daily gripe

inspirethereal has moved!

2007-05-31T14:35:00.000+08:00

inspirethereal has moved to wordpress at http://inspirethereal.wordpress.com/. this site will be kept alive as a depository of memories from 2005 to now and the even older angelfire inspirethereal at http://www.angelfire.com/realm2/ethereal_reverie/inner_monologue.htm will also still be around.

please update your links! *grin*

twitter being friendly to blogger.com will remain here in its flash badge format and in a html link on the wordpress page. commentary and emails can go to aaron_kyr at yahoo dot com dot sg on the wordpress blogsite.

blogger has been fun but wordpress rocks...possibly for a couple more years. *smile*

silver surfer and transformers! can't wait!!

2007-05-28T01:15:00.000+08:00

gotta keep thinking that i can breathe.

2007-05-27T13:15:00.000+08:00

me can finally sit back and breathe easier! julian beever is come and gone. the wireless adventure race has been run (altho still left the blardy pitching...). i can twitter again. i can blog again. heck! i can actally go to work on time and not start the day at blardy 7am in the morning anymore. that is very very hard.

body. don't. believe. in. functioning. before. 10am. or. before. two. cups. of. coffee.

anyways, here's some pictures of the housewarming...at least what i got before i gave up. =) some pictures of julian beever (ooh the pain of morning interviews). and some pictures of wireless adventure (the boredom of workng on a sat..again).

what a great saturday evening!

2007-05-21T11:37:00.000+08:00

Tks all for helping make saturday a great evening! *grin* will aim to do more chill out nights.

and chelsea beat manure. that felt good watching as well.

aim to post pics soon!

dinner for a cool thursday

2007-05-11T00:20:00.000+08:00

I like having my own kitchen and no one to look over my shoulder and go..."you should add this' or "don't put so much of that".

sheer bliss.

Working with Idiots can kill you

2007-05-09T14:40:00.000+08:00

I had to post this up. It is so...refreshing.

Okay, so Manure won the EPL title this year...YAWN

2007-05-07T09:40:00.000+08:00

*sigh* it was funny being a Chelsea supporter last night. Didn't want the EPL chase to end until the final match between Chelsea and Manure. But shit happens, and Manure is the EPL league champs for 2007.

I am already looking forward to July.

me has discovered twiiter!

2007-05-06T22:48:00.000+08:00

I have discovered the joy of twitter. the only thing is I so do not like the lag it takes for my flash badge to update from the Twitter server. It defintely seems to be longer than the seconds it takes from at the Twitter homepage. *sigh*

OK.

So maybe I can update blogspot then update Twitter and have everyone RSS from there instead.

Hmm...

Pool reach the finals of Champion League!!

2007-05-02T23:32:00.000+08:00

It's really funny how I can ask 8 different people when the finals of the Champion League is and they tell me Wednesday morning. That, of course, was the 2nd match of the semi-finals between Liverpool and Chelsea. And of course, 7 of the 8 people I asked were Pool fans. What an encouragement that all Pool fans think that today is the finals, cos if we didn't get past today, the finals wouldn't have been a Final.

Watching the match at 3am in the morning is not joke; especially when they couldn't seem to find the net. And when they did, the blardy linesman blows for offside. WTF!!

But this picture sums it up at the end of penalties.

Now all that's left is for Milan to knock Manure out of the running and we will have a historic match to watch. Milan will want revenge for being knocked out on penalties 3 years ago against Pool.

Maybe a Manure-Pool match wouldn't be as tough? Whatever, Milan or Manure, they will both go down!!

WOOHOO!!

One picture of the messy living room

2007-04-29T00:12:00.000+08:00

Well, I have 'almost' finished with the house. Only left a few boxes to unpack and a couple more deliveries over the next few days. Getting the 3mx3m umbrella to come in on Monday and the fish tank (my beloved fishies can finally get roaming/swimming space again) on Tuesday. Amongst other stuff.

Here's the update pic for those of you folk who have been asking. Leave freakin' commentary!! grr...
Lucky we have got the May Day holiday to finish up whatever's left. Btw, speaking of May Day, did you see the amount of pr*pa*a*da in the st*i*s ti*es this past few days? Like I blardy care!!

Housewarmings here we come!!

it's saturday evening...and i am posting my past 25 days

2007-04-28T21:48:00.000+08:00

see how seriously I am taking this non-posting thing. it's a saturday evening. and i am here in front of laptop posting 3 weeks worth of rants, gripes, recollections and pictures up. this will be the last post you will read even though it's the first that I am putting up tonight.

it's this convenient option called "post time and date".

so while catching up on my blog and you suddenly wondered how you could have missed out so many posts even though you RSS-ed, twitter-ed, bookmark-ed, click-ed through...paiseh la, i am just slow.

also, since the date reflects the date of the activity, I also don't feel so guilty la.

I saw tigers, polar bears and otters!!

2007-04-22T11:11:00.000+08:00

Every once in a while, you need to suspend the adult mentality and just go back to places that made you feel happy as a kid. Thanks to Lorri, we managed to get free passes to the zoo. This trip was worthwhile to make, just cos it helped bring a breath of fresh air to an otherwise boring weekend. tks Lorri!! *grin*

Managed to get lots of good shots with my Casio Exilm EX-Z70 at the various animal exhibits. Think the renovation was money well-spent; don't think there's another zoo in the region that can top the Singapore Zoo. They really kept to the ideal of making sure the animals have the right space to roam and yet not fence them in.

Walking around the Zoo, you cannot help but feel happy watching animals that you got to know as kids. Don't you ever try to remember those questions and announcements you would badger your parents with as they followed you around the zoo?

"look daddy, a tiger!"
"why do kangaroos jump?"
"what's that? i don't want to see bats!"
"can we touch the spider with the white and black markings?"
"i want to see ALL the animals AGAIN!!"

I know, I know. Sure got Karma right? *lol*

Here's a couple of shots that I am rather proud of.

I think the otters are damn freaking cute la.

hot boys kelong

2007-04-15T11:11:00.000+08:00

So a week after, the gf and myself with a group of friends and the Nokia N95 made a journey into Malaysia, past JB, partway to Mersing, to this place called Hot Boys Kelong, located in the tranquil and beautiful waters of the Sibu sea.

"HOTBOYS KELONG is the ultimate one-stop rustic holiday experience. We are the ONLY Singaporean operated kelong in Malaysia and are well known for our cleanliness, good food and good service. We cater not just to the fishing enthusiast, but to anyone who just wants to chill out and relax with family, loved ones or friends.Our kelong is situated along the East Coast of Malaysia, safely away from any fault lines, earthquake zones and tsunami zones. The Kelong has a 16-year old history, which is a testament to its safety and stability. Unlike other kelongs in Kukup and Batam which are located along muddy beaches, we are located right in the middle of the tranquil and beautiful waters of the Sibu Sea (part of the South China Sea)."

What a trip. It was honestly a well-timed one day's worth of relaxation. I told MT that I probably got more sleep there at the kelong than I would have in Singapore. Back home, there will ALWAYS be something to have to do, or to think about, or to settle, etc etc.

Will let the pictures speak for themselves. My only 2¢ worth would be to add that if you have not been to a kelong, or fished in waters other than Bedok Jetty (or *shudder* Pasir Ris Park), and you have a day and night free on a weekend (when you aren't in the mood to drink yourself silly), then this is a real viable alternative. minus the speedy van ride to the kelong (160km/h on a winding road!!) and the usual grumpy customs people.

All pictures taken with a Nokia N95.

azhang!

2007-04-07T11:11:00.000+08:00

We went to Azhang to taste lamb or was it mutton? So the whole evening, it was mutton/lamb cooked in different ways - done alone, with rocket salad, and with something else. food in the tummy, memory remembers how good it was; but forgets the meat. human nature.

Add a good conversation group to the food and drink mix and the night can really be complete.

For those not in the know, Azhang is this really cosy restaurant along Md. Sultan, opposite the Bak Ku Teh kopithiam. I think two or three incarnations ago, it sits on where Samsarra used to be. The prata place next to Samsarra has also disappeared for some time already. Think MUD (Minitry of Urban Development?) or some BCA or something released in a statement some time ago, that they were going to re-brand Md.Sultan as a food place. Notice that Clarke Quay = pubs and clubs while Md. Sultan become foodie place? Maybe the locations can get bored, so need to take turns?

Anyway, back to food. The food was delicious. The mains and desserts were awesome. Honestly, I have never left Azhang feeling hungry or that I overpaid for lousy food. Of which another gripe I have, being that Singapore overcharges for the quality of what they put on your plate. The gripe does not apply to hawker centres, kopithiams or food courts.

Part two for the evening became drinks at my place. The night was young but we old in the bones already...no more mood to "lancing, lancing". So Debbie, Adrian (note how fast they duck when the camera comes out), Sa, Wayne with Jason, Veron & bf adding to the group came over with more whiskey and some 80% alcohol. I think we couldn't find enough games to drink to.

Congrats group, you guys were the first to drink and Jason, the first to get drunk at my place! *grin*

Hog's Something at Bugis

2007-04-06T11:11:00.000+08:00

Chan and Sam (go figure who is which) are taste-testing something
David learns to make an expresso-something under the watchful

eyes of the boss. I think they go there so often that the

boss lets them make their own drinks

success! looks like a barista!

Lesson on Good Friday: Darts also can be played with soft tips and a handicap. Macham like golf.

YMIR regional finals@St James Powerstation

2007-04-05T11:11:00.000+08:00

sometimes I think that all I ever go to St James for is for work. always this event or that (work) party, or some product launch or some vendor friend's industry night. I honestly do not think that I have, or at the moment, would, on a Friday evening, make my way down to St James.

nothing against the venue. it's just the location. look, even if I go to vivocity for a movie premiere (which is the only reason why I go vivo anyways)...it hasn't struck me to walk across the road to St James. the place just seems boring.

give me (urgh) kandibar or (double urgh) MOS...on some days.

so anyway, I was at the "Grand Regional Finals" of the "You Make It Reel" Nokia competition on the eve of Good Friday. working of cos. what did you think? I like to internalise it as having to work for my alcohol. makes time pass faster.

early lesson of the evening: if you want to hold event at the main St James, please QC the food and menu items.

it was a good event la, lots of crowd, lots of alcohol. being in the VIP section next to stage has its privileges. food sucked tho. otherwise, the night had its own magic. next day was a holiday; everyone seemed to want to just chill and let the night slowly go by.add alcohol to that mix and it was a good excuse as any for catching up with some friends, watching some others make fools of themselves...and of cos, had to network slightly. still, I have been in harder places lar.

quick post on the hse

2007-04-03T00:17:00.000+08:00

several points to sum up the hse move

1. ikea, ikea and ikea (now i friends member leh)

2. credit card close to max out (fwah, never before)

3. unpacking

4. throwing away boxes (next time, pay more for movers to pack and unpack for u)

5. a ladder is very important (make sure it is one of the first things you buy, groceries can wait)

6. grocery shopping also can cost $200+...in one trip...somemore NTUC

7. lotsa dust

8. keep calling the interior designer for everything that goes wrong (aircon leak, plumbing leak, touching up painting, sanding door frame, aircon not cold...all at last count)

9.storage space is important.i repeat, important

10. washing clothes also must figure out schedule. (jia lat)

pic 1 - cluttered living room; i like the open kitchen concept! the white bar counter is for makan. pic 2 - entrance to my work area/spare guest room; the black sofa is for sleeping. pic 3 - boxes, boxes, boxes.

when it rains, it pours...non-stop

2007-03-27T09:31:00.000+08:00

i stumbled through last week, desperately seeking to recover from the sudden loss of Mickey. just when i thought it was safe to get excited about moving house this week, i get socked in the face by life again. a couple of times.

1. my granny got admitted into A&E last friday due to a dangerous build-up of blood fluid in her skull. the pressure by the blood on the brain was simulating a stroke and for the entire of last week, she was forgetful, couldn't hold items like utensils properly, her mind was distracted and unfocused. the doctors at the A&E scheduled an immediate operation on saturday. tk god that she went through surgery fine. but as you know, life is never so simple. even though we bloody wish it could be less complicated. during the op, she became one of the 5-10% of patients that suffer fits after surgery. doctors got worried that her mobility on the right side of her body was affected. as it is, the first 48 hours post-op is the most important for recovery and all signs show that she is getting better by the moment.

she couldn't even speak or focus on saturday and by yesterday, she was off pure oxygen and breathing normal air. her surgeon says the brain needs to re-expand to fill up the space that was occupied by the blood. but if it expands too fast, that's not good. if it expands too slow/doesn't expand, then that's not good either. can't it just be simple??

so today is the last of the 48 hours and into the care component of recovery. my aunt's getting her room retro-fitted with handle bars, and anti-slip material on the floor and etc. now if only the powers that be can make her recovery as uncomplicated as possible.

2. again, as if having to deal with the granny situation isn't tough enough. my lawyer calls me about the house. the ex-owner, under the new ruling by CPF and banks and all, does not have enough to pay both the bank and CPF for the amount taken out. under this new ruling, the bank gets priority. of course, the lawyer assures me that this is normal procedure, the ex-owner only needs to waive off the amount. of course, that really doesn't make the churn in my gut get any less. all i really, really, really want is for legal completion to complete and the ownership formally transferred. i am moving in later this week, for crying out loud. how much more ups and downs must there be, just to buy a damn house??

fingers crossed that the move goes smoothly this week and nothing more screws up. my gut will think it's being targeted by something.

3. mickey's ashes came back home last night. it is really heart-rending to see sandy (my last remaining dog) go looking around their common area trying to find mickey. it's heart breaking to sit through a storm knowing that sandy no longer has a companion to keep each other warm and to provide each other company. i miss mickey.

4. baby's having trouble with an ex-associate. if i could settle this for her, i would. but i have to be content with addressing it legally through proper channels. if her ex-associate so much as breathes a word in her direction, to my face, someone's going to get a rough time.

5. starhub. if there was a bigger name this week for inefficiency and bureaucracy, i cannot find it. luckily, there are still persons within the beast that actually have authority to do something. so i am moving out this week and applied for the transfer of my cable + internet service. my dad goes down to a sales ofc and tries to apply for a new cable subscription. the sales rep tells him he cannot because my account is still there and that the system will refuse to let him apply. even if ALL he wants to do is just apply, pay and arrange an appt with the technician for sometime post-thursday.

so he calls me, i call starhub at 1633 and i speak to this guy in the internet dept for 20 over minutes establishing that the ONLY option i have is to transfer my account over immediately so that my dad can apply at the sales ofc. unless, i or my dad choose to take more leave and come back down on thursday to do the application. of course, we cannot book a technician until thursday and then the next available date is the following week for installation. Come bloody on, all we are trying to do is make sure there's no disruption to our normal lifestyles in the coming days but then that's starhub's way. and it seems to be the only way. how good it must be for them to run a monopoly.

so i do the transfer out, my dad does the new application. the sales ofc convinces him that the installation is simple to do. no need for a technician. when will the idiots there realise that it's not about simple installation. it is also about customer service. an older person of 60 and above will find the easiest technological procedure complicated. it isn't about language or onsite demonstrations or even *shudder* manuals. they want the psychological assurance and peace of mind that an 'expert' has done the installation for them; that someone who knows what they are doing has done the difficult bit for them. and people like my dad are WILLING to PAY for it. ref: my point on the monopoly above. STARHUB, ARE YOU LISTENING?

finally, my dad calls me and says there's no internet in his package. i have a quick talk with the sales rep and he tells me that my current modem is tied to an account name whereas the services are tied to a residential address. how smart is that? and therefore since my current account is still alive and in another residence, i cannot use my modem to connect to the internet at my old place even though i am not physically moving yet. all these trouble because the starhub system cannot let my dad process a new cable application.

so i call 1633 again. and speak to this girl who listens to my entire story BEFORE telling me she isn't the right person and gives me the number to call the right dept. by the way, it's a wrong number. so somehow i manage to press enough keys on that stupid automated system before someone transfers me to the right person in the right dept. this person is called Des. now Des is a very patient person, he listens to the story and askes me what i want to do, what's the best case solution for me. i have absolutely NO problems with Des.

i do have problems with starhub still tho. apparently, my cable + internet account could actually be split into two different locations for a short duration, upon my authorisation. wow. and no one bloody thought of telling me this in the first place. the reason why? because i could stand to lose 3 days worth of bonus HUB points. WTF! who cares about that damn HUB points? how many HUB points can i blardy earn in 3 days anyway? what? i am a muncho premium subscriber is it? i will lose 10 billion HUB points if i split the account. for the record, i do NOT care about the HUB points. i care about the inconvenience NOT having my internet at home will cost me.

why does STARHUB make it such a DIFFICULT thing for their customers to enjoy better service? is it because there can only be the STARHUB way? i repeat, it must be nice working in a monopoly. well, in 3 years time, maybe the exclusive rights to content like the EPL will be up for grabs. maybe there will be competitors. i pray so. if only, so that the executives in Starhub can learn to sweat and actually make customer service, tuned in to the customer.

Thank you Mickey. I will miss you.

2007-03-21T10:20:00.000+08:00

In loving memory

of a good companion,

a wonderful huggable friend,

and a heart-warmer

Thank you Mickey for coming into our lives,
And thank you for being there for us,
I am going to miss you...lots,
Have fun in heaven.

words of wisdom from a fortune cookie

2007-03-15T09:38:00.000+08:00

"A candle brightens the worlds around it.
Unfortunately, it creates a shadow of its own. But it still serves the purpose it is meant for."

counting down the days with lotsa pictures!

2007-03-12T00:46:00.000+08:00

17 days to movin' in!

time just seems to be flying by this month. already there's like 2 weeks left to the actual move. dropped by to see the place earlier today. looked a mess. and somewhat smaller when everything's been stripped bare. yet, there's this feeling of excitement when i think about everything that's going to fill up the spaces.

baby and i picked out the kitchen accessories from this place in yishun last sun; we dropped by the lighting store with the interior designer today to pick out the house lights. i can actually 'see' the way the rooms are going to turn out. i love the patio. now all i need is a good gazebo to cover the 'lounging' area. crystal mirror

i had the opportunity to be one of the first in SG to catch the Crystal Mirror last wednesday,tks to Nokia! *grin* the crystal mirror is essentially a dinner theatre. there is great food, good alcohol and different entertainment. all performed as part of a carnival within a circus-like atmosphere.

the venue is set up at one side of the padang and resembles a small dome shaped circus from one angle and a high-rech kitchen on the other. i didn't really believe it when i saw the guest list and we had 50+ tables within the tent!

the one thing that i disagree on though, is the price. apparently it's like $400+ per person to enjoy the full visual and gastronomic pleasure of entertainment, dinner and drinks. i honestly didn't think the performance is worth that much.
bridge@ clarke quay overlooking 'Central' - taken with a Nokia N80. love the view. had to wait for the bum boat to pass under. IT SHOW 2007!

as usual, i attended another one of those over-crowded, poorly organised, one that was really full of rude people, and did i mention, a virtual confusing maze of booths, shows that took place just this weekend at suntec.

the pros though, included saving a couple of hundreds on the LCD tvs that we got for the house, a home theatre system that's white...like the xbox 360 that i will eventually buy as well as a 2Gb miniSD card and 2 GB SD card for $69.

will i go back again in june? i am sure that i will convince myself to somehow.

Mosaic Opening party@ esplanade's theatre studio

Mosaic had their opening party last friday at their theatre studio. one more gripe cos this is one thing i really cannot stand. they freakin' jam all their performance areas! no one gets coverage reception at all! hmmph! what an undemocratic way of enforicng their house rules. blardy hell!!

couple of misc. shots that i have to share - all taken with a Nokia N80.

taken at republic polytechnic. i think that we need to cut the education budget more and let us middle-income people actually breathe easier, knowing that even though we are the only 40% of the population that pays farking income tax in SG, that at least it isn't going to some foreign architect who's laughing to the bank after he finished RP.
caught this scence at Ikea Alexandria. isn't the kid really comfortable?
another picture from Ikea again. i didn't realise that they did auctions. but doesn't the guy holding the loudhailer actually inspire confidence in you that you 'might' be getting a good deal. maybe with a wig...

mixed march

2007-03-01T01:20:00.000+08:00

and finally...March is here!!

that's 28 more days before i take back the keys to my new home and move in.

*a bag of mixed emotions*

leave is for...

2007-02-23T22:00:00.000+08:00

leave is for...spending time looking at clarke quay when there is sunlight

leave is for...being in a starbucks during work hours and looking at others 'tuang'.

leave is for...the opportunity to spend time actually waiting for a bus and not rushing about in a cab.

leave is for...standing in the sun and taking photos of time passing by.

leave is for...capturing the moments in life.
god, i love being on leave.

just a lot of passing thinking words

2007-02-19T17:40:00.000+08:00

crappy DTZ agent...revisited

did i already blog about this? seems like i did but reading back maybe i didn't post it. did i tell you about what an asshole that DTZ agent is? i'm sure that i did but maybe i forgot to mention the latest thing that she 'forgot' to mention regarding the house. she freaking forgot to add the sinking fund cost to the maintenance cost. so when i thought that the amount that i was paying was good value for the area; in fact it is market rate cos that bitch neglected to do the adding.

i had to get awfully surprised by the MCST who told me the actual final maintenance cost. reflecting on the incident, it really isn't the amount of extra money. yeah, i had calculated and set aside the budget etc and being surprised this way with having to re-budget isn't the most pleasant of incidents. BUT the real issue i have here is with that bitch. how many more 'surprises' did she neglect to mention, how much more 'items' has she forgotten to speak to the owner about , etc? i totally am discounting 75% of whatever she has told me and prepared for my interior designer(ID) to tell me more things about the structure of the house as they do the renovation.

and the really lingering irritation is that there is NO authority that i can turn to, to complain and try to give her back the trouble and frustration she has cost me, in terms of time and effort. complaining to DZ is just as useless. the people there don't have any 'control' over their free agents. WHAT A LOAD OF BULLSHIT. DTZ has to be cursed to have this type of agents AND customer service personnel. no wonder, as an agency they cannot be number one, since service isn't a strong point of theirs' even though they are in a SERVICE industry. and this incident has painted the entire industry with the same brush for me. i declare that i have NO faith in the professionalism of the industry as a whole.

wood cut from the same tree cannot be too different when it comes to character and qualities of the tree.

Ba Kwa...and queues

i also wonder why singaporeans will only wait until CNY before queue-ing up for long long hours to buy ba kwa. the other 10 months of the year, these guys hardly make any profit selling the smoked pork but come CNY they cannot get rid of customers even if they had a stick.

btw, there is this shop at Telok Kurau that sells really good non-oily ba kwa. it's next to the hong kong cafe. those interested should go check it out.

offsite...at batam

my office had our annual offsite at batam this year. *pause while name sinks in*yes, batam. *sigh* overall we had a good time, but honestly i would choose bintan over batam anytime of the year. the batam resort where we got like 8 villas just didn't feel the same as having 1 grand villa at bintan the year before.

anyways, quick picture of the folks i work with. we don't always look this good.

a picture of chinatown in the day time a couple of days before CNY

didn't find many good deals this year and i guess it's really proven that unless you know someone who does home-baked goodies, whatever you get at the open market won't taste as nice. =/

design & renovation is such a rush!

2007-02-08T11:53:00.000+08:00

what a week! in 7 days, we have confirmed the ID firm to handle the design and renovation for the house, going to start shopping for the stuff like the tiles, lights, fixtures etc within the week and then move into the place towards the end of March. it's going to be rush rush rush!

never realised exactly how much goes into renovating a house; it's like advanced managment making sure that all the external factors are all catered for and taken care of. details like applying for renovation permission, confirming the firm, making sure there's enough money in the bank suddenly loom bigger because of the shorter time-frame.

no wonder, they say moving house is stressful. well, fingers crossed that nothing goes wrong and that it will be a smooth move and then looking forward to all the house parties and gatherings after! it will be nice to finally call some place my own as well, i reckon.

btw, tks dear for the great recommendation for our anniversary dinner last week. don't think i mentioned it and i should have; it was a good choice. *grin*

caught this article in the straits times today. such a beautiful moment for the content in question. but i bet they never realised 5000 years later, that they would be a perfect photo opp. maybe the human race has got some hope afterall.

Call it the eternal embrace.

Archaeologists in Italy have discovered a couple buried 5,000 to 6,000 years ago, hugging each other.

'It's an extraordinary case,' said Ms Elena Menotti, who led the team on the dig near the northern city of Mantova. 'There has not been a double burial found in the Neolithic period, much less two people hugging.'

Ms Menotti said she believed the two, almost certainly a man and a woman, died young because their teeth were mostly intact and not worn down.

'When we discovered it, we all became very excited. I've been doing this job for 25 years... but I've never been so moved, because this is the discovery of something special.'

A laboratory will try to determine the couple's age at the time of death and how long they had been buried.
(article from Straits Times and picture from REUTERS)

Singapore River Hongbao 2007 schedule

2007-01-31T18:47:00.000+08:00

For all of you interested in going to the Singapore River Hongbao thingy, it will be held from 16 Feb-4 March.

16 Feb (Fri) - Opening Ceremony
9:15 to 9:30 p.m.
Duration of Fireworks : 3 mins

17 Feb (Sat) Eve of CNY
9:00 p.m.
Duration : 5- 8 mins

18 Feb (Sun) - 1st Day of CNY
Time: 9:00 p.m.
Duration: 5- 8 mins

19 Feb (Mon) - 2nd Day of CNY
9:00 p.m.
Duration: 5- 8 mins

24 Feb (Sat)
Time: 9:00 p.m.
Duration: 5- 8 mins

25 Feb (Sun)
Time: 9:00 p.m.
Duration: 5- 8 mins

4 Mar (Sun) - 15th day of CNY
Time: 9:00 p.m.
Duration: 5- 8 mins

Comfort Cabs complaint investigation sucks!

2007-01-30T13:19:00.000+08:00

i think that Comfort Cabs should take a long and hard look at preparing proper responses to customer complaints. this is of cos with reference to the complaint i made against cab driver 3220 last friday evening.

our dear frens at comfort took over a week to respond to me, only calling me this morning. if they had waited one more day, i would have penned a letter to the Forum pages but since they beat my internal timeline, i will have to be content with a blog-post.

the best part, of cos, are the results achieved.

the results outlined:
1. informed driver of complaint
2. educated driver on being polite
3. given warning to driver

for fark's sake, they needed 8 days to do this??!! and so i pressed on. 'what did you tell the driver?', 'does he realise the impact of the warning?', 'what type of training do both drivers and operators receive?'...and so on.

of course, all the Comfort customer rep would repeat, in a really bored voice, was 'yes they undego training', 'another complaint for a recalcitrant driver would mean a review of their service agreement' and the clicher 'the operators and drivers are asked to practice what they are trained to do'.

is it just me or to an irate (and yes i was really irate!) customer, just handing out simple one-liners like these just isn't enough. i made a specific complaint regarding the driver of one vehicle number 3220. i want to know why he did what he did, was there a basis for his frustration, why did he react in such a manner, what is the company going to do about it and importantly, what measures is Comfort Cabs going to take to reassure me that such behaviours are not tolerated and will not be repeated?

i spent my time calling and preparing a fair account of the complaint detailing my actions and what i expected from Comfort Cabs. if that time is not reciprocated with a proper investigation, what assurance do i have that the company is watching out for my interests as a paying customer?

perhaps this is really a case where i should make an effort to switch cab brands. comfort may have the largest fleet but it doesn't mean that customers should put up with such service standards.

jedi!!!

2007-01-29T01:16:00.000+08:00

still waiting to hear back from comfort for their update on that cabbie that pissed the shit out of me last last friday. any ideas on how to scare them really good and make them start to think of valuing their customers more?

the green fairy tastes really good, but only the red one, the green one is a little bit too rough on the throat. and...home-prepared absinthe tastes more authentic then bar-prepped ones. tks cheong! *grin*

apprently indonesian durians taste better than malaysian ones. woohoo! Singapore beat Malayisa to get to the finals! ole ole ole ole ole!!!

so this weekend was somewhat packed with the green fairy on fri & sat, celine's wedding on sat, then cheong's on early sun morning before blair's for aussie day brunch (tks B!) and finally settling down to watch bolton possibly beat arsenal (current score 1:1).

but the real highlight, after lots of wine and another absinthe shot, was this. check out the screen shots.

it's fun being a kid again sometimes.

it's been a long January...and it cannot seem to end fast enough

2007-01-24T00:29:00.000+08:00

long long January. kinda figured that it would be a fast track all the way once Jan 8 started. launched this little baby at this place opposite the Tyler Print Institute along Md. Sultan.

Nokia N76. looks really cool and this time round at least the functionality works out to be a full package. good MP camera, landscape mode, clamshell and large screen. the keypad has to be tried to tell but overall design looks really fantastic. and it comes in black as well for that ultra chic look for the non-red inclined.

work piled up as usual. what else is new? i said this in 2006 and said that it's funny how the year revved up so quickly. i bet that 2007 was waiting around the corner, laughing.

'boy, he has no idea how 2007 is going to begin.'

so anyway, work aside, i got the keys to my apartment. the current owner is this really good chap. he and i have a common aim: to get the transaction of the apartment settled ASAP. lawyers are advising that i might be able to ge ownership sometime in march, which suits me really well. *fingers crossed* hope nothing happens to affect this timeline.

spent an entire day at the new place waiting for the interior design firms to come and measure the area in order to prepare a design quotation. there was this guy from Unique who should never be used again. we made an appt with him to come do the measurements during one of the exhibitions at the Expo. he did a no-show. we called him at the office and found out that he had a 'walk-in' that caused him to do a no-show. so no call to explain that he was held up, no call to inform us that he needs to change the appointment. and all he could offer was a half hearted 'sorry' and a 'can i call you again to fix an appointment?'. now if you have given me such a bad first impression, what makes you think i will give you another chance.

btw, i called the customer service manager to complain. i have yet to hear back from them.

had a really lousy cab ride one night last week. called from a cab to pick up from great eastern centre.when i reached there, found out that there was some large scale construction going on and the entrance to the lobby was blocked. so i crossed the road, called the operator to inform the cab to pick up from one george street instead. operator reports that she cannot get through to the driver. i am one step away from cancelling but she says that from the tracker, he is somewhere near me so i didn't. 15 mins later, he pulls up at a side street next to where i am. and from the moment i get in complains about 3 things - that he had to wait for 20 mins at another lobby, that he had to wait for 3 days since i wanted to pay by credit card and that he was upset at the operator.

at the beginning i was willing to humor him but when he started calling up the operator manager halfway through the drive to complain, when he began to tailgate and speed needlessly and the clincher, when i paid by credit card and upon checking which slip to sign, he went 'you pay by credit card, should know what to do', that really hit the limit. i paid, got out of the cab and made a complaint.

similarly, i have not heard a word from Comfort yet. btw, the cab number is 3220.

and finally, i learnt a solid lesson at home today. things don't always happen the way you want them to BUT the rejoiner can read: that roles are reversed and tables turned; what once was can be the basis and foundation for what will be. why can't extremes meet in the center?

*really looking forward to a holiday. somewhere far. away from work. away from other factors. just to chill, recharge and refresh.*

happy birthday mummy!

2007-01-06T22:31:00.000+08:00

happy birthday mum! *hugs*

recap: 2006 & crystal ball: 2007

2007-01-04T01:00:00.000+08:00

recap:2006

the last 7 days from christmas to new year's eve (NYE) was a blast! had so many things lined up one after the other. but it was a good break away from the pressures of work and the usual so-i-really-have-to-do-this actions. here are some of the highlights that i can remember...

had a dinner to celebrate my granny's 80th birthday at SICC on the 23rd. didn't realise how a table full of old people could be so vibrant; and very glad to see her look happy. spent christmas eve over into christmas really high then drunk. lotsa fun at traders hotel suite. everyone brought alcohol; we didn't bring any back. *fingers crossed* that the hotel doesn't find the damage. i won't bother posting any "before" photos, especially when the "after" photo kinda sums up the state of the room and the success of the party.

i promise i will try to get the photos out to the necessary people once i figure out how.

the following friday was my baby's party. this one was tamer. only one person got knocked out, and one birthday boy hopefully drunk or at least very happy by the time he reached zouk, and a couple of others more happy than high. this one no incriminating photos. dang.

saturday was amanda's birthday steamboat lunch and her 'surprise' games. good effort babe! but really the torture came from the blardy aerobic exercise tapes you screened with one Richard Simmons. gosh that guy must have been a reject from the 70's.

notice his attire. then look at the back up support dancers/exercisers he has with him. what an ego boost he must be nursing. happy birthday amanda!

then of cos it was the NYE at jean's place. this one was special. it is the one and only year i spent the first morning of a new year...running around marine parade looking for someone. literally running. nothing more to say, save that next NYE - i will bring a strait jacket. actually maybe i will bring more than ONE.

strait·jack·et Pronunciation[streyt-jak-it]
–noun
1. a garment made of strong material and designed to
bind the arms, as of a violently disoriented person.

those were fun days for the last days of 2006. and i think as a recap, i am glad that 2006 ended the way it did with all the fun since 2007 already seems to be building up to be a really serious year. 2006 was really a different year in that, to me, at the beginning in January, it just felt like an extension of 2005. if so, i have had 24 months to learn the following:

things i have learnt in 2006:

1. focus...that no matter how swarmed over by anything i could get, that somehow i can turn the tide and concentrate on the components and get each little bit settled, one slow agonising step at a time.

2. patience...to deal with the fools i meet along the way. (if you need to think whether you were one of them, then don't worry you aren't. i do not suffer fools gladly)

3. clarity...to finally see the bigger picture and start planning to reach it. yeah, i always have a master plan but did you know that plans move through draft stages too? maybe this one is going to be the final one.

4. friends...thanks to all those who lent me a ear, gave me a pat on the back and pushed me forward. even when all i wanted to do was stay still. don't worry, no i do not blame you.

crystal ball: 2007

like i pointed out above, this seems to be shaping up to be a really serious year. makes me wonder where i will be at the end of the next 12 months. will this year be full of harmony and good karma after the struggles of the last? or will it be another 365 days (now 361 days) of torturous and slow movement forward and quick slides backward?

two major milestone at least in the next 4 months. the first - getting the keys to my new apartment after watching it get torn partway to the ground and built right back up. god knows that would be enough excitement to last the remaining 8 months after. the second - moving/bunking in with my baby. *grin* this will be a happy milestone; provided the forces that be don't throw any more curve balls than they already have. (god, you listening?)

a new year is often a time for resolutions. well this time round, i have decided not to hogwash it and actually create a couple of them. these are the ones that can be shared.

1. try and leave office before 7pm everyday. (if i manage 3 out of every 5 days, i reckon this is a sucess. next year can try for 4 days. )
2. eat more, weigh less. (still inspired by baby's cousin-in-law...do i smell meat?*yum*)
3. run more, bulk up. (nuff' said)
4. look after my fish better. (i luurrvee my fishies.)
5. spend more time with my granny. ( i realised in a flash that's she's 80...)
6. be even more insanely patient with fools than i have been. (but if you fill up my time with inane chatter, someone is goin' to get a beatin'.)
7. go for a holiday...finally. somewhere. hopefully enjoyable, with lots of rest and food. (missions to purchase cheaper items from chatucak or saigon or bali do not count - yay! more holidays!)
8. master chinese cooking. (might as well, since i will have a kitchen in 4 months and less money to eat out. =p)

okay then, report card due in June and then December 2007. maybe i will remember half of them. *fingers crossed* i will try my darnest! *earnest voice*

merry new year!!

2006-12-31T23:30:00.000+08:00

merry new year !! hope that 2007 will be a better year for all!! =)

happy christmas everyone! grin

2006-12-25T23:10:00.000+08:00

happy christmas everyone! *grin*

X'MAS auctions!

2006-12-18T23:07:00.000+08:00

so i have decided to sell off some of the stuff i own, that i have painstakingly accumulated for long time in exchange for money. this, as you all very well know, is a heart-wrenching and painful decision. BUT i have pondered this long and hard for many moons and i have come to the decision that i must make a sacrifice and relieve you of the burden of cash and pass you something that you need in return.

barter trade - i take money you take goods.

1) Schott Zwiesel DIVA Burgundy Glasses - each box comes with a pair of 2 DIVA glasses. selling at $20/- per box. i have a total of 7 boxes.
http://sg.auctions.yahoo.com/sg/i::90576334

2) Nike daypack - yellow & grey daypack. 3 main compartments & 2 side pockets. selling at $20.
http://sg.auctions.yahoo.com/sg/auction/214257393

3) FILA pouch - pink; good for travel to keep valuables close. two compartments. selling at $15.
http://sg.auctions.yahoo.com/sg/i::214269475

4) FILA shoe bag - red with zip. good for one pair of shoes. selling at $10.
http://sg.auctions.yahoo.com/sg/auction/214271671

5) Timberland haversack - black with one main compartment. comfortable shoulder straps. good for day trips. selling at $25. almost new condition.
http://sg.auctions.yahoo.com/sg/auction/214275273

6) Kyocera camera - 4MP camera, multiple mode shoot. twistable lense (see picture) to capture hard to catch angles. excellent macro functionality. one year old.
http://sg.auctions.yahoo.com/sg/auction/214280949

please support and email these links to ALL your interested friends and family!!

X'MAS SPECIALS!!

sunday's over! woohoo!

2006-12-18T01:30:00.000+08:00

well the 3 weeks of hell is over...sunday ended well and all's good in the world again. here's some pictures of the customer stunt i managed today. the dance group in the photos call themselves The Illers. they are a really fun bunch of people to work with AND very professional. they conduct themselves well and are willing to go the extra mile. highly recommend them for your next commercial/marketing event. leave a comment if you need their contacts.

check out the crowds in the photos. *grin* took an entire week to plan this, full of late nights, long phonecalls, and ONE gut-wrenching moment when i woke up on sunday morning to find it stormy.

this is the best photo of the lot that i captured. we were at the starbucks outside raffles city and the group had started to perform. this guy was literally carrying his laptop and skyping/msn/yahoo IM-ing his friends to check out the dance. cool!!

after the day-long activity, we headed to dinner at this place called waraku at katong village. the salted lotus root not bad as well as the mushroom tempura. i already tried two different curry udons (seafood and grilled chicken) which was really quite good. UOB credit cards give you like 10% off the total bill. the bill came up to about $80+ for 4 people both times that i have eaten there. go give it a try, i give the place 4 out of 5 ticks!

curse of the golden flower gets a thumbs-up!

2006-12-14T23:53:00.000+08:00

caught Curse of the Golden Flower on tuesday, tks to Wayne from IS. it is a good show. serious. go watch. even if you only want to laugh at jay chou's acting. but besides the comedic effect he lends to an otherwise serious show about the historical power of an emperor from china, the cinematography is 'wow!'. the colours, the action chereographs, the script...really quite impressed.

upgraded to IE7. the interface not too bad as well; think they rip off mozilla lots, especially with the add-ons and the tabs functionality. still more choice for the consumer cannot be a bad thing. hope they continue to try and top each other for long time to come.

had an interesting conversation with my dad today on blue chips/stocks; anyone with an opinion want to drop me a comment? are you investing in shares at the moment? do you use POEMS or a traditional broker? how much is each?

yes yes i know i should spend time to research, spend money to make money but no sense recreating the wheel...even when you know you can do it better.

i am really feeling very drained out after the past 3 weeks...

2006-12-13T21:49:00.000+08:00

the title says it all. it's been 3 really really tiring weeks with all the work, dealing with the bitch of a housing agent, working out the loan stuff with the lawyers and the bank. i am *pooped*, drained, tired, exhausted, mentally blocked, adrenaline un-fixed. whatever.

work just never seems to stop piling up! i cancelled my finally-earned-missed-so-much leave this week because i had 5 activities happen in 7 days from end November. i mean i freakin' worked on my birthday for cryin' out loud. and so i entered this week thinking that it would slow down.

was i ever wrong man. blardy hell, i have been coordinating projects, doing normal day to day, fire-fighting and standing in for my team. it's like there is no rest. farkin' hell. i am paid to consult and advise my clients. why do i not feel i am doing any of that...my team granted has got compromising circumstances - one is sick, one is overloaded, two are offsite, one is handling different parts of the account - but really, just sometimes, i feel really du lan. tell me about it.

and...at the same time that i already have a full plate on my table. i still had to get the freakin' bitch of an agent to get me the signed OTP form so that i can meet the lawyers to get the conveyance process sorted out. then i had to ensure enough money in the account. never thot i would say this...tk god for citibank ready credit. and at the end of it all, i meet one of the nicest, confidence-inspiring lawyers today who seems so lao jiao that he knows exactly how to advise me on my property conveyance. to top that up, the seller is not too bad a guy as welll; since he is like saying aside from money he is willing to pretty much let me move in and renovate really soon.

so lotsa ups and downs to handle. oh yeah, the ofc is moving by this friday so i need to get involved with handling my own stuff and the client inventory in the ofc so that's not funny. add to that a full day mtg next monday which needs a 3-4 hour presentation preparation period. did i mention that i foolishly took leave on friday? this is not funny. really.

the AD index, for those of you who know my MSN, has really blardy well hit the fuckin' roof!

"known issues" on blogger worked!

2006-12-04T23:42:00.000+08:00

so i was feeling rather upset with blogger for not giving me my fonts and colour and pictures and i stumbled upon this guy's solution which...ta dah!...was to clear my cache! goodness me. and to think that i have been using blogger for 2 years. the simple thing was to clear my cache. blardy hell, who clears their cache cos' of blogging??!! i don't even clear if after banking.

damn. maybe now i need to start.

anyways, yes the ads that i saw at the plaza singapura bus stop. damn cool! it's this brand called pucca. think it is a snack or something. says something about the creative that i forget what the product is.

friday i went to this restaurant called Azhang for their cornbeef fried rice night. makan started around 8pm. well actually that's the time i reached the place after work on a friday night. anyways, after loading us with beef balls, kailan with bacon, chicken wings, beef, etc...the main objective of the night came at 10.30pm. so for $25, that was pretty damn well worth it. pictures below.

sam has this awesome party at her place on saturday. there was lotsa food and even more alcohol. discovered that malibu and cordon bleu can mix to become some coconut tasting thing. and that the christmas ham from mezza9 is very very delicious. i also found that glenfiddich ancient reserve 18 yrs is very drinkable w/o a mixer. now i am corrupted by expensive high quality whiskey. i also realised that having a window overlooking an indoor pool isn't the best of things to have when people are drunk. the number of guys climbing to the second floor and jumping down is damn funny!!

and after all that fun over the weekend, i started work on a monday morning early, lasted through the 9 hour mtg day (divided over three meetings) and then stumbled home at 9pm to do a run.

damn i hope december won't be like this.

what is wrong with blogger?

2006-12-04T23:37:00.000+08:00

this is so weird. blogger beta seems to not be functioning that well. i don't have the task bar that lets me choose font or colour or *shudder* add photos.

so i cannot tell you about the great ad i saw with fish outside plaza singapura at the bus stop or of the great dinner i had at azhang with cornbef fried rice or of the cool happenin' party on saturday at sam's.

i cannot show the different things i bought on sunday, not that i would have but i could have. or wax lyrical in different fonts about the incredibly long and tiring day i had on monday with meetings back to back for 9 straight hours.

*sigh* hope blogger comes back soon, else i might have to migrate to livejournal.

ranting thoughts

2006-11-29T22:39:00.000+08:00

i love wkrz91.3 music! ever since they stopped the ah beng techno music crap, and switched to Top 40, slow rock and 90's music, it's been great! they have this streaming application so i load it at work and let it run the whole day(tk God for broadband!). at least it beats FM99.5 sometimes, especially when they do the slow trance mix...

the latest in the house saga up until last sunday weekend can be found in my baby's blog under "feeling like the first day of school" post. and to top off the anal, unprofessional lows that she can stoop to, i spent the last 3 freaking days trying to get her to email me a BLANK form over sms and phone calls. i needed the form to get my bank loan application approved by the bank. in the end i had to call DTZ on their main line to get them to fax me the form. and then the bloody agent emails me today and then asks me for the 4% to complete the transaction.

i swear i am not letting her earn her commission that easily. DTZ's comms dept will have a good week coming up if not well the papers' forums might have another article to publish.

work is piling up. i went on leave last thursday and friday. before i left, i had 2 events slated to end by 7 Dec. i was planning to go on leave from the 8 to the 15 dec. by the end of monday, i figured i have 5 events to finish by the 10 dec. one tmr, one next tues, wed, thur and possibly one over the weekend. and i am out for meetings the whole of monday. i have no idea how it all piled up suddenly...

now you can guess why i don't like going on leave so often. 2005 was the year when i was called back from leave all the time cos of work. 2006 is the year that i get punished after clearing leave.

what would make my evening tonight would be for pool to beat portsmouth 2-1 or 3-0 and everton to beat chelsea 2-0. *fingers crossed*

why is it so tough to be morally upright in life?

2006-11-20T22:39:00.000+08:00

why is it so tough to want to be right; to want to consider the consequences and act from a position of knowledge and not guess-work?

why can't others accept sometimes that there are different value propositions and sometimes morality is not all on a straight line? that there are different points one can enter and stand from and still be upright?

why is it only when something happens, and someone else says "i told you so" then it becomes apparent? when there is only yourself left to shoulder the consequences, take the blame and dig your freakin' head into the sand?

screw the generation that said they know everything. try living in my time for a change.

GST may go up to 7%...SIGH

2006-11-19T22:09:00.000+08:00

here's part two of the ATM update. remember that ATM picture that i took which had the addresses of the other ATMs nearest to it? check this out...the same ATM one week later on a sunday evening around 7+ pm.

how does the bank expect me to want to remain a customer if their ATMs are on downtime so much? yes! sometimes i do not want to use the freakin' internet to settle my transactions. i happen to like getting little slips of paper that reassure me on how much money i actually still have in my savings account.

oops. wait a minute. i remember something. i actually closed my savings accounts with that particular bank some months ago. i figured i didn't like driving to 4 different locations in one hour, around 1am at night. not my fault that my personal time happens to take place late at night.

and besides, i always thought personal banking meant that they would cater to MY time; not theirs'. that's why we are paying so much money, or even saving money in a bank for right? okay so maybe i might be overly optimistic.

anyways, i need to rant. 7% farking GST!!! those idiots in the government think we are all swimming in gold is it?

"dear, where you going?" the wife asks.

"oh, don't worry about me dear. i need to go jump into the gold pool after a long day of work." comes the reply.

they want to use the extra money earned to push it into budgets for taking care of the needs of the elderly, since singapore will have a larger population of older workers, citizens in the next 20 years.

who the fuck are they trying to fool??? c'mon, they haven't even released the results of any studies done to show the needs and potential costs of fulfilling any of those needs for the ageing population. and ALREADY they want to collect money. today's sunday times very nicely places a interview with some unsatisfied Finn who didn't like seeing HIS money go to paying for a welfare state. DUH. your money goes into someone's pockets you like??

but at the very least compare apples to apples, some European states actually give out FREE education, FREE healthcare. unlike some of the educational insitutions that i hear only bargains with the banks to give interest-free loans to the students, for 4 years. once you walk out the doors, you pay money. and there is a mentality here in singapore, a person would rather DIE than go to hospitals. i blardy wonder why.

so GST goes up to 7%, maybe 10% in the next couple of years, but will we ever see personal income tax go down? probably not. and this is why I think not. remember ERP? that brillant mechanism that was implemented against popular opinion? it actually had a purpose, to reduce traffic flow and make drivers less inclined to enter the CBD zone and therefore reduce traffic congestion in the business districts. somehow it evolved from CBD to all congested areas, now it sits before every major expressway. mornings, evenings, and we all know weekends too!

now remember the COE? of course, who can forget it right? well guess what, it's original rationale for existence was to raise the cost of cars so that buyers would refrain from purchase and the overall net driver numbers would remain low therefore keeping the traffic congestion down in major city areas.

that sounds suspiciously to me like what the ERP is for now...so why don't they pick between one or the other? oh but of course, if they do, then revenue is cut by x%. silly me.

btw, MCYS recently released a initiative for business to get seed money from them to start on ideas & services that aim to encourage the 'singles' market by creating opportunities for fun activities and opportunate gatherings. by this i mean that businesses are getting seed money from the government to pay them to think and focus on ideas for the singles out there to get laid, married and procreate (sometimes not necessarily in that order).

i wonder where the money for this initiative came from.

Christmas lights are already up in Orchard...

2006-11-15T00:43:00.000+08:00

you would think that we would learn from our mistakes every year. but no we don't. christmas lights keep getting set up earlier and earlier every year. that stupid horrendous christmas tunes start blaring out from departmental stores...driving me to want to smash the inhouse CD player or go home.

if spenders like me go home, driven away by the early start to christmas then maybe they will learn not to start the 'jolly' season so early.

wassup with beginning 6 weeks ahead of schedule? look, 1 Dec with the lights and all? forgivable. 10 Nov with the light up? why for goodness sakes? and besides whose money is being used to pay for all the electricity and such. i can feel my pocket getting lighter already.

some of those caught in the act...

also check this out; 'unnamed' ATM has list of nearest ATM outlets by proximity to location. it raises the question; 'does the ATM break down so often that enough people have called and therefore the bank provides the list of nearest other ATMs to this one?'

congrats Janice & John!

2006-11-12T12:30:00.000+08:00

...and many many joyous and lovely moments to you both for the rest of your lives. *grin*

the happy couple

tks for the invite to a wonderful wedding at Snappers@ the Ritz.

View from the 17th floor of the Ritz

Michael, Dawn, Janice, John, Me

KL biz trip - day 3

2006-11-09T23:39:00.000+08:00

Today was a rather slow day; spent most of it clearing and finishing up my SG work. Had lunch at this place called La Bodega – check out pictures of the beef pie and the roast chicken that ML had. It is like this small café cum deli that serves alcohol in the day time and tapas.

Decided to do some walking around after work at the mega-mall next to my hotel. Realised that after walking around the place for the fourth or fifth time, that there really isn’t anything that interesting anymore. Bought another long sleeve round tee at Zara. Wandered around the lower ground (LG) floor. This is like their basement just above the carpark. It’s where all the food, supermarkets and bakeries are. Dunkin’ Donuts too!

I had dinner at the “All Sports Bar” after that. The experience reminded me of this module I did in the university titled “Sociology of Food”. Humans are such social creatures that they do not want to eat alone. Since my colleagues all had something on, I was eating alone. I remember part of the module required us to record a notebook of the feelings we experience when we sat alone in a public place and ate. There was this flashback I had earlier today when I remembered becoming more acutely aware of the diners at the next table, that the only source of distraction became a focal point (in today’s case, the large screen showing soccer) as well as how observant I became of my surroundings. Waiter picking up a knife two tables down? Noted that. My food coming from around a blind spot? Aha! Gotcha!

Well it’s the last night here in KL for this trip. Cannot wait to get back home…*grin*

KL biz trip

2006-11-07T23:27:00.000+08:00

Update on the apt search
just a quick update on the apt search. we have found a place that we like! and we have already made an offer for the place. now all that’s left is to hope that all goes well and the seller decides to agree to our offer. *grin* everybody contribute mental support k!

there is a complication though. yups, since when can my life ever be mundane? *rolls eyes* we made an offer but the seller’s agent is trying to get us to raise our offer while she is giving a different price to other potential buyers. i know cos’ i know of one other person who has seen the place. after we made the offer, she called the other person and asked him whether he would like to match or raise the offer. cannot wait until the owner accepts the offer and then i can tell that double dealing asshole that i know what she was doing. Service satisfaction quotient at all time low.

Update on career
nothing much to add here. boss made a good offer and i accepted. enough said.

Biz trip in KL – Day One
been sent up to KL for a biz trip; to help the M’sian office since we share some of the same clients. so i am staying at the Boulevard Hotel at Mid Valley City. initially i had this impression that the hotel would be this really business-like, functional, practical place and not for leisure-type stays but it surprised me. check out the picture of the room and bathroom. really glad that I am staying here, the bathroom gave me inspiration for what I would want to do for my apt bathroom as well.

so the hotel is next to the Mid-Valley City Mall where there are like 300+ shops (including those small kiosks). there are the usual brands like Zara, Topshop, G2000 etc as well as some local brands like Padini, Batik etc. but overall, this place feels and looks better than the Bintang Plaze area (closer to the Ritz). And i discovered that for men’s clothing here, Zara is cheaper here than Singapore! *grin*

and they also have Carrefour downstairs where the funny thing is that there is a lady at the entrance that will cable tie any loose plastic bag before you can enter. must be a major problem with shop-lifters if they need to zip up my MPH bag of books.

had dinner at Chilli’s; this western bar cum restaurant where literally half the area is a bar and the other is a restaurant. the lamb steak is good…*grin* love my meats.

KL – Day Two
woke up early today to try out the gym. it is very cool! check out the pictures.

after that had breakfast at the hotel restaurant Wild Rice. see pictures of the food! i had jellyfish & herbal soup! *smile* what a combination eh?

had lunch at this food court located near the office.

after work my colleague D had to do a site recce at this place called Maison; so decided to follow him. before that we headed to Sungei Wang and Lau Yat to get some movies and software and dinner at this outdoor hawker area that i last visited in 2004.

KL Fashion Week was taking place at Sungei Wang; check out the pictures below.

after makan, we headed to Maison and took a brief look around the place. not too bad a venue; the location seemed further away than was comfortable for me. but that is most probably due to me being Singaporean and finding long drives a chore.

so now on to day three and one more day back to Singapore and OMG JW’s wedding!!

back to the daily grind

2006-10-31T23:46:00.000+08:00

*sigh* cannot believe it is already wednesday..where did my leave last week go? so quick and once again, it's back to the daily grind.

met with cat and JW on friday for a leisurely lunch, dessert and them shopping. so JW, i say again. if you are going to be in that dress, i ain't going to wear formal jacket. i will be nice. long sleeve round collar shirt ok? jacket optional. the black karen miller gown not too bad lar, i think. $800? sure you considered. gotta check whether you already bought it when you get back from shanghai. take leave to prep wedding my a**...=)

the weekend went really well. met up with the group for pizza and drinks at raffles city/chijmes. amy actually did the organising this time although she left early for reasons as yet unknown. but we had a good time listening to the band, catching up somewhat with each other. tze wei didn't know it then but he probably came up with one of the best reasons we still remain close which is the 'last friday' of the month meet-ups.

last friday was also XP's, Samuel (when am i ever going to see you again), and tze wei's birthdays. happy birthdays bros and mei! *grin* too bad NONE of you could make it down for last friday but there's always november.

saturday met charles and chan for liverpool vs. aston villa. pool won 3-1. that itself was really good but what really made it not my day was that i placed $10 on the man u vs. bolton match. if farking rooney didn't score that one more goal to make it 4-0, i would be a $160 richer now. but that ass had to take that one more shot to put bolton down; and really place them into utter misery in the freakin' 89th minute. bloody hell! bolton isn't going to stage a comeback. be merciful a**hole!

anyway.

me and the gf went house hunting again sunday...and we stumbled really onto our dream apartment. well dream apartment after renovaton but still the possibilities. ah, the potential is so acute, so tangible. really really really wish/beg/hope/pray/beeseech the powers-that-be to let the sale of my current house pull through with the solid indication this thursday. if that happens, and all else runs well...i will be moving into a new home before CNY next year.

all are welcome to the house warming! bring good useful practical gifts! *grin*

monday was another rush day. it's as if all the work was just hanging in the air and the dam burst. so i find out in one day that i have meetings to prepare for, plans to write, reviews to conduct, a conference to attend, an interview to host, meeting to attend and i am flying off to KL next week for 4 days to help train the m'sian office. hmm.

but i had some good news as well. boss has made me an offer that i am currently considering so therefore shall keep the wraps on it until i decide for or against it.

what i spent the weekends doing

2006-10-27T03:11:00.000+08:00

couple of things kept me occupied these past couple of weekends. besides work, there was...

1) first monopoly. she is this super cute kitten that swept us all off our feet. we had the opportunity to shower her with love one weekend when the maid found her abandoned downstairs. we hid her in the room as there were two prowling, roaming dogs just outside the bedroom. she is a naturally curious being and we were glad to have her nosing around the different areas of the room. she found out that the wooden chair legs could be a scratching post, that newspapers are supposed to be shat in and that climbing onto the bed meant that she got an extra dose of lovin'. oh, and that when the lights went out, and it's pitch dark, that it's time for sleepin'. she has moved on to a new home; hope that the new owners will treat her well and shower her with lots of affection.

2) fishing. yeah man, i went fishing again after 8 years of not touching a rod, of cycling to bedok jetty and seeing old uncles push small ikan kurau from their little reel lines. it felt good, although i didn't really fish much. was dealing with a hacking cough that had me rushing for water or tissue every time it started. but here are some photos of what happened.

3) apartment hunting. you wouldn't believe the number of developments baby and i have been to. after all those weekends spent looking, wondering, hoping and searching, we still aren't any closer to settling down for any particular location save Astoria Park (which doesn't have any more units available) and Simei Green (which only looks old on the outside). *sigh*

perfect apartment, just drop into my lap please!

5 weeks flew me by...

2006-10-08T23:42:00.000+08:00

ok to set the record straight. i didn't flee to BKK because of work; i wasn't lost in BKK either (had lorri and william to guide us around); and no i wasn't there during the coup either. how does everyone get these ideas at all just because i have not blogged in 5 weeks.

what happened? work happenned. work that was supposed to have been cleared in the 2 weeks of reservist didn't disappear. in fact it waited like a predator, crounched and hidden in the vast recesses of the inbox and the file system; and when i logged on with my account, it jumped! and so i was backlogged for maybe 2 weeks clearing the previous 2 weeks.

and as i was dealing with the 2 weeks within 2 weeks, life went on and i found out i had 2 weeks additional! what a life. so that occupied me for alil while and i reached last week. so last week flew by as it normally does in the PR industry that i find myself a part of.

anyways just as an update. in no particular order. caught russell peters last night. fantastic! that guy is worth every cent of the $87 ticket that i paid. it was not only laugh a minute, it was non-stop laughing. he had a prepared part and then in my opinion, went full on to do impromtu stuff. he picked on chinese, indian, american, english but referred to malays as "brown". think he hasn't figured them out yet. of cos, the audience also educated him that we are a nation of downloaders when he realised we ALL knew his jokes from his comedy central material. *pat pat*

was doing medical cover for the hsbc wakeboard world cup 2006, when dallas friday got brought into my medical centre. poor girl, she apparently landed on the wrong side of the wave/crest and suffered a fracture. i heard more complications as well. hope that she recovers. it's like soccer; you get a serious injury and you literally lose your career. check out saturday's TNP; they wrote about this guy who does microsurgery or something, hopefully there's someone like that in the extreme sports ecosystem.

calvin's birthday at eastside passed by last tuesday. happy birthday bro! hope that you didn't wake up with too much of a hangover.

jason and rachel's wedding is coming up 20 October. good luck and hope that the preparations are smooth throughout. if not, can call me, i will help. =)

was talking to taleofacat ; telling her that i hoped that the haze would come back and the PSI level would average 150 and up. apparently it will be dangerous/hazardous and NEA will advise people to stay in and not step outside the home. maybe there will be no work for a day or two!! that would be good. haha, such secondary school sunday mentality. thanks for the sad tango song babe!

oh yah, it's the mooncake festival. *yum* i like eating mooncakes but this year seems different. there's cake in the office, at home but i haven't finished more than a full mooncake yet. i wonder why. maybe i should take a walk down to orchard road and get the snowskin from marriott.

for an interesting read about how they name stuff on mars,click here. i like the fact that we are exploring new frontiers and all the high tech stuff and all. but asking Observer to explore Victory seems like a comic to me.

oh finally, saw this really cool place at astoria park. it's out of my budget range; but it comes with all the furniture and two plasmas! and the kitchen is all fully equipped; oven and stove and all. *sigh* please let me win that damn singapore sweep.

i survived my first ICT at 2CSH! and i am off to bangkok tonight!!

2006-08-25T15:32:00.001+08:00

i never thought that these two weeks would pass by, in this manner. a day by day stretch in a regular march. am sure that time must have passed by in a flash for some; am thinking of my colleagues here. but time is relative, and upon donning the uniform and being based in a camp, time just becomes this thing that passes but doesn't seem to get lesser.

like i mentioned previously, this ICT(in-camp training) has been a solid test of my patience for time wasting and my tolerance for those who seem stuck in their way of life. had this been a private venture, we would have finished EVERYTHING in a week. packed schedules, packed deadlines, packed refresher courses, packed mission.

but as i walked out of camp today after out-processing i.e. regaining my life as a civilian. i think that maybe, just maybe, this period being slow gave me the opportunity to get to know my fellow mates better, from the direction of who they are, and what they do. it gave me time to think more in depth about what i wanted to do for myself as well, being exposed to so many different careers and different mentalities. there was lots of laughter as well i suppose, given that we had one over-riding mission daily, even more important than our 'given' objective. we all wanted to book out or get this 2 weeks over and done with.

the characters in the unit are a pretty decent and fun bunch. everyone seems to have assumed this 'air of resignation' towards the time here...and we moved on from lamenting to getting the job done. despite all the blardy long breaks in between. gripes of wasting tax-payers' money aside, the unit ' animal' really is difficult to move methodically. but it doesn't mean that it should still be this much of a drag.

think i am lucky to end up in 2CSH. doubt i will defer if given a chance. better the devil you know, than the abyss beyond.

and...i am off to bangkok tonight. was worried initially that i might still need to return to camp tomorrow morning but that didn't materialise and well, i'm off! hope that this trip works well as well, to give me a short break before returning to the usual chaos and for my baby to get some well-needed perspective into the months coming ahead.

going to do some shopping for stuff like bags and tee-shirts. learnt my lesson the other time round and won't go for the pants anymore. kinda thinking about tailoring some shirts still though. might be cheaper and i ain't sure when i will make a trip back to bangkok again in the near future.

and yes dear...i am spontaneous sometimes.

booking in on a monday morning beats the dread of doing so on sunday night

2006-08-20T20:42:00.000+08:00

it actually feels strange preparing for a field camp again. having to pack all the items in, checking on the straps and making sure that there's "extra" rations like fruit bars and sweets. kinda surreal. think the hardest thing later would be to force myself to sleep just so that i will get enuff rest to last the next 2 nights.

according to the seniors, it will be a 'simulation' i.e. no full sleep until wednesday night, see 'waves' of 'casualities' appear at the stations. then there will be examiners grading us as a unit and individuals on how we perform under such circumstances.

*sigh* so 18 year old if you ask me.

well at least booking in on monday morning feels better than booking in on sunday night.

3 days, 3 phone calls, 4 smses and counting...

2006-08-16T17:44:00.000+08:00

let me be really honest and admit that my reservist unit is a ...somewhat good one. even though it is located in the ulu-fied part of yio chu kang, at nee soon and travelling there every morning for the past 3 days is a damn chore. lucky enough for me, am serving together with an old mate from my national service days and he lives somewhat near me so i get a lift toand back from camp every day.

am greatful for small deeds.

the seniors are really nice guys and they are really willing to incalcate a noob, like myself, into the general scheme of things since all we really really (really) want to do is go home earlier than the "general" dismissal time of 1720 hours. hope that i can continue to book out every day sia...

as usual there will always be the 'bad encik'. this time round, it's a regular warrant officer functioning in the 'trainer' capacity. he actually harbours secret thoughts of being the disciplinarian CSM, i think. sad to note, he has to deal with over 50 reservist who really cannot be bothered about what he thinks or says. looking at this in perspective, the maximum discplinary fine for the first offence is $50. *shrugs* that really ain't a lot huh?

otherwise, there's a field camp next week with some scenarios thrown in. that should be something to see. the seniors aren't even worried about it, so taking the cue from them, why should i be as well? *grin*

am decidely ambivalent about having to return to work in 13 days time.3 days, 3 phone calls, 4 smses and counting...

the displeasure of losing time

2006-08-13T21:45:00.000+08:00

i found out that blogger lets me post pictures when i use IE to browse blogspot. otherwise on Avant, it doesn't matter how many times i beg, pray and threaten, the pictures will "load'" but not display. such a wonderful idiosyncrasy of technology/software programming.

anyways, am heading in for my first-evet ICT tomorrow at Nee Soon camp, located in the, i swear, most ulu-fied part of the island. transit road. even in naming the road, the powers that be knew it would probably move. it being the camp. the move being 20 years too late and still counting.

as you can probably tell, i am neither excited nor enthusiastic about having to once again "book in" to a camp, or to have to listen to someone that i do not know order me around, or even to have to rush 'urgently" to make sure i do not have my weekends "burnt". my time in the army serving national service was barely tolerated because of the uncontrollable situation, at that time, of having been born a Singaporean citizen. having wasted 2.5 years of my life, i can now vote for my government as well as choose whether i want to remain a Singaporean. such joy.

of cos, the government moved me from a voting constituency to a "walk-over" one this time around, but they can't keep doing that. i will have my vote in 2011. if not i will move to potong pasir.

wherefore stems my pleasant disregard for the time spent in national service? let me say it once more, the role of serving in a military agency for the purposes of national defence isn't a wrong one. the distinction and my unhappiness lies in the fact that the Singaporean male isn't probably compensated for sacrificing the best foundation years of their lives.

a higher initial pay...in the civil service? the "faster" promotions...again in the public sector? the ideal that the male will possibly triumph despite the disadvantages is such a crock of bull.

the above-benefits are to be weighed against the fact that the singaporean male will start his career at least 3 years after his female counterpart(if he is a graduate), and at least 5 years after his American/European males finish their final year in college. by the way, the above benefits to do carry as much weight in the private sector.

"you served in the army when you were 18? tough luck" said the Australian senior manager.

are we possibly progating a colonial mentality when we see young American managers leading a pack of older Singaporean male executives? or when an European female senior executive chalks up 10 years of experienece in her field at 29 when some singaporean males have just been promoted from "worm" status in their organisations at 27? what a great chasm to leap across...

and don't get me started on Singaporean males vs. females...one recurring symbolic example i have is a 24 year old becoming marketing manager of an int'l brand when her male counterpart starts his career in a job in the same industry at 23. are males really to blame when they have not reached their peak when they reach 28?

again, a caveat. i am not dissing the system to ask for change. if time must be spent serving the nation, then let it be. if the only way for this system to work is for a nation to let their young serve during the foundation years so be it. but this gripe remains debatable.

can national service be re-adjusted, re-looked at to help the youth aim higher, and faster in an increasingly international private sector? can the Singaporean male serve differently? or the government increase minimum wage policies to suitably compensate the transaction? something tells me that when i finally ROD, these issues will still be out there being spoken about by some other 26 year old male.

happy singapore day!

2006-08-09T22:15:00.000+08:00

happy singapore day!

read about it here.

wasn't at the stadium, spent it at a bbq at baby's place. managed to catch some part of the fireworks altho i felt that this year, it wasn't that impressive compared to last. there should have been more!! the whole finale lasted less than 10mins. *sad*

here are a couple of my favourites...

they say it is the last year it will be at the nat'l stadium before they tear it down, spend shitloads on a temporary one and then re-launch a new nat'l stadium in the next couple of years. am sure that it will take quite a number of peanuts to get it set up. the temp one, not the perm one.

makes me feel "so much" better about being a tax-paying singaporean. am sure i will remember it when i cast my votes in the 2011 general elections.

nseries studio@ scotts

2006-08-07T22:22:00.000+08:00

photos of the nokia nseries experience studio at scotts shopping centre...

the day i hiccup-ed for 5 hours straight...

2006-08-05T23:30:00.000+08:00

i couldn't believe it when the hiccups first started. gulped down a sip of elaine's coffee, didn't work. frustrated me no end that i went to BK next door to get a LARGE barley. threw half of that back down the throat. didn't work...

elaine, gary and myself were out today at orchard - yeah we actually decided to do a foray into the heart of Young town cos' elaine wanted to show us photos of her trip from europe a couple of weeks back. lucky lass did geneva, turin, nice, barcelona and one more place...pictures are amazingly well-taken. of cos in part due to the the skill of the photographer (do i get my treat?) and to her trusty canon ixus. that's why i also want to buy one...

anyways, we met, sat down, started to warm up in conversation and the hiccups happened. *hic* and i cleared my throat. *hic* again and i swallowed saliva real fast in a bid to crush the oncoming third *hic*. failed in that attempt. coffee came in, barley went down. the hiccup was resolutely holding its fort.

"fine." my mind went. "let's wait it out and see how long the bugger lasts." my mind reasoned.

60 mins and 45 *hics* later...we decided that it was time to head off to isetan, taka to run through some errands. dinner was decided upon to be at spageddies, paragon.

90 mins, 77 *hics*, after shopping at taka for a polo tee for her dad and one long queue at spageddies, we sit down at our table. hiccups gone. relief streaming from my ears as we order dinner and attempt to go through 10 per cent of the 1000+ photos elaine took.

140 mins later, dinner is over, just as we were deciding on dessert, *hics*, it starts again!! "drown it with water," the brain went! *glug glug glug* and enough water to ruin thought of dessert down the gullet, *hics* it continues!

somewhere in my mind, gladiator music is playing and commentary is going ' annnnnddd they are oooffff!!!!"

"maybe you should hold your breath,' says elaine. "you should try breathing in and out of a plastic bag." says gary as he gestures to elaine for a plastic bag. "i only have the bag with my dirty gym clothes inside..."she states. i look at her in disbelief and eyes wildly darting a negative response from my brain. "yeah that would definitely cure the hiccups!" gary exclaims.

i would have hit him then if i weren't *hic*-cuping.

so we settle the bill and drift out of spageddies and upwards to coffee club for dessert and the other 75 per cent of photos. the *hics* stop! it felt like such a good thing. my diaphragm was giddy with joy. we stop off at coffee club, polish off dessert and coffee, get chased out at closing time.

and at a freakin' blardy asshole of a moment, the hiccups begin again!! *wtf!!* so i reasoned, hiccups are caused by an involuntary spasm of the diaphragm by so if i force a burp everytime i hiccup, that should stop it. well, 30 mins, one train ride back to eunos and a walk home, it didn't stop. but stepping into home seemed to do the trick. and as i type this out, the hiccups are gone so good riddance.

yes diaphragm, we shall get some good rest tonight.

*add on, it's 12.33am and the *hics* are back again. full force. *sigh* i admit defeat.

***
check out the new nokia nseries experience studio at scotts shopping centre; open until the end of 2006.

TODAY weekend reported about it here.

i still cannot seem to post any pictures onto blogger even though i emailed them and they replied to say i could. had this collage of shots taken at the nseries studio but looks like it will have to wait. those who want to see the shots can leave their emails in the comments section and i will respond accordingly...

we didn't start the fire - billy joel

2006-07-20T09:50:00.000+08:00

tried doing a blog post last night on my world cup blues but the browser hung and i felt too lazy to re-type everything again...essentially in a nutshell, not a fan of the penalty system to decide games. rather have 22 men play until they are so tired that goals are scored with the ball rolling/drifting in slowly to goal. it isn't sadistic, it's the proper way to settle a game. and not have luck favour one team with 50-50 guesses and the other team with naught to be proud of...

nostalgic mood today...'we didn't start the fire' by Billy Joel. still a great classic.

Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnny RaySouth Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio

Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, TelevisionNorth Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe

Rosenbergs, H Bomb, Sugar Ray, PanmunjomBrando, The King And I, and The Catcher In The Rye

Eisenhower, Vaccine, England's got a new queen

Maciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and ProkofievRockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc
Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dancron Dien Bien Phu Falls, Rock Around the Clock

Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team

Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland

Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, KhrushchevPrincess Grace, Peyton Place, Trouble in the Suez

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, KerouacSputnik, Chou En-Lai, Bridge On The River Kwai

Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle, California baseballStarkwether, Homicide, Children of Thalidomide

Buddy Holly, Ben Hur, Space Monkey, MafiaHula Hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go

U2, Syngman Rhee, payola and KennedyChubby Checker, Psycho, Belgians in the Congo

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Hemingway, Eichman, Stranger in a Strange LandDylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion

Lawrence of Arabia, British BeatlemaniaOle Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson

Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British Politician sexJ.F.K. blown away, what else do I have to say

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock
Begin, Reagan, Palestine, Terror on the airlineAyatollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan

Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride, heavy metal, suicideForeign
debts, homeless Vets, AIDS, Crack, Bernie GoetzHypodermics on the shores, China's under martial law
Rock and Roller cola wars, I can't take it anymore

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Lunch at Wildrocket@Mt. Emily and buttermilk is good for you!

2006-07-17T14:00:00.000+08:00

(author's note: i took like 2.5 hours to post this cos the photos just keep not appearing after loading them up - anyone else having the same problem? it's 2 freakin' am in the morning now..*YAWN* sorry sam, am leaving out your mouth cos blogspot takes forever, will email you the pic later)

had lunch today at Wildrocket @Mt. Emily today. this is a restaurant situated on the ground level of a backpackers' hostel/dorm. but honestly, as a back-packer, having to travel all the way to paradiz centre at selegie, up Mt. Emily, pass the back of the istana and onwards to the far end of the road to find the backpackers'? i really doubt so. BUT still it looked rather nice & chic & welcoming in its own way and would have attracted me if i were in a foreign country on $50 a day or something like that. something tells me the one at Mt. Emily would be more than $50 tho.

also becos sam says that it is very close to the main road and that it takes less time to walk there than drive...ok sam i believe you. *fingers crossed*

anyways, i digressed, so the restaurant is based on the ground floor, rather small establishment, waiters all dressed in differing states of uniform. the chef/owner being the most towkay, with the polo tee and berms whereas the younger looking wait staff got cargo pants and polo tee. definitely got structure and hierarchy la! higher up can wear more slack! *grin*

we tried out the pan-seared tuna wild rocket salad. despite the long name, it was some really good tuna (cold) over a salad. not too bad actually. the table more or less decided to focus our mains selection on the pasta today - we had some laksa pesto spagetti, crabmeat linguini in chilli tomato cream sauce, shiitake mushrooms spagetti with white truffle oil. dessert was coffee, chocolate lava gateau (picture left out due to non-loading of jpeg) and amber walnut ice cream. pictures as follows.

btw, this is a different type of food blog. not as many perfect pictures of the presented food but more the action of the food being consumed. eh, we singapore lang tio boh? why show the makan when we can show us makan-ing?

***
Buttermilk? Spread the word.

Despite the name, buttermilk is a great secret for low-fat cooks to keep up their sleeves. Buttermilk is either skim or low-fat, and fermented with beneficial bacteria that leaves its characteristic tang. Its acidity helps keep baked goods tender without adding fat, and its creamy texture makes a good base for salad dressings. It's a delicious addition to mashed potatoes and makes a thick, tangy, low-fat soup base.

just the days in perspective...

2006-07-15T16:18:00.000+08:00

it's been a long june/july - world cup has come and gone. isn't it amazing the feeling that the world cup can inspire and when it is no longer around, the sudden lack of motivation that accompanies it?

so my first teams - Spain and Czech Republic - both didn't make it to the finals. I threw my bet between Brazil and they failed to make the cut. Has anyone seen the graphics in the TNP about Roberto Carlos supposedly kelong-ing when Henry ran in to goal-scoring position? Crock or bull, you decide. next i took a look around, and decided to root for Italy. poor Azzurri had their backs against the walls cos of the match-fixing scandal back home. bringing home the World Cup wasn't just to emerge triumphant and look like champions; it was a way to safeguard their future against being fined, sent to jail or worse. judges were commenting (opinion-ing?) that if they win, that the win should be taken into account for leniancy as they were heroes. against that backdrop, i felt that the Italians had more to overcome mentally and internally then the French who just had an old team and who wanted to sent off the elderly with a big bang.

The French team won the Cup in '98. You can only have your 15mins of fame allocated; everything else is someone else's glory.

Again in the TNP, this guy's theory seems spot on - he somehow calculates a number from different aspects of a competing team and predicts whether that team will be a champion then. wonder whether there will be a follow up story on whether that guy won shitloads of money? seems too good to be true...

went for the COLDPLAY concert last monday!! super-stoned after watching the World Cup in the morning and NOT having a morning off to recuperate..got the tickets courtesy of Nokia. the concert was great! i am not an advocate of paying shitloads for concerts but this time round they really rocked. and i was within 10m of Chris Martin!! not the whole show, just that one time he ran the lenght of the hall and climbed up to the box i was seated in. of cos, all the girls turned violent and swamped him. poor guy...

was at the Hilton KL just this week - they have a very very nice pool and pool area...

work-wise (note the priorities here), had the global nokia connections, a number of product launches and a business mobility press briefing here and in KL the weeks gone by. inbetween the usual stuff, numbers crunching, report churning, analysis writing, plan/proposal creation...and also just trying not to get sucked up into the whole "game" machine of A vs. B. i am so tired of that...

couple of pictures from Nokia Connection 2006.

world cup world cup world cup!!

2006-06-29T00:54:00.000+08:00

*sigh* spain bowed out of the world cup, courtesy of france. major jia lat. czech lost to italy; spain lost to france. the world cup turned a paler shade of pale for me. but no matter, will fully support argentina to thrash the other buggers inside out. argentina rules!!

it's been a roller coaster two weeks with lots of work due to NC 2006 and CommunicAsia and all those event reports, interviews, media coordination etc...add that these are global and high volume events and so many things just go wrong at the same time or conflicting demands happen at the same period. what's new eh?

but besides work - it's the world cup in full swing!! what a great time of the year!! woohoo!! *grin*

in the same 2 week period of catching the world cup at almost every 9pm, 1am, 3am slot, i have gained illumination into certain matters:

1. that i still do not understand how singapore pools works; but i still pour money down them in the hope of hitting that big odds.

2. that i can run through a major global event on 3 hours of sleep daily...only because of the world cup.

3. that i can complete a game inbetween the many two-hour periods between matches.

4. that never to go to a australian-dominated match and cheer for the opposite team. but go italy!! for thrashing the socceroos. even if it had to go down to the 94th minute. maybe ukraine can knock them out? hmm...nah, probably not. they couldn't beat switzeraland in 90mins of match time.

5. that sketches at robertson walk has free flow of juices! the soursop is highly recommended.

6. that non-soccer fans find the late nights impressively silly. *hurhur*

now we are onto the final 8 teams and another 6 more days of late nights! *grin*

spain won!!

2006-06-14T23:08:00.000+08:00

spain won ukraine 4-0!!

honestly after watching the match, ukraine's defense couldn't keep up with spain's attacking forwards and mid-field.

go Español!

Parkour - Urban Freestylers

2006-06-14T22:31:00.001+08:00

i had the opportunity to catch this UK-based Parkour group filming an ad for Nokia yesterday and this afternoon. for those who don't know, Parkour is an extreme sport with roots in Europe where the emphasis is on "freedom". another term coined to describe Parkour is "urban freestyling".

we decided to do some PR for this group and pitched to the straits times life!, men's health and shape magazine to go down to the shoot location and talk to the EZ, leader/choreographer of this group. EZ is a really cool guy, pretty seasoned pioneer of this sports form and through the interviews, i found out that he is a really pragmatic dude.

EZ used to be a professional boxer before he got married and decided to move into something less dangerous. and this guy is all about safety and common sense and practice. a lot of people have this idea of Parkour groups jumping from building to building (proper term: gap jump), leaping across impossible obstacles and twisting/dancing through urban landscapes. but EZ insisted that the Parkour group developed together as a team and did so through constant practice and more practice. before they even consider doing a jump, they can spend up to a week prior just attempting jumps from basic level to intermediate to difficult level jumps.

he showed an analogy to the men's health journo by giving an example of training to jump from one stair railing to another. the Parkour person would start first by doing standing jumps and slowly move up stair by stair until he/she reaches the actual jump. by then the person would know instinctively, through practice, how and when to jump. really logical.

as a final point, Parkour is not limited to men only and as seen from the photos below are also for women. both genders go through the same type of foundation training as well as the same premise - practice, practice and more practice. photos below are slightly blur and not that well taken cos the girl doing the jumps was too quick.

i travelled 150km within 24 hours...

2006-06-09T15:41:00.000+08:00

and made it for nanthini and siva's wedding! it was great - congrats babe! wishin' you lots of joy, good moments and better days ahead for the both of you. spoke to your mum for abit - she is really happy for you, and happy that you are with someone who makes you happy. but i bet you already know that. *grin*

thanks for inviting me - it was really an eye opener. watching the ceremony and all the different ways to bless; even though i didn't really get the language but i reckon i understood most parts. the musc veered between extremes - i liked the drum beats but i don't get the flute thingy.

so i flew more than a 150km today and within 24 hours to attend and manage a nokia event in KL. stayed at the JW Marriott hotel, which by the way, in my humble opinion, didn't fare too well on my grade book. problem #1 - the bathroom flooded after i took a soak in the tub and continued to flood until i had to check out. problem #2 - the window view on my side faced a small swimming pool; and on the other side faced a construction site. problem #3 - they didn't provide free toothpaste.
me and my colleague reached JW Marriott around 11pm wed night after a 45min taxi ride from KLIA. JW is locared along jalan bukit bintang which also happens to be the more upmarket shopping belt. stayed at the ritz carlton about 2 years back when they were still renovating the belt. now, from JW, tourists are connected to 2-3 shopping centres via underpasses i.e. we don't need to ever see the sun again once we check in.

ka soh is open opposite the ritz carlton. irene and i debated about going there when the SG ka soh is 10 mins away from our office. we ended up going to this restaurant called Shook! and charged $100+ for dinner. there is a certain element of fun in a biz trip. and talk about how small the world can be - i arrive at changi airport and step out of the arrival area...and bump into the Boys from Brazil. if you read my previous posts, you would remember that i handled some of the PR around them when they were in singapore at the start of may. well they finished australia and are on their way to mumbai. and i bump straight into them. all the flights in the world and all the timings that we/they could have taken...but we meet in the transit area of changi airport. how's that for small world?

so here i am after covering the 150 km within a day - and what have i learnt from today? lesson #1 - don't check into the boarding area of KLIA without some form of reading material or entertainment. they only have HARRODS in that damn space...along with some organic hotdog kiosk. yes organic hotdogs...what will they think of next. lesson #2 - little india or serangoon road has 4 temples (that's what the taxi driver say). lesson #3 - don't carry small scissors in toiletry bags within your hand held luggage. it scares the airport people who scan your luggage. lesson #4 - KLIA train to KLCC is 30 minutes faster than taking the DAMN taxi and expressway. arrive in KL early in the day vs. late at night.

random thoughts

2006-06-05T14:00:00.000+08:00

interesting fact #1 - 2006 is the year I spent the least at PC Show. a grand princely sum of $19.90 for an Xbox game "Demonstone".

singapore drivers still do not look at their blind spot when changing lanes; neither do they signal.

that youtube has the coolest shit and funniest videos - go check out the "comedy central" series. go to youtube.com, type 'comedy central' under the search function, press enter, download.

interesting fact #2 - i like nasi padang as well as naan and curry.

evon, no lar, it wasn't a proposal as my dear girl has so nicely replied you. i really do not fancy hanging upside down by my finger nails. will update everyone if something fortunate results from and happens...

i sometimes harbour the brief wish that work should be apolitical and colleagues must be sensitive to the dynamics of the workplace...then after awhile, i just laugh it off.

everyone has a story everyday. the sum of all these stories work up to a day and many days work up to a person's life. the interesting part is when the stories overlap and that's when it's called a relationship.

i notice that people like to waste efforts on what can be seen and measured. that they cannot distinguish between "good work" and "work-for-show". this is of cos with respect to my job. cmon, what else were you thinking it could even be about?

interesting fact #3 - i definitely do not like mosquito bites that occur on the flesh between the toes.

Integrated-Resort Job Opportunities (taken from min's blog - good jokes should be shared)

2006-06-01T01:24:00.000+08:00

Since the IR has been approved, the underworld is looking for recruits.

We are now seeking members to fulfill a tender for the casino. Please fill in the application form below and mail to:
Mr. Chao Ah Heng
Membership Officer
Chap Sar Tiam Pte Ltd
69 Geylang Lorong 69
Singapore 216971

APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP
1. NRIC No.: _________________

2. Surname: __________________

3. First name: (please X)
[ ] Johnson
[ ] Benson
[ ] Samson
[ ] Hamson
[ ] Janson
[ ] Other: _________________ (if not ending in -son? please explain why)

4. Chinese Name: Ah __________(if not beginning with Ah? please explain why)

5. Age: [ ] Under 35 [ ] Lau Beng

6. Sex: [ ] M [ ] F [ ] at Geylang

7. Length of Last Fingernail: ________ (cm)

8. Ability to squat for:
[ ] 1 hour
[ ] 2 hours[ ]
more than 2 hours (wah, steady!)

9. Hairstyle:
[ ] Spiky
[ ] Dyed with streaks of blond
[ ] Dyed with streaks of red
[ ] Two strands dangling in front of eyes
[ ] Kana mop like that
[ ] Perm (please state which saloon in JB you went)____________________

10. Tattoo of:
[ ] Tiger
[ ] Dragon
[ ] Snake
[ ] Eagle

11. Work experience: (please X all that apply)
[ ] KTV Lounge Bouncer
[ ] Snooker Hall Attendant
[ ] Unlicensed Contractor
[ ] Freelance debt collector
[ ] Unlicensed bookie
[ ] Dispute Resolution and Settlement Professional
[ ] Unemployed

12. Spouse's Name: _________________________
2nd Spouse's Name: _________________________
3rd Spouse's Name: (the one in Batam, that one)________________________
Lover's Name: _________________________
2nd Lover's Name: (Lorong 69, that pooi-pooi one)_________________________

13. Number of children living in household: ____
Number of children living in foster care: ____
Number of children that are actually yours: ____

14. Mother's Name: _________________________ (If not sure, leave blank)

15. Father's Name: _________________________ (If not sure, leave blank)

16. Education: (Circle how many years it took you to finish primary school)8 9 10 11 12

17. Ability to swear: (please X all that apply)
[ ] Hokkien
[ ] English
[ ] Malay
[ ] Tamil
[ ] Cantonese
[ ] rude hand gestures

18. Service performed in previous secret society:
[ ] Leadership/Tua Tao
[ ] Junior management/Suay Tao
[ ] Physical activities/Hooting
[ ] Dispute Resolution and settlement/Cham Siong
[ ] Lookout/Kuah Chui

one more day of leave...and a past week of indecision.

2006-05-29T00:01:00.000+08:00

i have exactly 24 hours left until the end of my leave. *sigh* why is time relative? why can't it be longer some days and shorter others i.e. holidays & leave vs. work. why can't the day take a longer time to pass when you get the opportunity to wake up late, such that waking up 4 hours later means you have 4 hours more to spend? definitely on the more important things in life, like eat, drink, play and make merry?

made and committed to a decision within 4 days. remember that it took me 17 mins to drive via the PIE to a mobil station along stevens road to reach orchard. remember that it took me that same drive and pit stop to fill petrol to make up my mind to send that sms. remember that the sky was slightly filled with gray clouds, and the petrol station had 3 cars to the side ready to go through the wash. remember that all the decisions in my life leading up to that moment rushed through me within that 17 mins it took to reach mobil. ok maybe not that drama but i think that it was a definitive pit stop at this point. and i do remember myself saying "i will look back at this moment..."

was the decision already made when i typed out the sms prior to driving off from my place? was the decision already made when i sent it through? was the framing of the sms so indicative of the response that i received?

some questions in life need no answers. but this one request made, i pray that it leads me to the conclusion of the calculated risk undertaken; that it leads me to new chapters and a brighter shade of green and jumpstart the 5 year plan that i am still currently on.

it's been some time since i last had to think so clearly and precisely. please gut do not be wrong.

i am on leave!

2006-05-24T21:54:00.000+08:00

*grin*

i am finally on leave - 3 days of doing nothing, sittin',chillin', meeting up with friends and just playing FIFA on the xbox..ahhhh*contented sounds*...

have done the handover, told irene what to msg me if she is really really really in deepest darkest shit and turned off the PC.

created a counter to see how many work-related communications will i get in the 3 days that i am on leave. it stands at 2 phone calls, 3 smses and 3 emails...for now.

update again tomorrow morning. still happy that i can chuck work away any time.

Firms 'slow to adopt' variable part of pay reported in the Straits Times

2006-05-18T23:44:00.000+08:00

May 18, 2006
Firms 'slow to adopt' variable part of pay
By Lynn Lee

COMPANIES are making their wages more flexible to ensure they can reward workers well in good times and stay afloat in bad times, but such reform is not happening fast enough.

Taking this view, the National Wages Council (NWC) singled out the monthly variable component (MVC) as one change that companies have been slow to implement.

The MVC is that part of a worker's salary which can be cut in severe downturns to help save jobs, and restored quickly when a company does well.

In a statement yesterday when it released its annual wage guidelines, the council noted 'with concern the slow progress' in introducing the MVC. It wants more firms to implement it and those that have done so, to quicken the pace to reach the national target of the MVC forming 10 per cent of a worker's pay.

Non-unionised companies have been especially slow, compared to unionised firms, in adopting wage reform, the NWC said.
*****

the rest of the article can be found in today's copy of the straits times or online.

what utter bullshit this whole MVC thing is man!! this just gives your company the opportunity to pay employees less and claim that they are working for the employees' benefit. let's be honest here - the ONE thing that all employees, regardless of earning capacity, current salary or potential growth, want is more cold hard cash. CPF we have to live with, bo bian, since that is a government-led effort. we are still pissed that they recommended cutting down their portion to 13% with no view in sight of that increasing although we get "reassurances" all the time.

so now the NWC or National Wage Council in case you didn't know, comes full out and highly recommends that we incorporate this MVC. the only people this will benefit is the SMEs that will become less worried to pump even more money into this economy. which by the way doesn't seem that robust. the economy needs money pumped in to make more money move around. does this benefit the employee slogging until 11pm at night, 5 nights a week, 20 nights a month? i honestly do not think so.

NWC! just recommend that employers raise the basic salary and let companies deal with wages internally. set the recommended minimum and let market dynamics do their job. why experiment with a society that is already rebelling against tighter restrictions and controls? stop contributing to the ideal of 1984...

analogy time - again from the same article.

One of them was a logistics company that began MVC cuts in late 2003, after continuous losses for over a year.

Management staff faced the deepest cuts which took effect earlier. Senior management took home 12.5 per cent less pay. Workers who earned $1,001 to $1,799 got a 2 per cent cut, but the wages of those who earned $1,000 or less were left intact. In July 2004, the company's business improved and all employees received a 3 per cent wage increase.

impressive. they got cut 12.5% and received a 3% increase. think it must be good to be a non-executive employee in that logistics company. of course, they will argue that 3% of a management person's pay is probably more that the 3% of the non-exec but this just proves that "what the hand giveth, the hand can also taketh".

use your bloody cow sense and recommend actions that allow employees to be rewarded amply for their contributions and not just focus on the 'bigger' picture. for every 1% that goes into that MVC, that is a figure operating from $12 and upwards (for a person earning $1200/month) being taken away from the employee that could go towards life, family or debt.

so what if the money does not get pumped back into the economy? can we depend on the cash poor to ride high in a booming economy? where will they have learnt the intricacies of threading through a power economy that requires more time and effort out of the working employee - while getting paid less? wherein lies the motivation?

you will never walk alone!!; happy mothers' day mummy!

2006-05-14T19:51:00.000+08:00

yeah!yeah!yeah! pool won the FA cup!! after a gut-wrenching finals performance, the cup belongs to liverpool once more. *grin* west ham put up a great fight and there were moments when i'm sure there were collective sighs from the pool audience...but we won. there is no more to add. there can be only one.

**********************
happy mother's day mummy. *smile* hope that you are happy wherever you might be. words cannot describe the days that went by, or the times that i wish had but never actually stayed still. but memories are like script engraved upon the heart and neither days nor time can wash them away.

love you.

FA Cup final night; house sitting in singapore; fulele at velvet

2006-05-13T21:45:00.000+08:00

it's CUP final night and pool are lined up against west ham...pool has gone all the way beating the likes of chelsea (woohoo!) and man u to reach this point. going to catch it from sam's pad with the big screen in the living room (tks sam!) and the surround sound boxes facing the sofa. that's a nice set up! barcelona at robertson is going to be packed - sorry ain't there bros; too much crowd on a Cup night can get frustrating but will be supporting pool from anywhere! caught jamie redknapp's intv on "the path to glory" programme on ESPN - agree with his opinion that pool will win (duh!) but i think the scoreline with be 3-1(fingers crossed!).

more to update when pool wins at the end of the evening.
****************************************************
baby and i are house-sitting for sam this weekend - and it's been great (tks sam again!)! we were thinking of taking up a 3D2N package to fly to Bali but i baulked when i realised i was going to pay $500+ to leave on a friday night and arrive back in SG on a sunday afternoon. crapshit! i get to stay in bali for ONE full day. fwah.

was also reading the straits times today and found out that Bali is playing host to an Islamic conference with the developing muslim nations or something like that. so it would have been high security, high cost, high difficulties and low fun. what's the point man...

so going to have to stave off the holiday trip with my baby until later this year. no worries, will defintely find that one week together somehow through our schedules.
****************************************************
gary and i were at velvet last night for the new man new woman 2006 party (tks mayo for inviting!). it was an interesting way of doing the stage on the dance floor and kudos to the chivas drink sponsor. that hit the sport straight away. but it was really crowded and as all magazine parties are - filled with young kids who normally wouldn't get into velvet (read: ns boys). but yups, i been through that stage myself before and they weren't really rowdy or rude just irritating but that's not a crime punishable by death. yet.

met this crazy dude called fulele (yes that's the guy's name). he's a regular at velvet and knows the wait staff well enough. was sitting next to him at the bar and we were soon talking about his work (he's an artist), his properties (he owns three studios) and his friends (had a couple of hanger-on types around him). so yeah G and i just sat there and got free alcohol and free entertainment. that's a good night in my opinion.

right on to the match now..!

66.65 mandate; pool finish in 3rd place; Nokia Defend Your Turf Grand Finals; photos from indochine

2006-05-08T23:11:00.000+08:00

guess what?

our dear friends have swept back into power with a 66.6% (or did i get the per cent wrong again?) mandate. wow. 66.6%. no sars, 9-11 or malaysia to scare the crap out of us and...they drop percentage points. of cos it's claimed that everything is as expected.

that they would cede nearly 30% of all their votes. so technically 3 out of every 10 singaporeans want a change or a bigger opposition voice in our government. so if we have 4 million citizens, or let's round it down to 3 million citizens with a valid vote, we have nearly 1 million of them asking for a stronger opposition represetation. isn't that a hell of alot of people? what was the point of that word-y exercise? simply that stats can always draw conclusions both ways; that the glass is never half full or half empty and finally that stats can mislead as well as hide critcal facts (thanks to psychology stats class 1101 - finally get to use what i learnt in uni. hah!).

but as always history belongs to the victors and this victory will go down in our social ed and history texts as a good and well-fought battle for the hearts of singaporeans. let's see how 2011 shapes up to be.

******************************************
now more importantly, liverpool won portsmouth 3-1 but mathematically still remain in 3rd as manchester united retain 2nd as they sweep 4-0 over charlton. cmon honestly, were we expecting that to not happen? it was but a hope and a faint smell of victory in the air that kept us pool fans eager to see us move up into 2nd position. maybe not this season, maybe the next?

******************************************
sentosa on Nokia Defend Your Turf day was rockin'. we must have had like about 8000 people throughout the whole day, come over, stop and watch the matches as they unfolded to reach the grand finals where we had our top 4 local teams - Team Vanuatu, On the Run, Team Play Cheat and Toa Payoh Rangers - battle it out on the pitch with the Boys From Brazil.

contrary to expectations, our boys kept the Brazilians at bay for the majority of the matches. i am sure that there was lots of frustration from the opposition as they tried again and again to better the local defence. truly there were lots of 'defend your turf' moments.

in the end only Team Vanuatu held true to the ideal and beat the Brazilians 1-0 in a sudden death penalty shootout, having held them earlier to a 1-1 draw, and having taken the lead in the beginning, i must add. the other teams lost by small margins of between 1-3 goals each.

Team Vanuatu

On the Run

****************************************

for the LT10 group, i have invited most of you guys into a flickr group, please register and then log on to http://www.flickr.com/groups/lt10/ to get the photos from indochine wisma the other evening.

any suggestions for the last friday of may? i will be taking leave from the 25 may - anyone wants to take together then can go plan the day? let me know.

adventures at ink; culinary delights and superbaby!!

2006-04-27T01:36:00.000+08:00

had a delicious dinner last night prepared by my baby and serene with meiting as the official food taster (who btw doesn't eat vegatables...). altho the lasagne turned out slightly drier than expected, it was made up for with the delectable generous wallop of cheeses. *yum* had the red wine beef stew also - dish created by my baby and me when we had too much wine, meats, carrots. and also we followed the mum's advice.

"i have no recipe. i just throw whatever i can find into the pot and it normally turns out alright." if only it were that easy. sounds like anthony bourdain when he travels around the globe and seems to know instantly how the locals prepare any dish. heh.

last friday was at ink with some of the group and we have now officially established the "last friday of the month" gathering. simply means that we will meet every last friday of the month. being the busy people that we all are, coordinating the schedules of 15 people is no mean feat. and tks to tze wei, he is now the moderator cum official gathering I/C. *grin* of cos we were trying to wrangle on location for this coming friday, and jean apparently has 'volunteered' the use of her car while beng has offered his driving expertise. then again, she does stay in a ulu-fied area of the east so maybe not her place...i prefer makan and drinks outside. *smile*

here's some pictures from last friday... apparently the brown sugar stick was a hit with mag, jeric and umm..mag and jeric.

and finally to end this post, i grabbed this photo of a poster at the clinic earlier this evening. i present to you superbaby!! he fights off men, he vanquishes bad coughs annnddd he even conquers nasty diseases....hope he doesn't recognise himself when he grows up. *roflol*

pool foiled chelsea's FA Cup final hopes

2006-04-24T00:22:00.000+08:00

woo hoo! pool won chelsea 2-1 to make it to the FA cup finals! *inane grin* AND...no more chance of a double for chelsea this season, they probably only have the EPL championships left for hardware in the closet. awww...

now i am not normally a man u supporter, but if they can delay chelsea for one more week, that would be pure agony for jose. at least i would like to think so. check out what our dear jose had to say to the Reds after the loss here. fer cryin' out loud, he wouldn't even shake hands...

for other, more local sports news, the nokia defend your turf local championships took place on saturday. after watching 44 teams play it out the entire day, two teams emerged as local champs - team vanuatu (under 20 champs) and on the run(under 23 champs). the teams had some really good players and i am really looking forward to seeing who becomes the most valuable player, to be chosen by Nokia and FAS.

so there i was managing the interview with ESPN football crazy hosts PJ and Andy while they were presenting the under 23 dudes and they asked the group to introduce themselves. this was the exact line, 'hi! we are ON THE RUN!' tell me why that sounded really wrong...but they are great players, friendly guys and i am genuinely excited about watching them take on the Boys From Brazil, come 6 may. it will be home ground advantage - come try and take our turf!

btw, 6 may is elections day - so all those 21 and above, please remember to go cast your votes, unless it is a walkover. hmm. anyways, as usual the elections are held on a saturday, so for those not working 1/2 day, there is NO bloody holiday. for once, even tho they may not need the votes, can't they just have the elections on a weekday, so that we can ALL have a legitimate holiday in the midst of a work week, go cast votes, watch a movie, have lunch with the gf, chill out and relax at dinner and drinks with some friends w/o having to think about work!!?? is THAT too much to ask for? *sigh* see la, now i go make paragraph about elections, scally need to go register at duno-what site. (ed: see i read newspapers leh!!) umm, to save my ass, vote for the party that you think rationally, logically, based on what they can offer with regard to 10,15 years stability, do the best for our country!! that should be obvious enough.

street fusion rocks! hollaback crew of 2006 - first ever!

2006-04-15T23:37:00.000+08:00

what a day - spent the whole of friday evening rehearsing for the actual show-day of the Hollaback Crew Finals organised by mediacorp 987FM. this was held today at the indoor stadium.

my god. the atmosphere was intense and riveting, there were at least 4000 supporters inside one half of the stadium but they made it sound like we were watching the malaysian cup at the nat'l stadium. if i ever doubted that SCGS girls could scream...never again man, i swear when they opened their mouths together, you could feel the decibel level rise tangibly.

street fuzion were the absolute favouites and sweeped best MTV group award, best videographer and of course, first time ever Hollaback group of 2006!! now just cos i know two guys in the group doesn't make me biased. for the crowd today, for the people that came to be entertained, street fuzion provided all of the key elements that justified their hard-earned victory. they danced hard, they rapped hard, they percussion-ed hard. they rocked!

street fuzion you rocked!

there was of course performances by the 987 jocks as well as by mediacorp artistes don & drew, local band ronin and the highlight of the evening, the reason why all the teenage girls dragged their asses down to the famously ulu-fied part of the east - the indoor stadium, they came for the click five. that's when the roof nearly collapsed due to the sound barrier being tested throughly and nearly broken.

to me, it was aptly put by one of the parents of the contestants i was talking to the night before. 'click five is who i also dunno...but my daughter knows and when she found out she was in the finals, she screamed so loud, my neighbours came to investigate. i nearly kena go mata station for questioning.'

and now for abit of extra gloss, there was this team in the above 17 category that shall be unnamed. they have five letters with a number if i remember correctly. they prove to me my eternal gripe about graduates; that graduates feel having a paper earns them an automatic life by society. this group in particular was pissing all my colleagues off with their requests, like whether they can leave floor markings on the dance arena for their use in the finals the next day so they remember where to stand but they happen to forget the other 9 teams before them. so if they can do so can the other 9 teams, then the dance arena will look like rainbow agar agar with diferent colour markings all over the platform. they decide to iron in the common corridor because their allocated space to gather at group formation is too precious. so they use the common grounds...and turn off the fan facing their opponent group because they need to plug in their iron. if i compile a list of gripes, i will still be here tomorrow sia.

will post up the pictures once i download them off my digicam. what a great day - and i didn't have to think about work at all. that is such a pleasant relief, i would have walked across hot coals for the chill-out my brain had today.

SD card; lotsa fun!; rugby 7's

2006-04-08T15:34:00.000+08:00

anyone looking to buy a 512 MB SD card from SGD$40? let me know - willing to negiotiate!
***************************
here's another pictorial portrayal of the last few weeks - more to come in the near future for the next few weeks. i oculd get addicted to showing my days this way...hmmm fine fine, maybe not. still like words too much.

nokia 3250 launch at marriott poolside - rockin'!

placebo!! nuff' said.

had a great offsite at bintan again this year - did games, had lotsa good food, great company. apparently along the way we managed to get some training done as well. *shrugs* oh did i mention the size of the swimming pool at the villa!*happy*ooh ooh! we had buggy races as well! i screwed up the breakfast by bringing the group to the wrong venue BUT the food was better!

lorri and william had a really sweet wedding - congrats you both! many happy happy years ahead!! we had a high speed car chase to take photos on the ECP! cool right!! got two pics of lorri just waiting to get us out of the suite so they can proceed with the obvious. *grin* man, was william's face red sia...dunno whether is the alcohol or what...tsk tsk.
(sidenote: i was damn surprised to see MT iron clothes sia...heh heh)

nokia 3250 launch at marriott poolside - rockin'! the n3250 comes in black, silver, green and pink - check out more information here.

placebo!! nuff' said.

beng and ben's birthday at o bar - happy birthday bros!that's ben in white downing something or another. beng took half the punishment, went to the toilet, puked and went home. w/o telling the rest of us. hmm...bad form bad form. next year kena tekan more jia lat.

singapore women's weekly lingerie awards organised by dear fren leanne! great show! and i liked the concept of the 'around the world' theme, passport was good idea as well. the local designs - well ummm, you know what i said after lar babe.

hollaback at padang. dismal crowd, but great acts. seriously. as a qualifier, the stage front was packed. the other booths around the padang looked like they could use some company in there. eagerly looking forward to the finals at the indoor stadium, at least this time there won't be other organisations attempting to be distractors.

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going to attend the rugby 7's tomorrow - hope i can get more shots of the action there.
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pool's leading! go reds! thrash the last 5 teams!!

The past 10 days in perspective; buy a SD card?;Mosaic Music Festival; Placebo; liverpool scoring -let it be true!

2006-03-21T00:49:00.000+08:00

alright so everyone is telling me i should update this blog more often, that i am not making the effort anymore. gosh if i could squeeze in just one more hour in a day(refer to last post)...trust me i would do so. so to make up somehow, i spent time on a photoshop collage as well. see i have redeemed myself!

was talking to Cat (she likes to call herself that, and if i linked her up, she would kill me...meow me to death? hmmm); and i was just outlining to her my 'known' schedule until june, and i realised that i would have completed at least ten different campaign/events/deliverables by end june. 'known' schedule items do not include the sudden statement of support expressed when you are 'arrowed' into joining a campaign or supporting an event. in perspective, i probably had like 10 deliverables for the whole first half of 2005!

sigh...give me strength. need to remind myself about why i am chosing to do this. memory is currently failing me anyway.

picture above is about the nice parts of the last 10 days. i figured that there wasn't much point to mix together different pictures of my workstation, products and word documents that i am on at the moment.
********************
anyone looking to buy a 512 MB SD card from SGD$40? let me know - willing to negiotiate!
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went for the latino jazz festival last saturday night at the nokia powerhouse, mosaic music festival (even writing, also macham writing press release like that eh?) and it rocked! there was crowd, there was great scenery, there was cool wind from the harbour and fantastic music! heard the latino/spanish version of frank sinatra's 'My Way' and some salsa/funk dance mix at the outdoor concert. too bad the band couldn't move the entire crowd to dance but 75% isn't too bad.
*******************
looking forward to this thursday evening! gonna catch placebo live at the Nokia-MTV concert and...i have got post-party tickets as well! woohoo! finally there are some perks to this job!
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liverpool thrashed fulham 5-1 and newcastle 3-1. please god, let them be scoring and in the right form. i realised how strong being a red can be when two guys who meet up for the first time one night shake hands in the beginning, find out they are both red and clasp hands like bros when they leave. such is the power of being a red; you never walk alone. laura, you reading this? time for you to convert!!bwahaha...

7 day specialist

2006-03-09T21:53:00.001+08:00

it's been a real hectic first 3 months of 2006 - and i suddenly realised i left my mind in 2004.

i was talking to this WSJ (Asia) columnist, Jeremy Wagstaff, when he remarked that he has been in Asia since 1987. So. i said 'that's real long...in 3 year's time, you will have been here for 20 years.' then it hit me. it is 2006 this year. he is ONE year away from 20 years, not 3.

since the intel NAPA launch, me and my colleagues have all been moving full steam ahead - often getting the brief, preparing and executing campaigns all within 7 days (weekends included). this is a ridiculous way of getting good work done. i would rather be known and remembered by a good piece of work that i labour months over to produce than a 7 day campaign when all i am ensuring is 'best effort'.

first it was intel, then nokia then lenovo then nokia and nokia again, coming up with yahoo! then nokia the next day and then my company offsite the day after(for training, not relaxation!) then SFF and MTV and nokia again. inbetween all the interviews and press releases and plans and analysis...i should be in an MNC no? 7pm is considered 'late'; 8pm is 'spoiling the market'. i would love to be 'spoiling' the freaking market IF i am paid over the blardy market rate!!

so yup, 7 days are nonsensical timelines to work with - what is wrong with 2006? With everyone rushing through this year - roses to smell no smell the roses?

i need leave.

last 10 days and rajaratnam's passing

2006-02-26T23:07:00.000+08:00

yes -dy- i showed black. pink oops i meant lavender does not rock my world. *grin* so friday lunch on - you coming down to ofc area?

the last 10 days in summary

17 - party at attica, tks to nokia!
18 - party at darren's. blair made great yummy pizza. ended night at paulaner. no beer tks you.
19 - shopped down in town. baby got new frames!
20 - had good sushi buffet makan at shima, tks to lunch with motoring editors. had first mtg for event taking place in 7 days. (not 7 working days, 7 full days)
21 - work
22 - party at zouk, tks to shawn and T3. crashed party at velvet, tks to h&k and moto. heh heh.
23 & 24 - work work work *yawn*
25 - had dinner at billy bombers marina square. got served by grumpy waiter. $15 voucher does not come with set meals. didn't have a milk shake. anyone been drinking macdonald's milkshakes?
26 - gym and nua. *contented*

news and views
all those opinions and information about the NYP tammy - boring. it's happened, let her move on. enough said. why not spend more time and resources on trying to identify and warn off the person who stole the phone and opened pandora's box. she has paid for her moment of carelessness and by this i do not refer to the sexual act but that of losing the phone. she actually made the sunday headlines together with rajaratnam's funeral ceremony. how serious can our papers be?

rajaratnam's passing. now that is a more newsworthy event. read on sunday times about the eulogies, the well wishes, the impressions of the people who have met him, worked with him, lived with him. very impressed.PM Lee said this of him, about him shaping up the ministry of foreign affairs that at once both touched and gave me pause to reflect.

'He had no precedents to go by, no manual to consult and no experience to guide him.'

What more can a man be chosen to be remembered by his peers for? what more can any man aspire for when he dies? there is no need to paint a more vivid picture of him in other ways. the words that all use to descibe him are enough.

maybe one day, who knows? i might be thought of the same way when i leave. *dreams*

drool-icious...dopod 818 pro

2006-02-16T00:49:00.000+08:00

i know i shouldn't...but sometimes it just gets too attractive, too desirable, too convenient...phone and pda...what a combination. wi-fi, wm5, long battery life. different colours...*sigh*

...but alas i have to choose another...
...but i am also on m1's multi-sim contract...
...maybe IT show? *hmmm*

what idiots we live with in this world...

2006-02-08T23:15:00.000+08:00

so it has been one of those days again where everything is pushed back to back and there hardly seems time to breathe. and upon reaching home, with a birthday to attend in 45 mins time, i sit down at the computer and wonder.

'what can i do to relieve my pent up frustration and injustice at the world?'

i decide to read the news...and let it amuse me. comments in purple.

French satirical paper publishes Mohammed cartoons (source: CNA - click here for full article)

Speaking on BBC radio, Charlie Hebdo's cartoonist said the intention was not to offend but to uphold freedom of expression.

"Freedom of speech has to be enforced by publishing these cartoons because if we don't do it in this kind of tension, we are not very clear on our principles. This is important for the whole democracy," the cartoonist - who was not identified by name - said on Wednesday.

->of course we have to be clear on our principles. it is definitely important to be oh so de-mo-cra-tic but let's ride roughshod on a century old religion at the same time. so not only do i show that i am threading the 'high' moral ground, i am also a crusader targeting the 'enemy'. aren't i so powerful now? C'mon. isn't it so obvious that this is just the perfect situation to sling some crap down the 'others' path? the government isn't going to take a firm stand and prosecute me. i am standing on the side of 'right', and it is moral and all that yada yada bullshit. what ends we create to fulfil our short term pleasure?

"Of course there has to be tolerance, there has to be respect to any community and any religious believers. But it is very much important for our whole society to show that we have firm principles on which democracy stands," he said.

-> so we discover the root of the problem. it is good and right to be tolerant. but we must be democratic first and tolerant later. not sensitve and thoughtful about your fellow countrymen, global citizen but that a theory comes first. why not, we go cut off his balls to express, umm what was that...freedom of expression, because i believe that he is not right in his thoughts and thus to express myself with freedom, i should endeavour to tell it to him..face to face. emphasis in italicised words. use the damn brain you were brought up with!! if someone insults you to your face, what would you do?

'yes dude, don't worry about the slap. i understand you did it in a, umm what do you call that, fit of anger. i fully understand. come i buy you kopi.'

' taiwan to china: yes yes i know you got missles pointed at me. shoot them, go ahead. i full y understand. i don't agree but it's ok. express your frustration at 50+ years of my mis-government. i will try to hold back releasing my missles as well. at least for now. '

"This is an inviolable question of principle here in the land of Voltaire and Zola. We are willing to appear before the courts if some think the drawings go too far, but we are certainly not willing to give way to the desires of religious extremists," Charlie Hebdo's editor Philippe Val said last week.

-> a theory is not a principle. demoncracy is a theory being put in practice. in 50 years, it might fail. communism might be a more viable system of governance. or we might discover a more productive, efficient way of governing. use that brain before you move on from this world, damnit!

btw, Voltaire and Zola? they are dead dumbass! finito! and remember, even the stars die. what more a theory?

and don't confuse the violence for the extremists. you have got your accountant/lawyer/doctor person, aged 30-45, drawing more than the global average salary, who owns property also standing out there in the rally shouting out that they disagree with the method of portrayal of their chosen religion. they are just as qualified, if not better deserving, than the pseudo 'defender of democracy' to be in this world.

go jump into the ocean. we need more peace for this globe.

Schnappi das kleine Krokodil !

2006-02-05T00:00:00.000+08:00

alright everyone...here's the dirt on this song that seems to be invading every female's nano, iPod, zen, WM on PDA, RealPlayer on Nokia, and other assorted devices.

apparently, some 4-year-old German girl named Joy Gruttman wrote and recorded a song called 'Snappy the little crocodile' which was posted to her family's web site. Then, as all good stories go, it turns out a Cologne radio station discovered the song and started playing it on the air. This, in turn, led to people calling in to request the song...several million times. So. Now there are like a gazillion remixes ( dance mix, beat mix and a pop mix, chinese mix, karoke mix) and it is also the #1 song on the German pop charts!

*incredulous*

here's some more information to make you sound really intelligent at the next get-together/gathering.

1. thelittle girl was all of 6 years old when she recorded the song, not 4 as is commonly assumed.
2. she didn't write it. hell no! her aunt who just happens to be a professional children's song writer wrote the words and composed the tune. (don't you love the way coincidences turn out in this reality?)

and here's the translation - for those of you females who actually read this far.

I am Schnappi, the little crocodile,
I live in Egypt, right next to the Nile,
first I lived in an egg,
but then shnapped my way free

chorus
Schni-schna-schnappi schnappi-schnappi-schnapp.....

I am Schnappi the little crocodile,
have sharp teeth and mighty many of them,
I shnap what's there to shnap
I shnap and am good at it

chorus

I am Schnappi the little crocodile
I love to shnap,
that's my favourite play
I sneak up to mumand show her how well I shnap

chorus

I am Schnappi the little crocodile
I'm never tired of shnapping
I shnap daddy's leg
and then just fall asleep

chorus

what has the world become....

2006-01-30T15:30:00.000+08:00

they are selling wine in pull-tab cans!!!

happy doggy year!

2006-01-29T10:30:00.000+08:00

happy doggy new year to all! *woof!* have a great year of fun and joy! make lotsa moolah (honestly)!

*grin*

the mkaeshift newton food centre makan quite the sedap!

2006-01-27T00:53:00.000+08:00

man...been to the temporary newton like twice in a week - once on saturday with baby and colin and just now with charles and sandra.

that seems to be the ONLY place left in singapore that sell kambing soup. raimah near kembangan(choice place to go for prata/tissue prata/mee goreng supper) sold out, don't know when got mutton for soup. they don't even have mutton murtabak. the stall owner's father say his son haven't decided to order mutton. and this was pre-christmas no stock!! then simpang bedok, the big hawker area not the stand-alone opposite the street also don't have. that one got tulang, no kambing. then the tulang run out while they were making our order. so out of 6 people, only 4 got tulang.

so newton seems to be the only place that does the kambing soup with fresh spice at simmering hot temperatures. drink on a cold day shiok. drink on a warm night also can go down well. that's the idea!

got a picture of me bro enjoying his supper...this was after roasted chestnuts.

...to be fair, i shared the kambing soup. and some of the murtabak. he cleaned the plate.

6 Tips for Wrinkle-Free Packing

2006-01-22T23:51:00.000+08:00

Found this off Fodor's website - really decent website with lists of travel tips, destinations, hotels and all those things that you need to do to plan that long-deserved trip.

Lighten your load. Jamming your suitcases as full as a subway at rush hour will leave your clothes as exhausted as a crushed commuter. Clothes become wrinkled almost as soon as you shove that last leaden item into your bag. The easiest things to jettison? Hairdryers and clothes irons. Almost every hotel room (and hostel) in the world has these items to lend.

One word: Plastic. If you remember only one word in your packing efforts, this is the one. And here's why: friction causes wrinkling, plastic reduces friction. It's that easy. The best way to utilize this basic plastic physics is with dry-cleaner bags. All hanger items should be packed in individual bags (one outfit per dry-cleaner bag). Clothes arrive in a perfectly preserved state. Really! Another great plastic tip: zip-top baggies. Use these for dirty shoes, shampoo bottles, or anything else you want to isolate from your good clothes.

Rolling, rolling, rolling. You have two options for items that you're not hanging: folding or rolling. Rolling is a great space-saving and wrinkle-reducing choice for jeans and T-shirts. Here's how you do it: take a pair of jeans and fold them lengthwise so that the legs are stacked on top of each other. Now, starting from the cuff, roll your way up. For T-shirts, place face down, fold arms back (you should now have a long rectangle), fold lengthwise, and roll up.

Fold it. For sweaters and other non-T tops, the square fold is the way to go. Here's a quick primer: button all buttons and lay shirts face down on a bed or flat surface. Smooth away wrinkles. Fold material in at the shoulders and lay arms flat along the body so that you create a roughly two-inch overlap of material on both sides. Now fold up a third of the material from the bottom and overlap a third from the top. You should now have a tidy package worthy of any chain retailer.

Delicate situation. What to do with your undies and lingerie? Buy inexpensive mesh laundry bags; they're made of nylon and are lightweight. Stow your delicates in here. An added bonus: if your bag is inspected, no one need touch your underwear since an inspector will be able to see into the bag. Socks, by the way, should be rolled up and placed inside shoes or used to fill gaps in your bag (see below).

Pack it away. Now take all your tidily arrayed garments and put them outside your bag. Your goal is to use them to create a clothing jigsaw puzzle where no empty spaces remain and items won't shift. Lay your bag flat and put folded clothes in piles down the center. Put your toiletries kit at what will be the bottom of your bag when it's standing (this should now be the heaviest item in your bag; in this position it won't crush other items). Rolled clothes fit into the spaces around the stacked clothes. Single shoes should be tucked into remaining openings (remember, shoes aren't friends; they don't need to travel right up next to each other). Socks fill in remaining holes.

Voila! You are now a wrinkle-free savvy traveler!

*attributed to Melissa Klurman, full article can be found here.

a phone call came for my finance manager about me...

2006-01-21T13:48:00.000+08:00

...citibank was doing their credit checks on me regarding my credit card applications. apparently they still didn't believe that i was working for a real-life, true to scale, registered legally company. for more information, please check previous entries.

so anyways, this was somewhat how the conversation went according to my finance manager.

Citibank: can i enquire as to your company details? do you have a company registration number, your office location, number of employees etc..?

FinanceManager: yes we do have all those information.

C: how long has your company been operating? are you a local company? we have never heard of you. is your company public i.e. listed on the SGX?

FM: 20 + years. No, we are an MNC. sorry that you have never heard of us. yes we are public, we are not listed on the SGX, we are listed on the London Sotck Exchange and the NYSE.

C: oh.

FM: do you have any questions regarding our employee and his application status? or are you checking up on our company as a whole? we could refer you to our corporate finance office in san franciso or closer to home, sydney?

C: oh. no. it's fine. yes we are enquring about your employee. we will proceed to approve his credit card applications.

FM: thank you. *puts phone down*

FM to me: all settled.

me: thanks lots.

so anyways, not to belabour any further point, the cards arrived in the mail earlier today.

okok...fine, just one point. sometimes i think that we do not need to nurture more creativity for the entrepeurial class. all we need to do is inculcate common sense into the current working-pretending to be professional class.

watched 2 movies and found my name correct in the register of electors

2006-01-18T10:15:00.000+08:00

caught narnia the day before yesterday and still find it hard to believe in the flow of fantasy it protrayed. that a group of kids could walk up and through an army camp, take over the general's role and lead an army that would be inspired to follow them. all of these uncontested?

i don't think so. but i can see how it would appeal to kids. how it could have appealed to a pre-10 year old me.

also watched the terminal with tom hanks and catherine zeta jones. that one was really good. tom did the accents really well. really appreciated his portrayal as the victim trying to do some good. no sympathy there; no need for pity as well. just the wrong man caught in one of the worst 'cracks' in the system ever. what are the odds of your country becoming a non-entity as you are in the air?

oh yah...do go check your details on the Register of Electors at http://www.elections.gov.sg/eservices.htm. don't want them to mix up the wrong person with the vote. *grin* especially since we might actually get to vote this time around. *crosses finges*

Sharon still improving, doctors stunned by recovery

2006-01-12T10:21:00.000+08:00

this guy has got a mission that he hasn't finished yet. just look at his mental strength. would love to see him back at the helm. the middle east needs him.

******
Source: Channel News Asia

Sharon still improving, doctors stunned by recovery

JERUSALEM : Ariel Sharon's chief surgeon said that he was stunned by the Israeli leader's powers of recovery from a massive brain haemorrhage as the hospital reported a further upturn in his condition.

The 77-year-old prime minister, whose fate is crucial to Israel and the wider Middle East, remains in intensive care but doctors said they had been able to all but stop the drugs that had been keeping him in an artificial coma.

His chief surgeon Felix Umansky told AFP it could take months to assess the full extent of the damage Sharon has suffered, but he said his progress so far had defied all expectations, amid suggestions by some of the prime minister's allies that he could lead his new Kadima party at a March general election.

for the rest of the story, please click here.

homely lil place called AZhang

2006-01-11T23:29:00.000+08:00

right. so when we first stepped up to AZhang earlier this rainy evening, we were looking for a not-so-expensive place to settle ourselves down and have a nice dinner. we drifted along joo chiat road until we found parking in the public and decided to try this place called AZhang. we had read reviews about the place being intimidating and not-so-friendly.

so we walked in and asked to take a look at the menu. sparse was the word that came to mind. kebabs, curry, pilaf??!! and the prices weren't exactly that inviting either, if you get the drift. even the air-con was like 'woah...!' cold. but we looked out at the rain and decided that wandering around in our first long rain-fall period of the year wasn't the best option.

so we sat down and ordered. we had lamb, beef kebabs, beef curry with pilaf and lamb ribloins. the order took close to 30 mins to arrive. and when the portions arrived, it really didn't look filling, to be honest. the time spent waiting had better be good, i rationalised.

then we took the first mouthfulls of our individual courses. public opinion swayed then. well swayed is perhaps the wrong word. it tilted on the axis.

the lamb and beef was done just right. the curried beef melted in the mouth. and the lamb ribloins were large enough to pass off as a cutlet. the spices in the curry wasn't too hot and the pilaf was a good company to the beef. the lamb was medium done, you could still see the red and two skewers of it would be just nice. not too heavy.

the chef later came out of the kitchen to say hello and he re-introuduced the food - in words this time round. The kebabs came from the middle east and the curry from madras; the beef in the curry was from the shin so there was virtually no fat. it melts because they simmer it in pure spice. the lamb and beef were done medium as good meat shouldn't be fully cooked. the juices should marinate the taste. the chef said he didn't believe in bread. he also said that during the christmas period, customers ordered $250 turkeys to be delivered to his home. that he hosted social evenings for his mailing list to come try out different cusines. also that he entertained requests for food once you became a regular.

well the food really tasted good. didn't find $250 turkeys too far a stretch to believe in. we also signed up to be on the mailing list. not too often that you find a gem of a restaurant. true prices seem rather steep; it was like $88 for the four of us but then the Eastside is starting to unveil more and more good finds. hope that i wouldn't be the one to move out of this area.

in case you are interested, it is located along joo chiat road, opposite 'my mum's place' and nearer to the hotel 81 then the canton wok.

another media event down the bag

2006-01-10T22:47:00.000+08:00

here's what i have been busy with the whole first week of January 2006.

what a way to begin the first week of 2006

2006-01-08T12:30:00.000+08:00

beginning 2006 with late nights at work for the past week and burning the first weekend of 2006 so isn't the way to go. hopefully it doesn't set precedent for the other 51 other weekends i have left.

crappers when it seems the hours can revolve around one project the way it just did for this week. and the honest to honest truth of it all? it is so straight forward, the type you can roll over in your sleep, yawn...and the project is completed.

but no...due to external situations (read: waiting upon other idiots, lacking sense of urgency and timing), everything just accumulates, complicates and then threatens to derail the process. what a stupid way for things to potentially work out. and how disgustingly unmotivating.

dictionary definitions

2006-01-05T09:41:00.000+08:00

sub·side ( P ) (sb-sd)intr.v. sub·sid·ed, sub·sid·ing, sub·sides

To sink to a lower or normal level.
To sink or settle down, as into a sofa.
To sink to the bottom, as a sediment.
To become less agitated or active; abate.

(source: www.dictionary.com)

click here for more information about robert frost.

poem from robert frost

2006-01-04T10:38:00.000+08:00

this is very very nice - very simple & very apt for my 2006.

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

Robert Frost - Nothing gold can stay

2005 teardrops, 2006 dreams?

2006-01-02T22:30:00.000+08:00

alright, so we pass into another new year, saying and thinking more of the same, 'this year will be better and this year will see this or we will do that and yada yada yada...'. you know, all those usual excuses about what we could have done, or where we might have gone and even what others might have decided to do so that we would have done something. remember, those words are simply hot air.

let's move straight through the crappish bullshit and begin from a higher spiral then we were, in the year before.2005 was as good a year as you made it out to be, as you allowed it to become. 2006 will be even better, even more special...but only if you let it be.

so for this year, i will not make any more ridiculous demands on myself to reach this goal or use the new year as motivation to make it through the first 6 months then fake myself (somehow) to stretch through the remaining 6 months.

i will start it off simply. this year, i would like to encourage myself to be:

1. healthier by means of a balanced diet and regular exercise. (means i still get to drink my rum. in case anyone was wondering.)
2. read more books especially the biographies and the novels. (this came about thanks to Kim Stanley Robinson and his book 'The Years of Rice and Salt - after i finished it, i realised how much i missed thinking about content. those interested in alternative views of history should read his book. he works through 'what if the plague wiped out europe in the early centuries?'.)
*reminder to self: pay library fine.
3. make my liqudity work harder for me. (agents, don't bother messaging. i already have someone.)
4. travel, backpack or daytrek. (that will require further discussion; stay tuned.)
5. find a lovely place called home.

so as the days go by, and 2006 moves on, i hope that the opportunities to create or do the above happen. that is my simple dream for 2006.

merry merry 2006!

2006-01-01T16:30:00.000+08:00

here's wishing everyone a fantastically great 2006! have a year full of dreams reached and wished fulfilled!

citibank woes

2005-12-27T21:30:00.000+08:00

so continuing from the other day, these citibank credit sales person calls me back regarding the failed application. to their credit, she is really polite. anyways, she explains to me that i need to send in more documentation to make an appeal. and to her credit, she is resubmitting the application on my behalf which she warns me, will take a longer period of time.

being so polite, i didn't want to ruin her day by being difficult but honestly, why in hell must there even be an appeal? honestly, if the citibank credit cards department feels that i am not worthy of holding their card, then i will just apply to another bank. yes i will not be eligible for the food perks (which btw is essentially why i am applying in the first place), but tough luck. i ain't going to starve just because i cannot frequent those places...

i probed deeper as to whether there were any other factors hindering my application, since i was rejected by two different cards - the clear card & the promotional platinum card. and this was the next new thing, based on their criteria, they do not look at your payslip to determine eligibility but they total up your cpf contributions for a year and divide it by 12 months. straight away, my normally placid mind went into overdrive.

if they add 12 months then divide by 12, how about those that have been working for less than 12 months?
if they add 12 months then divide by 12, how about those that get increments partway into their job?

thus citibank, through the selection criteria and policies, might be saying something that goes according to the lines of - we want perforated payslips so that we know you are not typing it up on MS word and we want you to start your career with a minimum of $2.5k. if not you should think very very hard about ever getting our cards. of cos for those that have just started working in companies that pay you loads of money when you enter, we also want you. especially those that enter those big companies you know? but small agencies that we never heard of? hmmm... oh yeah, btw you! the guy that works your way slowly up...prove it to me that you are worthy. besides there are enough people elsewhere for me to sign up, what is the loss of one person to me?

someone tell somebody that in case the banking industry hasn't noticed, the rest of the economy is still recovering. that translates to lower salaries, in case no one has realised. it will take time for people to start off and work towards pre-2001 salary scales. yes yes, of cause people are earning. but give them time, that's what i am saying.

of course, i wouldn't ever know if all of the above is true but it sure seems that way when it seems so complicated to obtain a citibank credit card. i reckon pulling out my wisdom teeth might be easier and less annoying.

Merry Christmas!

2005-12-25T15:30:00.000+08:00

merry christmas everyone!! have a blast over the next 12 days!

do i need a perforated pay slip just to qualify...?

2005-12-23T00:12:00.000+08:00

so i was applying for a citibank credit card earlier in the month at orchard and just this evening at parkway parade. figured that i ought to get one since entertainment is part of my jobscope and i can use the card to get 1-1 deals, good makan discounts etc...

twice i got rejected - without any reason being given. twice the credit sales person serving me asked me 'are your payslips perforated?'. being in an agency, where we have less than 20 people, of course the answer is no! why would we want to spend more money to per-for-rate the payslip such that 20 people can tear into their payslips at the end of every month? i really do not think that we get any pleasure from 'tearing' into our payslips. looking into it - definitely got pleasure lar.

so i get the impression that because my company is cost-efficient, that this is the reason why i have been rejected twice by citibank in my application for their card. even though i qualify by income. even though i have submitted all the relevant documents. gawd - if it wasn't because their partnership scheme is attractive, i doubt that i would be giving them a second glance, much less glance at credit.

to put it simply, i am insulted.

maybe i should just open a priority account with them and dump my cash into an account to get the card. but then again, why should i let them benefit by charging me for me for a service when i am not even sure of their capability to keep me satisfied as a customer?

what a farce! the Club Card my farking arse.

2005-12-15T23:00:00.000+08:00

was officially ripped off yesterday evening. earlier this week, i received the following invite for the launch of some 'club card' from bestrestaurants.com.sg.

let me relate my experience there. in case you assume that this is targeted, it is not. it is simply an account of the crap, (oops i meant the circumstances) that happened.

the email went along the lines that this was a 'personalised' invite and they started it off with 'hi friend'.
so we ( meaning my colleagues and i) went down to the place around 7pm to check out this 'new' card. and we discovered that drinks weren't free, it was 20% discounted.
the cocktail food? mac's nuggets and potato wedges. available only after we bought drinks because at 7.30pm, they were still 'cooking' the food.
the card? it offered a 1-1/discount (the girl wasn't clear) at certain establishments. the cost? $29 now or $99 after.
the time period to sign up? they (meaning the people trying to sell it to us) couldn't decide between 20 days and 30 days. two different people with two different dates in mind.
the list of partner establishments? 'i don't have it now.' or my favourite. 'you go check it at the website but can you sign up with us first?'
the girl trying to sell it to us? couldn't take a hint that we weren't interested. btw, we found out as well that she had no clue what she was selling. reason being she was also the waitress who served us when we first arrived. she didn't even know that there was a launch on the premise that evening. until she came to sell us the card.
oh yeah the final nail in the coffin, after 'coughing' out $29, you have to use the temporary/paper card a certain number of times (like 10-15 times), before they send you the actual plastic card. how does that help attract customers if they aren't even willing to invest in a machine to create proper cards. and c'mon, it's farking plastic, not titanium. should i 'donate' SGD$1 for the cost of material? hah!

for crying out loud, if you want to do a marketing launch for anything, please please give your target audience the benefit of intelligence and respect. the way it was done yesterday, i could roll over in my sleep and achieve better. or rather, i wouldn't waste ANYONE'S time trying something so screwed-up.

for all those times you wanted to but didn't...

2005-12-13T12:37:00.000+08:00

check out this link.

http://www.zefrank.com/punc/

you know what to do next time...