i tink i got myself a job.. no, i tink i got myself a career! sure beats having to travel 2 hrs to Tuas for an interview (including an entire hour on a never-will-install-aircon-so-u-can-bake-in-the-heat-n-breathe-in-all-the-luscious-industrial-gases-in-Tuas SBS no. 254 from Boon Lay interchange). n another 2 hrs back home! mebbe i'd work there if the 4 hrs daily journey was included in my 8 hr work day..

Long Vacation

2005-09-04T20:39:00.000+08:00

forgot how the pose (above, from the Japanese drama, Long Vacation) was like when we (AR and I) were out taking pics.. but there was a piano next to where we were sitting! next time try again!! ha..

Good Morning Jeanette Aw!!

2005-09-02T22:37:00.000+08:00

i seldom take the 'Today' papers whenever i take a train to work from Orchard every morning, that's because there'd be hordes of pple surrounding the poor uncle who distributes the papers. and if you try to 'grab' from him or sneak behind him and take a copy from the stack in front of him, instead of taking it from his hand, u can be sure that your whole morning will be spoilt, and u'd be duly embarrassed too, cos he'd let fly a whole chain of expletives at u.. and a lot of pple will stare at u in disapproval. n they too will queue up and stick their hands out sheepishly..

normally, i wouldn't bother looking like i am queueing at some free food counter. some of the pple there looks as if free money is being distributed, or free breakfast. but today when i was there, no one was queuein up so i gratefully took a copy from the undle's hands, not forgetting to thank him after that..

an otherwise dreary n tired friday morning instantly took a turn for the better. see below n you'd noe what i mean. or if u haven't oredy guessed from the title..

if you think it's because of the 'bling blings' on sale, think again.. maybe i'd be more explicit..

aah... weekend mood liao..

Why STAR WARS is better than TITANIC

2005-08-30T21:53:00.000+08:00

(adapted from a local humour website)

1. Come on, would you buy Titanic action figures?

2. ‘Titanic’ tries to be egalitarian by portraying poor people sympathetically. Star Wars is even more egalitarian – they promoted a sotong to Admiral.

3. Some more, the sotong manages not to lose his ship.

4. “King of the world?” That’s small potatoes to being Supreme Ruler of the Galactic Empire.

5. If Luke were handcuffed to a pipe below decks in a sinking ship, he would use the Force to get the key.

6. "I'd rather be his whore than your wife" just doesn't have the same impact as "I'd rather kiss a Wookie."

7. Rose has to tahan cold water to save her man. Leia has to tahan Jabba the Hutt.

8. Han Solo would have been able to avoid the iceberg.

9. If not, Yoda would have been able to lift the stupid ship out of the water, no problem.

10. Han Solo is frozen in carbonite and turned into an ornament. Leo just freezes and sinks.

11. In Star Wars, the vessels always have enough escape pods.

12. Iceberg big, meh? Now, the Death Star, that’s much more tua kee.

hooked on satellite imaging

2005-08-30T20:21:00.000+08:00

recently discovered a software called 'Google Earth' - http://earth.google.com/ , which when installed, you can use it to zoom into practically any spot on the face of this planet. images are about 1-2 years old, but it doesn't really matter. images within the USA are much clearer and i have seen people posting images of Area 51, Disneyland, White House, Pentagon etc. but the thing is, it's rather addictive.. especially for someone who loves to travel so much (but dun have the means to do so!! =P)

Orchard Road (Tangs on top left corner, Taka on bottom centre)

See the Esplanade?

Changi Airport

Ocean Park , Hong Kong

Pearl Harbor (notice the sunken ship on the top right corner?)

Statue of Liberty, New York

The Theory of Flight

2005-08-29T19:41:00.000+08:00

today, i went to the SG Sci Centre for my interview as a Science Educator. As i was required to give a 5-min presentation on any sci topic of my choice, i had a grimacing week trying to figure out what to present. never before had i felt so stressed out over a simple 5-min presentation. perhaps, i'm too used to being given the topic and told what i shld present instead of just letting me choose.

of course, there are many things i could have done / presented. after all, everything that takes place and surrounds us are in one way or another, link to science. except perhaps economics, which you can't really explain with scientific principles / theories. which is why i hated to study for economics.

in the end, i chose to present on 'The Theory of Flight'. i prepared my script meticulously and memorised it several times yesterday, even this morning on my way to the sci centre on the bus, i was memorising my 'script'.

but when the time came for me to present, although i remembered 95% of the script, i felt so kan cheong, my hands actually trembled while i held up a model airplane. i tink i muttered, "now, u can see that my hands are NOT trembling but the plane is actually undergoing air turbulence.."

cheesy huh? i tot so too.. but i think they did not hear me... or did i really say that in the first place? i can't rememeber.. but i suppose i did okay for the entire interview.

i tink i'd love this job a lot, as i've always been a hands-on 'Science' person. though i did not say this when i was there, for fear of sounding as if i'm trying too hard to impress... and seriously, it does sound like i m 'trying too hard'. so i'm glad i did not mention this. or am i really glad?

afternoon. back in tax office. Showa-Denko called me to go for an interview this wed. but when i realise that it was in Tuas... err.. but then when i though that i need not go back to tax office and undergo another day of 水深火热 answering non-stop phone calls (fridays n saturdays are the best days to work - super little calls!), i guess going all the way to Tuas may not be so bad after all. oh well, i'm still hoping that sci centre will accept me. but in the meantime, i can still go Showa-Denko and have a look at what they offer.

spending 3 hrs daily travelling to n fro may just be worth it. mebbe i can even make enough to buy a small car. (tink: Volkswagon Beetle! hey it's 'small' but not 'small' on price tag! =P)

Tree

2005-08-26T21:28:00.000+08:00

context adapted from a friend's (vitamint_d) blog, ~picture above taken by me~ (nice hor? i also tink so..)

"A long time ago, there was a huge apple tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it everyday. He climbed to the tree top, ate the apples, took a nap under the shadow... He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him.

Time went by... the little boy had grown up and he no longer played around the tree everyday.

One day, the boy came back to the tree and he looked sad. "Come and play with me," the tree asked the boy. I am no longer a kid, I don't play around trees anymore." The boy replied, "I want toys. I need money to buy them."

"Sorry, but I don't have money... but you can pick all my apples and sell them. So, you will have money." The boy was so excited. He grabbed all the apples on the tree and left happily. The boy never came back after he picked the apples. The tree was sad.

One day, the boy returned and the tree was so excited. "Come and play with me" the tree said.I don't have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?"

"Sorry, but I don't have a house. But you can chop off my branches to build your house." So the boy cut all the branches of the tree and left happily. The tree was glad to see him happy but the boy never came back since then.

The tree was again lonely and sad.

One hot summer day, the boy returned and the tree was delighted. "Come and play with me!" the tree said. I am sad and getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?"

"Use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail far away and be happy." So the boy cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and never showed up for a long time.

Finally, the boy returned after he left for so many years. "Sorry, my boy. But I don't have anything for you anymore. No more apples for you... " the tree said. "I don't have teeth to bite" the boy replied.

"No more trunk for you to climb on." "I am too old for that now," the boy said.

"I really can't give you anything ... the only thing left is my dying roots" the tree said with tears.

"I don't need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years." The boy replied."Good! Old tree roots is the best place to lean on and rest. Come, Come sit down with me and rest."

The boy sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears.......

my thoughts:

Life is so short eh? what is the purpose of life? we study for about 2 decades, then probably work for another 3 or 4 decades, then return to our Creator after probably another decade or so, perhaps 2 if you are really healthy and strong.. at the end of the day, after all that hard work, it all amounts to nothing. we are but ash and dust.

no more inuyasha

2005-08-24T20:19:00.000+08:00

i m a sad man. becos central is no longer showing inuyasha and there was no ending last week and they did not even inform us about it!! they just simply changed to another anime this week! so what is gonna happen to inuyasha and gang? will kagome get to be with him? or will he return to kikyo? well, i guess i'd never find out the answer (unless i go buy the comic books) but at least shaman king is still showing, but i guess it's gonna end very soon too.. well at least when it all ends, i can have early nites from wed-fri and dun have to stay up till midnight to catch these 2 great animes and become a walking zombie the next day.
*

been working as the taxman for almost 4 weeks oredy, and now, answering all those calls are almost like clockwork. same situation, same solution, same things u need to say. i shld definitely consider just playing a recorded message to the callers instead of repeating the same thing again and again and again. the work's almost brainless, which explains the measly peanuts they pay us.. no, i'm not talking about the NKF $600,000 peanuts here.

today i broke my personal best record. i took a total of 64 calls! my previous personal best was 60 calls (on my first day!). but when i saw the minah's daily output, one particular one took 72 calls, in half a day! my 64 calls were for the whole day.. i wonder if i;d get the axe soon. ha.... getting axed from a lowly-paid and brainless job. definitely a first..

but of course, i dun wana stay there for too long..

and i'd most definitely go on another overseas trip before i embark on my perm job, after i secure one that is..

i'm hooked on travelling. oh yeah.

when it isn't what you think it is..

2005-08-18T22:06:00.000+08:00

darn! just found out celeste chong is called 'zhang yu hua' in chinese! so that celeste chong who called me yesterday isn't the real McCoy!! super sianz!! i feel cheated!!
*
*
and why would she call anyway? she would ask her PA to call.. haiz..

Ayumi Hamasaki VS Celeste Chong

2005-08-17T19:40:00.000+08:00

i remember my infatuation with Ayumi during my uni days... i even had my laptop totally converted to a temple of Ayumi pics, wallpapers, icons, scroll bars etc! that was nearly 4 years ago.

now, 4 giant posters of her sit pretty in my room and last yr, a fren of my 2nd sis-in-law even took pics of the posters when they were in my room.

i'm not so crazy about her right now, though i still regard her as the undisputed and unchallenged Queen of J-pop.

Today was a high at work for me. even though i had answered the least number of calls in a single day (38 to be exact, some minahs can answer over 100 a day!!), and even though i had to handle a lot of troublesome cases, i felt good as i had received a call from someone by the name of....................... Celeste Chong!

CC: hi Vincent (i had intro-ed myself first), i'm just calling to check if u have gotten my form?

Me: can i have your ic number please?

CC: okay, S-XXXXXXXX

Me: please hold on.

CC: sure, thank u.

Me: you're welcome.

(check ic, check relevant info.... see name - freeze for a while - try to think what to say)

Me: okay miss celeste chong, yes we have received your form. not to worry yah?

CC: oh ok, thank you. can i check some thing else?

Me: sure. what would you like to check?

(subsequent conversation confidential)

i swear to u when i got her NRIC number, and i saw the name, i sure froze for a while.. Celeste Chong.. wow..

This is the 2nd time i have gotten a call from a famous person while working in a call centre. 3 yrs back, while working at SCV (now Starhub), i got a call from Chiam See Tong, MP of Potong Pasir.

But this time was different.. Celeste Chong.. omigoodness!!!

Nono would have flipped.

60th Anniversary of WWII

2005-08-15T18:31:00.000+08:00

today, 15th aug 2005, is the 60th anniversary of the end of WWII. although it may seem like something that happened so long ago, being the history buff that i am, (i'm still wondering why i did not take history instead of chem engr in uni, i get 'A's for all my history modules but 'C's for my chem engr ones..) it is a time of reflection for us, all of us in fact. although i noe a lot of pple dun give a sh** about what happened 60 years ago. i mean, i can't even remember what i did 6 days ago! (but 6 mins ago, i started this blog entry! ha! and 6 hrs ago, i was having lunch. now what did i have for lunch?? err.. never mind.)

anyway, after watching hiroshima (part 2) last nite, i understood somewhat the destructive effects the A-bomb had on those who survived the catastrophe. but i take the stand of the parties who drop the bombs: the japs had it coming. although i wished they would have dropped it on the nincompoops who refused to surrender even after Hiroshima (whose remains now reside within the Yasukuni Shrine - which PM Junichiro Koizumi visited often, much to the dismay of china n korea, again and again.), i pity those who suffered the effects of radiation and all the intense heat.. if it was me, i would have definitely chosen death then.

i had a pen-pal (many many yrs ago) from Hiroshima, and she once sent me a picture of the famous Peace Dome. back then, i only knew that the A-bomb killed a lot of pple and stuff, i did not realise the full scale of its destruction. but now, esp. after watching the documentary, i had a better idea of what a living hell it must have been.. imagine this: at the epicentre, it was 4000 deg C. anyone in the vicinity would have been vaporized or turned to carbon instantly. not a bad way to die since it's 'instantly'. pity those who have been scorched, burned, radiated, crushed by falling buildings, blown away (by the energy wave released), turned to walking half-pieces of charcoal.. i guess no one deserves such treatment. unfortunately, the Aug 6 1945 event was followed by the Aug 9 1945 dropping of the 2nd A-bomb on Nagasaki. the A-bombs had funny names: 'Little Boy' for Hiroshima and 'Fat Man' for Nagasaki.

60 years on, memories are still fresh for those who survive (though not many are left today). how has the world fared in terms of nuclear non-proliferation? ironically, the ones with the most number of nuclear warheads are forcing their will upon those who want to acquire it, going all out to ensure that they are the only ones who have it (nuclear technology), all in the name of fighting terrorism. if u ask me, the biggest terrorist is none other than the one sitting happy in White House's Oval Office while his men fight it out and face daily bombings and threats in Iraq, Afghanistan, Korean Peninsula, Taiwan Straits.

Europe has forgiven Germany for its wartime atrocities under the Nazi regime. and Europe has moved on to a stronger and more robust economy. look at China and Japan now. and compare. when will the Chinese ever learn to forgive and move on as the driver of the new world order? and when will Japan face up to its wartime crimes and stop white-washing its history textbooks? if China and Japan were to join hands economically and politically, Koizumi would not have to bother about implementing postal reforms (and getting it revoked by his parliament, and calling for snap polls and risking his post as PM of Japan!). Asia will be the world's economic powerhouse!

today, 15th aug 2005, is the 60th anniversary of the end of WWII. so what has the world acheived so far?

Happy 40th Birthday Singapore!!

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

went up sheares bridge with AR to take pics of flypast n fireworks (of cse i wont put the nice ones here! for personal use!) yesterday. there were SOOOOOOO many pple we did not even have room to even squat down. and mosquitoes had a great time sucking all our blood.. my legs are still writhing in itch from all the nasty bites!! the fireworks weren't fantastic. the best is still the Portuguese-themed one on sat (6/8/05) at marina south.. long duration, lotsa varieties plus got big big types... nice.

was at taka food court having dinner tonight and n couple from NZ were sitting at the same table as us. they were on a RTW travel and have been in SG for 3 days (tmr's their last day here) and guess what? they had EVERY SINGLE MEAL in taka food court because according to them, it had great, clean and cheap food! omigosh.. look what they are missing... when i mentioned 'hawker centre', they were like, "what? where?". too bad guys..

Momo!!!

2005-07-31T21:47:00.000+08:00

Here's my new hamster (a tiny Roborovski) and his name is Momo!! got him at a Suntec pet shop today after searching hi n low (in simei eastpoint). he's so damn cute but so small. and he scuttles around so quickly, i had to use the quick shutter mode on my digicam to take his pic! even then, most of the pics still appear blur cos he's too damn fast on his tiny feet liao! but super cute!!! here he is (above), peeing on the 2nd level of his Habitrail cage when i tried to catch him.. but of cse i failed to. too small. too fast.

here's when i finally managed to catch him in the food dish (i reckon he must be hungry after all that running around (away from my gigantic hands..)

here, he's huddled in a corner where he knows i have no way of reaching him. smart little fella!

AR's beri happy that we got a new pet (me too, though i gotta be the one to take care of it!). but i'm really elated too that i got myself a new hamster. i know robos can't be handled very easily as they r too small n fast, but then i did not want to have another syrian nor winter white. just looking at his cuteness now is enough to take all my blues away... but i hope he will learn to stay still more and let me take more pics of him! Zit!

Locked Out at 26,000 Feet

2005-07-29T19:13:00.000+08:00

A funny story from Lonely PLanet (not funny if you were there urself!):

This happened when I traveled down to Botswana from Tanzania in late 2002. I found myself in Victoria Falls Airport sitting on a plane belonging to an African regional airline, which shall remain nameless, waiting to fly to Gabarone. After nearly an hour's delay, the captain popped his head out of the cockpit to explain that his co-pilot had so far failed to show. 'We'll hang on a bit longer,' he announced. Another hour later, still no co-pilot. 'Tell you what,' said the captain, 'he's only the co-pilot and we're not going far, we'll go without him. Any objections?'

Well no-one complained so, two hours late, they set off. Now the captain had looked a little disheveled, unshaven and, generally, not quite all there. Given that he was in sole charge of the small plane, the passengers were, on the whole, feeling a touch nervy. So when the captain suddenly emerged from behind the cockpit door again, there was a collective gasp.

'It's okay!' announced the captain quickly, 'we're on autopilot. I just have to pee.' With that he hooked the cockpit door open using an elastic band and slipped into the toilet. Almost as he did so, the plane hit an unexpected and fairly violent patch of turbulence. The elastic band snapped and the cockpit door slammed shut.

As the turbulence subsided, the captain came out of the toilet and, seeing the door, went a pale shade of grey and looked at the air hostess with an expression which could only be described as panicked. 'Er, ladies and gentleman,' muttered the pilot, 'due to the risk of hi-jacking, cockpit doors can only be opened from the inside. Since my co-pilot was a no-show this morning, I'm locked out!'

Before the passengers lapsed into pure panic, however, they watched, expectant, as the pilot walked away from the cockpit to the back of the plane. He returned with a hand-axe with which he promptly hacked a hole in the cockpit door. He reached inside and opened it, brushing splinters from his jacket as he strode in.

Moments later the intercom crackled to life. 'Ladies and gentleman, this is your captain speaking. Just to keep you informed we're cruising at an altitude of 26,000 feet and will be making our descent...'

bank = loan shark???

2005-07-28T19:17:00.000+08:00

jus received letter from bank tdy n they r chasing for payment (sch loan). tdy is 28th liao n they tell me they wana start chargin interest on 1st Aug?! kaoz! 'SO MANY' days notice ya?! the letter was dated 21st july but y tdy then i receive leh? aiyah they could have jolly well sent it out yesterday but put last week's date niah mah.. blardy fools! quickly sms bro to borrow $$ n return one shot but he neber reply leh.. mebbe he also trying to 'deh siao deh gong' i.e. ABAB (Act Blur Act Busy).. haiz dunno how.. monday start charge interest liao n it's 5%!!!

went sentosa today to take pics, got free entry to fort siloso n merlion but only went to the former (cos after that spent too much time on the beach liao!!). beri little pple n bikini babes but got jap chicks! woot! n beri kawaii one!! (no pics sorry, for own consumption only! ha!) but got one pic for 'preview' lah. (right side one much much cuter! =p). they were walking towards the beach... nice... (i mean when they were on the beach!!)

there's 'roti boy' and 'papa roti' on SG mainland. in sentosa, there's 'Roti Mama'!!! muahaha!! so many copycats but all in the same 'family'!!! i wonder when will 'Roti Girl' come out and sell..

blardy SAF super pumas always fly past sentosa and east coast park to beo char bors on the beach... misuse 'vehicle' siah!!

after-thoughts of LOST

2005-07-25T14:24:00.000+08:00

back from thailand for nearly 5 days liao. here r some thoughts:

1. BKK is disgusting in every sense of the word. dirty, smoggy, sleazy. weather was terrible too, coupled with that, all the dust n grime that sticks to u n ur clothes, i'm not surprised that the best thing to do in BKK is, literally, to take a shower/bath.

if u happen to notice while ur plane is taking off from BKK, u will see a very clear layer of air above a city perpetually covered in a suffocating layer of smog. damn disgusting!

2. BKK is nice, makan is cheap. I can have meals at nice restaurants for every single meal without feeling the pinch. I mean, even high tea/buffets at 5 star hotels will not set u back by more than S$15 each time. normal thai meals at their 'food courts' won't cost u more than S$2 (including a drink)

3. Thais are rather pitiful, given the dismal state of their economy; some Thai pple I spoke to while I was there had a (local) university education, but they can only work at Macdonalds, or at hotel receptions (cos they can speak a little english). even white-collar workers earn less than S$500 per month. the rich are really rich over there (owning lands, properties, resorts or with high govt posts). the poor r really poor. every corner u turn, every overhead bridge u cross, u r bound to see beggars (n they always carry a frail-looking child/baby in their arms) --> though most of us (locals n tourists alike) will just ignore and walk past, u can;t help but feel sorry for them. (but i was told many are fakes.. so..)

4. dogs are everywhere! i did not come across a single stray cat while i was there! n they are not just ur regular stray mongrels but shih tzus, poodles, labradors, even golden retrievers! there's numerous websites who claim to better the welfare of stray dogs in Thailand but how much can they really do?

this dog (definitely not a mongrel) ran away while i tried to take its pic. it then stopped n took a poop in the middle of the street.. ha..

5. temples ('Wats') are everywhere and they are all glittery with gold! Chiang Mai alone has more than 300 Wats! I'm sure if Thailand were to melt down all the gold stuff in all its temples, its wealth will certainly exceed that of USA and Japan combined..

6. i've mentioned that Chiang Mai (CM) is much beta than BKK, in more ways than one!
(i) life is slower in CM, though the number of vehicles n pollution is increasing.
(ii) no high-rise buildings (except a small number of hotels).
(iii) u pay for what u get: u r (seldom) overcharged just because u r a foreigner.
(iv) locals actually smile at u, which i'd gladly smile back.
(v) food is (even) cheaper than BKK.
(vi) tuk-tuks and local taxi drivers r honest, no (or very little) scams here.
(vii) breath-taking mountain ranges as backdrop, what more can u ask for?
(viii) ONLY 2 shopping centres in the entire CM city. there's 4 (or more) for every single skytrain station in BKK. great for pple who hate shopping..
(ix) easier navigation for visitors (it's basically a squarish city surrounded by a moat - see below). of cse u can get lost in CM (cos everywhere looks the same, no iconic buidlings as landmarks - but thats the fun part of travelling - getting lost).

(x) jap gals (visitors) --> saw NONE in BKK (only lots of ang mohs!). not beri chio lah but freaking cute voice!!

7. after coming back to SG, find that everything (esp. food) is so damn expensive! but then again, we dun have stray dogs all over the place (but lots of stray cats but thats okay with me), hardly any beggars on the streets, honest (most of the time) taxi drivers, well-fed population, sanitised environment (too clean actually!), higher standard of living, an efficient (really?) govt, no need for declaration of emergency decrees when pple start getting killed and beheaded in a forgotten province, and most importantly, university grads dun work at Macdonalds (mebbe i'd be the first one.. if i can't get a job soon! ha!).

Thailand - Land of Smiles? Land of Scams? One thing's for sure, I'm not gonna go back there for a long long time..

a boring monday afternoon

2005-07-25T14:12:00.000+08:00

just sent out another 2 resumes (i've lost count how many i've sent out so far - so much so that if any company were to call me now to go for interview, my first reaction would be: huh? i got apply meh?). anyways, i'm really bored now. got last sat's (23 july) recruit pages still haben go thru. mebbe later la.

was looking thru some convo pics and i must say that some alvin's photo-taking skills not beri nice leh. see proof:

whoever took this pic (above) for u has beri good sense of 'composing' the picture. beri balanced. now, let's see the pic u (alvin) took:

so much empty space! wah lau eh.. wasted siah.. camera got zoom button one mah. or u could have stepped forward a bit. but otherwise its a nice pic lah. fortunately, there is something call photoshop:

see? so much beta now right? heh.. oops, now my identity's out! so u can guess i m that 'Da Xiong' in the zoo pics lah.

Thais call u 'Lord' when u buy drinks

2005-07-20T22:37:00.000+08:00

yeah, they always do. i swear by it. whenever u buy drinks (bottled/can), they will always say 'something something Lord something something'. obviously i dunno what the something means. (mai kao jai = i dun understand --> i've used this phrase countless number of times!). so to find out why they call u Lord when u buy drinks (and only when u buy drinks; they dun call u Lord when u buy food!), read on..

Day One

Arrived in Don Muang airport (Bangkok), beri blur but tried not to look blur. once i got out of the arrival halls, i was overwhelmed by hordes of pple in formal office wear asking 'taxi sir?'. nice try. i headed straight to the airport bus. 100 baht got me to the door step of my guest house, albeit a little late at nite due to the infamous traffic jams in Bkk. i was very impressed. (CTE at peak hours is chicken feet compared to Bkk).

Big John guest house was okay. room was (beri) small but clean. not soundproof (i swear i heard an angmoh couple making out next door!). common bathroom was also relatively clean. not too bad. but 10 mins slow walk from skytrain?! my blardy foot! it took me 20 mins BRISK walk to get to the station! if i had my full gear on, it wld have taken me at least half an hour!

Day Two

went out walking around MBK (a large-scale air-con pasar malam), Siam Centre, Central Chidlom etc. also went Chatuchak market (only some shops were opened cos not weekend yet); that place was humongous! i got lost inside n boy was i glad not all the shops were opened if not lagi lost!. at the 'pets' section, i saw a whole wall of tarantulas in a shop, that sent an instant chill down my spine n i knew i had to leave.

met a 'Singaporean' who claimed he was robbed of everything at Chiang Rai (then how did he get to BKK??). spent some time with him n gave him 500 baht before i left. i still tink i got fleeced.. somehow..

wanted to visit Wat Arun but boat operators wanted to charge me 600 baht for a 12 baht trip. when i asked them how much, they asked me how many (persons). i wanted to shoot back: does it matter? 600 baht?? i might as well walk across (the highway)! or even take the taxi (it wouldn't have cost me more than 100 baht!). bah! disgusted, i tried to smile n walked right back into the skytrain station. might as well go back to shopping centre.

Day Three

stayed in room til about dinner time, was still disgusted by how some thai pple try alll ways n means to rip u off. disgusted with Bkk. disgusted by the smog n the endless traffic jams. but loved the food (and i'm not talking about local food here). KFC n BK was cheap. so was Pizza Hut. ha.. i hardly had local food except at the airports cos its cheaper than fast/western food.

went out to MBK to buy some stationery n clips for AR. not exactly that cheap here..

Day Four

got a surprise 100 baht refund from Big John. dunno y but kept quiet anyway. 100 baht can buy me a decent meal. waited for airport bus at 7am out on the road (still not beri congested at this time). saw the bus, driver saw me too, n i figure he reckons my bag was too big for his 40-seater, he changed lane n drove off, without me of course. i could have waited for another one. but that will be another 30 mins. n rush hour was coming. in the end, i took a cab. cost me blardy 200 baht. so thankful for the 100 baht refund i got from Big John..

caught a flight to chiang mai (a much more beta place than BKK!), was amazed by the scenery i saw while landing.. endless fields, vast stretches of pristine forests, rolling mountains.. my goodness..

chiang mai's almost 900 metres above sea level, but weather was as hot as BKK! 99% of buildings there were less than 4 storeys high. that alone is much much beta than smoggy BKK.

Sarah guesthouse was, in a word, quiet. not exactly clean but OKAY. i hated the attached bathroom, beri grotty. sometimes, it floods when i took a shower! so, i stayed out whenever i could.

passed by a cafe n asked for directions (first time i got lost with a map! map's fault, not mine!). there, i had the best ice lemon tea in my entire life! it wasn't something u get out from a dispensing machine, but they make it right before your eyes! shaken, not stirred. 35 baht - worth it! i even dedicated a spot in my CF card for it:

Day Five

guess wat, there r only TWO shopping centres in the whole of Chiang Mai, of course i went to both (within a day, no less). everything's within walking distance (if u consider walking 4 km in that weather between the 2 shopping centres a 'walking distance').

took a songthaew (local taxi) went up to Wat Phra That on Doi Suthep (i noe u dunno what that means, neither did i initially). anyway, its a temple on a mountain. i just came up to escape the heat, not to visit the temple. nevertheless, i did visit the temple la. heh..

saw some northern tribes pple (Maew/Meo tribe) who offered to pose for pictures with tourists for a small fee (10 baht). i took lots of pics without paying. felt sad as i felt i was in a human zoo.. felt sad for them too, that tourism has encroached upon their tribal way of life..

Day Six

practically whole day spent reading my 琼瑶小说 in places with aircon, finally finished it after almost 2 yrs since i bought it, hotel lobbies, cafes etc. at night went to night bazaar at Chang Klan road. all selling the same stuff: t-shirts, dvds, bags, souvenirs, crafts etc. today, met another 'Singaporean' who asked me for some money to take a train back to SG as he had lost his wallet. good luck buddy. i'm tight on cash too. (i wonder if he knew that 'singaporean' i met in Bkk a few days ago..)

Day Seven

flew back to Bkk, hotel near airport, swore never to go back downtown again. just stay put in room n watch tv. man i was looking forward to this day! reason: 4 star hotel!! there was a comfy (n clean) BIG bed, a bathtub, a tv and even a freaking minibar! guess i'm a sucker for these creature comforts!

Day Eight

free shuttle bus from hotel to airport. (right... i paid so much for my room...) anyway, in the airport, an auntie from beijing asked me if i could lend her some money as she does not enough for a flight to HK. right now, i was pretty convinced i have that 'woo lui' (got money) look. if not, y wld i have been approached 3 times in a span of 7 days from pple who asked me for money? straight-faced, i refused flatly. i was pretty pissed off by this time..

anyway, glad i was heading back home. miss my room. most of all miss mummy n AR.. n i miss the times when i did not have to use mineral water to brush my teeth, when i could just simply drink from the tap. SG is too sanitised. n we r too pampered.. but hey, that's the way i was brought up!

so, why do thais call u Lord when u buy drinks? i found out after some time.. 'Lord' in Thai means 'drinking straw'. i knew they wouldn't be so nice to everyone paying a measly 7 baht for a bottle of mineral water..

off to thailand

2005-07-13T17:29:00.000+08:00

doing this inside changi airport, waiting to board the plane.. gonna miss my dear n mummy..

Convo-ed

2005-07-12T20:43:00.000+08:00

Convocation today. it rained, pretty heavily too! wonder if the sky's crying for all of us... (some are still) jobless, penniless, near-hopeless. nonetheless, it was a rather uneventful day. i knew it was gonna be boring but THAT boring???

and the organisers are so blardy discriminatory! it's so obvious that they have 'classified' us under different honours' class! y must they do that? can't they just follow the alphabetical order for everyone???

i threw the orange booklet away immediately on finding out that they had also 'classified' us in there as well. blardy nincompoops. kena suaned by eldest bro too for not being in the higher echelons (but hey, at least i'm the only grad in the family k?) --> yah, so wat?!

went esplanade to take some pics but thankfully, it rained super heavily there too so we did not have to drag ourselves around too much after a extremely tiring morning. there was a super cute cat who came along when we were taking pics outdoor.

today's the 3rd Anniversary for AR n i. met up for a while but we were both too tired, so went home not long after. tmr got prezzies for her! she'd love it! i make by myself one okay! but tmr i'd be heading to LOST. hope i dun get too lost there.. ha.. been feeling a little sickly too of late, tink it's the weather. must drink more water..

To the zoo!!

2005-07-10T23:05:00.000+08:00

mum, AR n i went to the zoo yesterday! super hot weather which made us super tired n sleepy by the end of the trip!

but we enjoyed ourselves a lot over there! mum hasn't been to the zoo for almost 20 years (last time she went, i was still in kindergarten!) so i guess she's as excited as a little kid though she does not show it (but i noe! ha!).

saw a white tiger who kept 'cat-walking' in front of what must be hundreds of cameras clicking away, so much so that his companions (2 females) were so bored with him they fell asleep in the shade (talk about unromanticism! it does not happen to humans alone!)

Then there's the really cute monkeys who went around with their 'monkey business' - you scratch my back, i scratch yours. but we noticed a poor baby monkey whose tail was being pulled by the older monkey to prevent him from running away! rather hilarious! (can see from pic below). the poor kid was practically running around in semi-circles!

then there's the bat who did not behave very appropriately, now i noe how the term 'flasher' came about. it's obviously a guy (see pic). hmm.. i wonder if he will pee on himself in that position...

before the start of the sealion show, a spider monkey (from an earlier animal show) came down into the spectator stands and snatched away a packet of KFC from one of the spectators. i guess there was nothing anyone of us could do except to watch n laugh it off..

at the sealion show, which is nothing compared to the one at ocean park (HK), the presenters spoke in english n i wondered if mum wld appreciate the show since she could not understand english. nevertheless, i saw the smiles on her face when the sealions made some silly antics. knowing that she was happy was enough to make my day.

then there's the silly raccoon who 'faced off' with a crane - who could simply fly off when threatened - who was bent on finding lunch in a pool of murky water with hardly any fish in it! the raccoon looks cuddly enough to hug though!

unfortunately, me fell sick at the end of the day, probably due to the heat n lack of water intake. so i kena suaned by mum n AR, say like that i still got thailand alone?? come on.. i will take care of myself la..

Mermaid n Dayang

2005-07-09T09:22:00.000+08:00

for those who catch the 7PM show on Channel 8 (Tong Xin Yuan）, you must be like me: mesmerized by the oh-so-sweet relationship between Dayang and Mermaid. That guy's a dimwit, but a damn cute and sweet one! AR once told me she'd be beri happy if i can be like "Ah Wang", another dimwit in another (HK) serial, who loves his wife so much (Xuan Xuan）and does so many romantic things that it puts all men to shame.

i know Dayang will eventually be with Mermaid. but seeing them 'getting married' yesterday was so blardy sweet i must admit. kudos to mediacorp.

and casting felicia chin as Mermaid is the perfect choice. i can't think of anyone beta. okay, mebbe jeanette aw would have been a great choice too. but felicia's eyes were so big and innocent... machiam anime! dun believe? see below:

so guys, melt oredy?

LOST

2005-07-07T13:51:00.000+08:00

been rotting at home for the past 2 days. i wonder when will i get any interviews (sent some resumes out yesterday). just hope they dun call me when i'm in LOST i.e. Land of Smiles - Thailand.

Had lunch with ex-colleagues again just now, SJ was pissed off by a (QQ) hair in her yong tau foo, n even more pissed off when we joked about it. i could see that she was really upset. but hey, it's just a piece of hair, no big deal yah? cool it lah..

tmr meeting AR for dinner, beri happi.. heh.. haben seen her for nearly 2 weeks liao! hope she wun feel too SLEEPY after dinner at her place. but then again, do i nid to get anything from mustafa? like nothing i nid to buy for my trip leh.

saw several negative posts regarding Big John, and i realise its pretty far away from basically everywhere! but that means i can get quiet nights in the room. hmm.. too late for me to cancel my reservation liao. next time, shall stay at Shambara then, heard its really good! check out the rooms:

http://www.shambarabangkok.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=7&Itemid=47

saw negative reviews about Sarah's guesthouse (Chiang Mai) too. haiz.. just too bad lah.. hope it gets beta when i'm there then. mebbe i can pose as a writer from lonely planet n they might treat me beta! ha!

shocked at the extent of the flesh trade over in BKK, especially in the tourist belt of khao san rd (KSR), patpong etc. but fortunately, i am staying miles away from there. less angmohs at where i stay also. heh.. Sukhumvit is the supposed 'Bt Timah' of LOST. dunno how true is that.

so perhaps, Big John may not be a bad choice after all.

one thing's for sure, i'm definitely gonna miss AR n mummy when i'm there alone. mebbe there's gonna be some really cute jap/korean gals to perk up my day! =p

Officially Jobless

2005-07-05T19:01:00.000+08:00

the title says it all. and can i just say the .gif pix of Selina (from SHE) in the previous post is damn freaking cute!

and so i tot i wld have an uneventful last day at work. man am i so blardy wrong... there's so many people to look for to do ur clearance! n settle last min stuff! reminds me of the time when i did clearance before i ORDed from NS.. but back then, i was beri happy while doing my clearance, cos that meant i was about to ORD soon and enter Uni!!

but today its different, i did it with a heavy heart.. knowing very well that I wld be out of a job once the clearance is signed.

HR asked me: since i like to the organisation, environment n pple so much, n i've made so many frens, y did i not consider asking for a transfer? hullo lady, i did ok! just that POLICY says i can't transfer with less than 1 yr's service, n our DD is beri strict on that. after all, i've pissed him off big time for tendering my resignation so soon. if given a choice, of cse i'd love to stay. some more so near home. 12 mins by STROLL-pace to be exact!

but then again, do i want to be an engineer? mebbe not.

wat if i wanted to re-apply to get into the org. again? will my resignation affect? HR said: of cse not! we will welcome u with open arms! i tot: yah right. u tink i 3-yr-old kid on a pacifier? try harder, lady.

well, i'm not gonna tink abt getting a job for the time being, gonna take my well-deserved break in the Land of Smiles! convo's next tue.. gotta take more pix! stay tuned guys!

RECRUIT

2005-07-03T17:59:00.000+08:00

that's the section most jobless pple wld go to once they buy the papers (Straits Times). i've been sending out several resumes today and am beri beri drained.. i know i have to go through this again once i quit my job so i can't really complain. let's hope for good news..

sian

2005-07-02T17:30:00.000+08:00

got a rejection letter from moe yesterday. expected it but still came as a hard knock. can't help but wonder if all govt agencies are so narrow-minded. it must be the fact that i had worked less than 2 mths in a stat board n resigned.

so now i am gonna be jobless soon, this coming tue to be exact. and i'm gonna be banished to the doldrums of poverty again (esp after i come back from my thailand trip!). had wanted to apply for what i would love to do (an animal keeper at the zoo), but then i would only be paid $6 an hour, or slightly less than $1100 a month. let's be realistic, you can't get by for long in SG on that amount of money. although it would be something i wld have loved to do, but being practical, it's not a long-term solution at all.

went thru the recruitment papers today and found out 95% of ads placed required applicants to have a few yrs of experience. the other 5% does not require a degree. i suddenly realise the uphill task i'm facing.

and i'm now having second thoughts about joining the civil service. i bet they are all gonna be narrow-minded people and think that i'm a job-hopper. i'm not. i'm just trying to get away from a job that stresses me out so badly that i spend my weekends falling sick at home. i won't survive in this kind of job.

sleepy

2005-06-30T22:45:00.000+08:00

dunno y but been feeling beri sleepy for the past few days. mebbe its too much computers and internet. well i'm starting to gather more info for my solo trip in the Land of a Thousand Smiles (and beneath those smiles lie a lot of scams..)

seems like Big John is a nice place to stay in, away from the madness of Khao San road and the smells os Chao Phraya. but getting there from the airport at night is gonna be tricky. most websites suggested taking the airport bus (100 baht). some (in Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree Forum) tells me to take the train (5-10 baht!!). i'd find out when i'm there. but if i can get to the same place in half the time and 10% the price, why not? besides, i get to mingle with the 'real' Thai pple on the train.. n of cse fellow backpackers who are bent on not contributing too much to the Thai economy. see a classic example here: http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/messagepost.cfm?postaction=reply&catid=51&threadid=822421&messid=6995230&showall=true

since i dun like shopping at all, my plan is to keep my spending to 500 baht or less per day. but i noe i will likely spend 40-50% of that on drinking water alone. i m a self-confessed water-holic. i can down 5-8 litres of water a day.

i found a pretty cool hotel for my last night in BKK before i head back to SG: Comfort Suites Hotel. (http://www.trekthailand.net/directory-thailand/comfort_suites/). hopefully then i would have enough to splurge on some luxury... and besides, i dun intend to head back into BKK downtown. I shall just spend my last night near the airport and check-in into the airport the next morning for my flight back.

tomorrow (1st July), i'd be treated to lunch by my boss (seems weird that they are giving me a treat when i'm resigning!) but anyway, since it's free, why ask so many questions?

The story of John & Sarah

2005-06-28T23:20:00.000+08:00

just gotten my accom in BOTH BKK n Chiang Mai. settled for Big John's Guesthouse in BKK n Sarah's Guesthouse in Chiang Mai. that leaves me to search for one more night of accom for my last night in BKK (before i head back to SG). gosh i'm oredy starting to miss SG..

pretty cheap and decent lodging (i suppose! i hope so!), will be paying only about S$75 for 3 nites in BKK n 3 nites in Chiang Mai. hopefully my last night in BKK i will have enough Baht to splurge on at least a hotel with a hot bath (with bath tub) and American Breakfast included!

so John n Sarah had beta be good.. never underestimate the power of the internet!

now, if you would excuse me, it's time for me to Zzzz...

Hebe leads the way!

2005-06-28T22:23:00.000+08:00

Hebe leads his young ones...

Sawadee!!

2005-06-28T22:02:00.000+08:00

i must be mad! to go thailand alone! wat m i thinking of?? but then i've already booked my tickets, SG-BKK-SG (Jetstar Asia) and BKK-Chiang Mai-BKK (Air Asia). n i haben even booked any accom! could tell from AR's tone that she's sad (and when she's sad, i'm sad..) that i'd be away from her for about a week but then i really need a break from SG.. away from the hustle n bustle, away from the weekend shopping crowd, away from all things SG, n embrace a totally new culture! but come to think of it, isn't BKK worse? well, we'd never noe until we get there.

although i did not manage to get my S$9.98 tics to BKK (i'm still fuming even up til now), S$38 ain't a bad price to pay at all, considering the fact that u will get leather seats (duh.. like i care).

but now i'm worried. cos i haben gotten any accom in both BKK n Chiang Mai. mebbe i'd settle for 'Big John's Guesthouse' in BKK. perhaps John has a sister outlet in Chiang Mai which goes by the name of Kitty. (i'd spare u the details, go figure it out urself).

a little regret as i made 2 air tic bookings simultaneously (talk about multi-tasking!). i admit i made the decision in a flurry but it was one i had to make there and then. n since now the tics r booked, i shld embrace the trip with an open heart. yes i'd do just that. Just keep me in ur prayers constantly my love..

Big John's Guesthouse

2005-06-27T22:37:00.000+08:00

now who would think of a name for a BnB (Bed and Breakfast) with such a name? Big John?? that reminds me of a sermon i heard recently: instead of saying "he was baptised by John in the Jordan", the pastor said, "he was baptised by Jordan in the John".. well it was meant as a joke but it wasn't farnie. just pure LC (for the non-initiated, LC = Low Class).. for those who does not know what 'John' means, go ask a guy to show u his. One even more low class joke i heard from a pastor (who preaches in a church near my home) goes like this: When God created man, He asked the man to name his female counterpart, when the man saw her, he went: "wo...... (in exclamation) man!" so, she was called 'woman'. i mean, how lame can that get?? after that sermon, AR n i never returned to that same church again..

for the past 4 hrs, i was peering over the websites of jetstarasia, airasia and several websites with hostel bookings. (by the way, i'm still fumind mad about missing out on he S$9.98 tickets to Bangkok last friday, on Tiger airways!) which explains the remarkable name for the hostel i just mentioned. place? downtown Bangkok. mebbe that explains why the owner used "Big John"...

for a mere price of S$51 (inclusive of taxes), I could get 3 nites' accomodation, and probably hear a few drunkard ang mohs making out next door (I was advised by Big John to bring ear plugs!). I nearly made the booking, until I saw at the booking page: "Shared Facilities". Which put me off, cos shared facilities are almost always filthier than private ones. trust me, i was the toilet-washin I.C. for 8 months during NS! and no one blardy cares about the cleanliness! not until everyone kena sign extra for dirtying the one thing they use to keep themselves clean..

anyway, if i add up the air tics prices (from Jetstar asia) and the accom cost from Big John, it'd cost me about S$210, which can buy me a month's accomodation in a decent guesthouse in Siem Reap, Cambodia! Haiz.. so i'm back at my deliberating and calculating ways again.. So i ask myself the question YET again: should i go?

Pix Galore

2005-06-27T17:59:00.000+08:00

Freaky's mug shot (1)

mug shot (2)

mug shot (3)

mug shot (4)

Panoramic view of Marina area

Umm... This is yummy.. slurp.. meow.. MEOWWW... umm...

so this is how gals wee wee..

someone's stalking!

Fugitive chickens from Ubin caught running away from NEA officers in town

How Bugsy sees the world

Now where's my campino lollipop?

And u tot u were the only one with Monday blues..

他妈的！

Mr Happy!!!

Dun wake me..

2005-06-27T17:40:00.000+08:00

IN MEMORY OF AHZIT (aka OSCAR)

--> our very last surviving hamster, who passed away on 24th June 2005 (Friday)

been deliberating for a few days.. to go (backpacking) or not to go. cambodia? vietnam? thailand? even AR has been baffled by my roller-coaster of emotions and/or indecisions. I'd be out of job soon (5th July) and dumb 'ol MOE hasn't contacted me for my 2nd interview. (maybe there ain't gonna be one at all!)

last week, had almost wanted to go cambodia/thailand but pulled out after some uneventful events. initially felt played out by the 2nd party, though i can't blame tat person as the reasons were very valid. but i shall definitely make the trip to Angkor Wat some day!

so now i'm back to square one. alone. AR can't go with me as she gotta work. but on the other hand, i'm glad she can't go as i do not have to look after her when we r there. she can be beri blur blur one, but thats the adorable thing about her. we went travelling last dec n we enjoyed ourselves alot (and also spent a lot!), but of cse there were unhappy moments over there but not worth mentioning at all. first time overseas with AR, went after she had some heated arguments with her family.. they relented and boy were they glad we did not come back with an extra person in toll!

bought a copy of Lonely Planet (LP) - 'Southeast Asia on a Shoestring' from Taka's Kino for $33.26 (after a whopping 20% discount! Right!). after buying it, told AR i would go 'travelling' on the book instead. but the more i read (LP), the more tempted i became (to wanna go backpacking). but not much $$ to spend.. (gonna be jobless in a week's time n haben found a new job).

so now i m facing 2 airasia booking pages: 1 from SG-BKK-SG (S$142.98) and another from BKK-Chiang Mai-BKK (1816.86 Baht). but i just can't bring myself to click on the 'continue' button! what will AR say? but i really really need a break, go somewhere where i can 'find' myself again. sillyseal asked if i had lost myself. yeah... i guess you can say that..

So now, should i go?

Our Hamsters

2005-06-27T17:10:00.000+08:00

The Father - Hebe [21/12/02 - 13/05/05]

A super frenly chap who never fails to charm. (personal fav!)

The Mother - Selina [21/12/02 - 28/03/05]

Temperamental but nice to see, good to hold

The Eldest Son - Godzilla [21/03/03 - 28/12/04]

Very tame but looks can be deceiving

The Fat Lady - Chiobu [21/03/03 - 05/04/05]

Never bathe but somehow furcoat always luxurious, mascara always on (hence her name!)

The Youngest Son - Hebebe [21/03/03 - 01/01/04]

died a virgin.. what more can i say?

The Attitude One - Ahzit (aka Oscar) [Feb 03 - 24/06/05]

another virgin, super adorable, good fren of Godzilla, very attitude fella