aPpLe & oRaNgE

End of the Road...

2010-04-29T12:00:00.003+08:00

4 February 2006: Two of them came together...
19/20 April 2010: Two of them broke up...
4 years, 2 months and almost 3 weeks of relationship just gone... and to make matters worse, I was going to propose to her soon...

25 April 2010:

Decided I could not live on after learning of some things, which I will not elaborate. I just wanted the pain to go away. The pain in my heart. First, went to suffocate myself in a plastic bag. Couldn't as I panicked. Then tried to hang myself. Couldn't as it hurts too much. Then took 15 to 16 pills of piriton and a bottle of cough mixture to make myself more drowsy before I try again.

I tried again after the drowsy effect kicked in. But it failed again though for both methods, I managed to endure for a slightly longer time, which explains the pain in my throat (from hanging) ever since. Cursing, and crying at the same time, myself as a coward who wants to die but am afraid of pain, I then ingested another 50 pills which include paracetemol, synflex, antacid. They will not cause you to die BUT if untreated, will cause liver failure and will lead to death.

Somehow, she managed to persuade me to see the doc which I did. If you ask me, I will tell you I regret this decision because I had wanted to die for this pain to go away!!! If I can do it all over again, I will make sure I do not see the doctor. The psychiatrist saw me and told me the pain will be there but it needs time to go away. Everybody (including her) tells me time will heal the wounds but all of them don't know how much it hurts! The anti-depressant medication does not help and I have to get relaxant/sleeping pills just to sleep because all I can do is stare into space and let the tears flow.

我知道故事不會太曲折, 我總會遇見一個什麼人
陪我過沒有了她的人生, 成家立業之類的等等

她做了她覺得對的選擇, 我只好祝福她真的對了
愛不到我最想要愛的人, 誰還能要我怎樣呢

我愛的人, 不是我的愛人
她心裡每一寸, 都屬於另一個人
她真幸福, 幸福得真殘忍
讓我又愛又恨, 她的愛怎麼那麼深

我愛的人, 她已有了愛人
從她們的眼神, 說明了我不可能
每當聽見, 她或他說我們
就像聽見愛情, 永恆的嘲笑聲

每當聽見, 她或他說我們
就像聽見愛情, 永恆的嘲笑聲 --- 陈小春《我爱的人》

I really don't know what to do... Life is meaningless... And the pain... It just won't go away...
原来童话故事都是骗人的。。青蛙终究还是青蛙。。无法变成王子。。
或许你会说那可不一定。。我赞成。。
因为我知道我不是有些人。。我是那只注定要孤独的蛤蟆。。
永远扮好自己的角色。。一个平凡无奇，不起眼的癞蛤蟆。。

Sorry, D.. My temper, bad habits and me not loving you enough had pushed you away from me... I am sorry... I wished I could have noticed it earlier but I'm just a stupid fool... Sorry... Sorry to waste 4 years of your youth... I wish you happiness and the next guy you meet will definitely be a much better guy for you and I know for sure that he will be the one that you should say "I do" and not me...

别哭，你要很幸福。。微笑，让我看清楚。。

This is also the end of the blog. Please, if you are linked to this blog previously, please remove this link. Thank you.

Signs of getting old

2009-06-17T21:28:00.003+08:00

Had wanted to write something like this for a long time. Got this feeling of getting older by the day especially with the "dreaded 30" fast approaching. How ironic that you wished you were older when you were just a young punk and wishing you will stop aging when you get older.

You know you are getting older when:

1. you can't even remember some stuff that you had told your friends or other half just days ago. My baby can testify to this. Haha.

2. you start to "compete" with those uncles and aunties on getting to the escalators at MRT stations especially during morning rush hours. This may be a sign of getting old or simply just a way of surviving in Singapore. (Last time when I still young, will always give way and sometimes wait until cows come home also not my turn lor.)

3. you thought Restaurant City is a new restaurant that had opened in Orchard. I personally lost interest in Facebook and its numerous applications donkey years ago. Nowadays go into Facebook is just to confirm friend request. Dun really understand why others can stay in Facebook for like hours while I can log off in 5 mins (and that is the max).

4. you start to say "these youngsters or young punks hor...." or "when I was still young hor..." in conversations with your friends. Damn. This really makes me feel old and did I say something like this earlier? Shit.

5. you said you last cheong at Ministry of Sound/Sparks/Canto/China Black/Double O/Mdm Wong/Wong Shan (Please delete where applicable). I am totally out of sync with the nightlife nowadays and the latest cheong place that I can tell my friends is Dragonfly. Haha.

6. a karang guni uncle who is much (x 100 times) older than you asked you "Uncle, you got anything you want to sell boh?". Please lor... Even if I got something to sell, I won't sell you lor!

7. a current picture of yourself and a picture of yourself 5 years ago looks like those before-and-after photos in some advertisments by some beauty and wellness centre. I hate my former colleague for putting up the photo we took 5 years ago in Facebook.

8. you prefer briefs over boxers. Heard in a Taiwanese variety show hosted by Tao-zi that only the older generation wear briefs nowadays and boxers are now the in-thing. I, for one, can't seem to fathom the idea of wearing another pair of shorts inside your jeans/pants/berms. Hot leh...

9. the DJ at the radio station announced a classic, i.e. oldies, love song is to be played and you are, unfortunately, able to sing along with it. Not only songs on radio, even at karaoke, I prefer to sing not-so-new songs liao.

10. you look at the above nine points and say "me too leh!". Welcome to the club! =)

REALly gone

2009-06-16T21:59:00.003+08:00

Last week. Thursday. Switch on PC. Went to ESPN Soccernet. And what came next was I think heartache.

"United accepts Ronaldo bid"

Many Man Utd fans, including yours truly, had been expecting it but I guessed it is still mind-numbing when it really happens. This is especially so when Real Madrid had previously smashed the world record transfer just a few days ago when they bought Kaka from AC Milan for 56m pounds.

Recovering from my shock, I smsed Baby (who's a Ronaldo fan) about the news and that I don't miss him as much as compared to the departure of David Beckham and Ruud Van Nistelrooy. Perhaps it is due to the fact that I have never been a true fan of him. As much as he is gifted, pouting and flapping his hands like a little kid when he lost the ball or his team mates did not anticipate his movement, diving at the slightest touch (and sometimes invisible touch!) etc just dun endear to me, unlike players like Scholes or Vidic. Besides, who can forget his courting of Real Madrid at the end of last season, which really showed disrespect to Man Utd as a club. But i must reiterate that it is still a huge loss to Man Utd.

Ronaldo's move to Real Madrid was not only due to sporting reasons (galaticos project), but also to financial reasons. Reports have indicated that Ronaldo's contract includes a 25% yearly increment in salary and at the end of his contract, he will be earning a whooping 500,000+ pounds PER WEEK, which translates to almost S$1m! It's like....... striking Toto every week! No wonder Ronaldo in the picture looks like he's saying I will be crazy not to go!

Another financial reason touted was the tax increase in Britain. Apparently, high earners will have to pay a 50% (and here we are complaining about how high our taxes are) income tax, an increase of 10%. This worked out to be some 2m pounds loss for Ronaldo had he stayed in England. On the football side, Real Madrid is certainly brewing something big (but RM should really buy some decent defenders to complement the array of attacking talent) and every player, including Ronaldo, would be interested to be part of it. And Ronaldo has won everything with Man Utd, be it in Europe or England, so he might appreciate a new challenge. I think Man Utd fans should really thank him for his service and wished him the best of luck in the future.

Now his replacement. Several names have been touted - Franck Ribery, Karim Benzema, Antonio Valencia, David Silva etc. Now if it is just to boost the morale of supporters and players after the departure of Ronaldo, any of them (bar Valencia) would be a good choice. But my choice, which will surprise many, will be to give Nani more playing time. Nani might be too stressed by the comparisons by the media and fans when Ronaldo was still at the club and now might be the right time to unleash him. I might be wrong but at least give him a chance to show what he can do rather than buying a big name, which will not come cheap - Ribery @ 70m pounds, Benzema @ 40m pounds, David Silva @ 25m pounds and even Valencia is commanding 20m pounds.

Now did I just hear someone say recession?

Baba King Nonya Deli

2009-06-15T21:59:00.007+08:00

Just had a gathering with my secondary school mates + Don at Baba King Nonya Deli @ Singapore Expo. Reason for gathering? CY gonna take off for Japan in end June for a student exchange programme that I thought I heard him saying that he didn't sign up for it. Anyway, poor Xiuying (CY's fiancee) got to endure for two months, but hey, Skype and MSN will soften your pain I guess.

Don & Yiqing

Long-ge & CY

Yiqing & Long-ge

Doug & me

Whole gang

Back to Baba King. This is a Nonya Restaurant that I suggested going after looking at its reviews on hungrygowhere.com. Was actually worried that the food might not be as nice and everybody will wallop me for a "good recommendation"! Proved that my worry was unfounded as the food there was quite delicious! We had fish otak (heavenly!), kang kong, duck sioh, soft shell crab, ngoh hiang, green curry chicken, chap chye, fish assam thingy and all for a reasonable price too. Oh, Don kept saying the white rice was the most delicious and I nearly threw the green chicken curry at him! haha... Didn't had the chance to take photos of the food as I was busy eating and by the time I remembered, the food was all gone!

Kang Kong (Notice the nice white rice? hehe)

Green Chicken Curry (ok.. pic might not be that nice but it tasted nice!)

Fish Assam Curry

Fish Otak!!!!!!

Guys, we really should get together more often as it was fun catching up with all of you! Till then...

P.S. - Talking about blogging, CY mentioned I keep starting my posts along the line of "I will strive to write regularly for my blog". Haha.. nice observation.. I didnt write for this post so no shooting myself in the foot again! haha..

Excited

2009-03-18T20:30:00.006+08:00

Baby recently told me she's feeling excited..... Ahem..... We never do anything la..... She's just excited about our impending trip to Taiwan in Apr... Me too cos my last overseas trip was in 2001 with a bunch of sweaty guys (army training loh)...

Anyway since the tickets were booked, I have been doing pretty lotsa research - what hotel to book, where to go, how to go in doing up the itinerary. As the date gets closer, the places we are going are more or less firmed:

- National Palace Museum [intro by Xiuying (Ed's gf) to see the jade that looks like 三层肉]
- 五角船板 (restaurant that baby saw it on a ch 8 tv prog)
- Dan Shui
- Beitou Hotspring
- Xi Men Ding
- Taipei 101 (not really feel like going but it feels funny to tell ppl that I've been to Taipei but not to 101, so 去个意思吧..)
- Leofoo Village (I hope I make it back alive) [Will take up almost 1 day I think]
- Wu Fen Pu
- Jiu Fen
- Night Markets (Shilin, Shida, Raohe)

Still trying to see if can slot in Yang Ming Shan to see flowers (yawn), Tianmu. I'm going Taroko Gorge too but still trying to find my way there. Haha... It will occupy another whole day...

Oh, got to share with you on this terrific place to get information about Taiwan. There is this Taiwan Visitors Association at UIC Building (Shenton Way) that has free maps, guides and brochures about Taiwan. These are some of the brochures I took back.

And, to encourage more people to travel to Taiwan, they even give away freebies. For the months of Jan to Mar, they are giving away limited edition of EasyCard (equivalent to our EZ Link card) with a value of NT50 inside the card.

They are giving away theme park tix in Apr. Cant remember the freebies in May and June though. Do drop by the place the next time you are going to Taiwan.

I **** Liverpool!!

2009-03-18T19:58:00.006+08:00

Last I checked, my last entry was in Jul 08. Wow. Haha. Acutally meant to post for a long time le but lazy la... shall come up with a few posts to make up for lost time... haha..

I have never hated Liverpool since I started watching football cos my dad is a supporter and I have great friends who are Liverpool fans such as Edward or Douglas. That's why I make it a point not to hate Liverpool like what most Man Utd fans will behave.

BUT NOW, I have a colleague who is an irritating Liverpool fan! He is great as a colleague but he is sibei irritating when it comes to LiverpooL! He comes into office with a happy face if Liverpool won the other nite ("wow! Gerrard very good! The wingers of Liverpool very good!) and with a black face if Liverpool lost ("actually I think Liverpool is better off without Gerrard. He shouldn't have played la"). Look at the comments and you know he's one of those guys that knows shit about football and yet always tried to act like he knows everything.

The Monday after the loss, he showed me a photo in the New Paper that depicted the despondent looks of Man Utd players while Liverpool players were celebrating at the background. He laughed (anyway, he laughs like a friggin gay) and said "Man Utd players sibei poor thing hor?". WAAAAAAAAA!!!!! (vomit blood)

Pui pui pui! We may have lost the battle (and sibei jialat somemore) but we will win the war... I hope... Please let it happen cos if not, I may really commit murder... (sharpens knife in one dark corner of my room)

Work is ... BIG SIGH

2008-09-07T12:19:00.004+08:00

Tired... of everything... blood jus boils when i get a stupid phone call or when colleagues try to play "tai chi"

everything n everyone (almost everyone, thank god for those few sane ones in the coy) is irritatin me.. i tink i really need a break from them else even the tiniest bittsy stuff will also set me off

But too bad.. no breaks so i can only grind my teeth n roll my eyes at the stupidity i ve to endure 5days a week.. :P

can u guys believe it that a NTU grad tried to attribute her inability to transfer call to me jus cos she tot i called her line while she was in the process of transferring calls? AND it wouldnt have been possible even if i really did call her line while she was transferring. How could line get cut off jus cos ppl call u????

Luckily i was in a gd mood at that moment else i tink i would ve given her hell..

Runying asked me "where do all these stupid ppl come from" n i said "apparently NTU"
of cos not all NTU grad are like tat BUT some are really.... w/o common sense...

My resume is ready haha but should i wait till they promote me to an executive b4 leaving?
what Runying said the other day made sense.. i ve been here for 5yrs.. it wouldnt be gd to be still at the same AE position for 5 bloody yrs.. other coys might not empathise with the policy in this coy.. it doesnt matter how long u ve been in the coy but u need to have a degree to be an exec

Sometimes... i feel so irritated with myself.. m so old already but still have no idea wat i wan.. haiz..
or maybe like wat Yilin says... i should jus heck n send out resume.. see wat offers i get hahaha

Hint of gettin back to my old self?

2008-08-02T12:34:00.002+08:00

Yesh~~ so happy n proud of myself hehe
Yesterday an uncle, at first i tot is ABNN cos of the way he speaks..
n he sounded like one la hor
but later i realised is an old uncle those kind tat speak english in a weird way :P

n he refused to let me speak n even when i ve explained to him he still keep goin on n on n repeatin himself
BUT! surprise surprise... i still didnt raise my tone or get pek chey wif him

I still tok to him in a nice tone hahhaa

Is that a hint of my old self comin back? I hope so.. *Big smile*

The fragile relationship between humans..

2008-07-03T22:16:00.002+08:00

Recently there has been bad news ard me in the relationship dept..

Break-ups, disputes, unhappiness.

It got me thinking.. Will you be able to forgive your other half if he/she has betrayed ur trust?

I doubt i'll be able to. And there's also the issue of trust.

Even if i can find it in myself to forgive him, will i be able to trust him again?

There won't be any trust between us anymore. If so, what's the point of staying together?

And even if we stayed together, i will expect him to tolerate me no matter wat. Cos... he did wrong first so he has to take watever shit i dish out haha tat's my view la.. though i noe it's not correct n the r/s will surely suffer over time, so i guess this actually means that i can't totally forgive him, Haha.. i can only forgive him for the time being and as time goes by i will start to harbour feelings of resentment.

I guess i'm not very forgiving huh, wahaha..

So saying.. How do u noe if this person is THE ONE?

Why do ppl get married?

Know of a married couple who do not... do alot of things together..

When they go shopping, they arrive at the same place together den go shop for their stuff individually, and they seem to not really communicate much cos they dun seem to know what each other is busy wif..

Perhaps they do communicate, i dunno but from what i hear... They dun really get to spend much time together. Weekdays are gone cos of work. Weekends, are sometimes spent with their respective frens, or otherwise spent at the same place seperately. So maybe they get to ve some quality time one day per week together..

Actually... why do ppl get together? Do u need to have a partner since we are normally busy with work 5 days a week, etc..

Food for thought haha

感触良多。。。/ Jobless Chronicles - 61 days

2008-07-02T20:29:00.003+08:00

Something happened that got me thinking... Many have said that a couple needs time to understand each other before getting married... But exactly what timeframe is considered "good enough" for a couple to decide to take the next step? I know a few months is definitely not enough as I experienced it first-hand. But I know a couple that had dated for a long 9 years before marriage and now into the 6th year of their marriage - that's 15 years together mind you - they are about to get a divorce.

Sure, I understand that some things happened that forced their hand but it sure got me thinking... People change over time; John in 2008 might, and most likely, be different from the John in 2000. Mary, who decided to marry John (v. 2000) because of who he was then, might detest John (v. 2008). So what does she do then? Divorce? What makes a marriage click then?

Marriage is such a complicated matter. It's certainly more than "I-love-you-and-you-love-me". Yet more and more people are getting married at such a young age (including me) and consequently, more and more people are also divorcing at an early age. Is it true that older generation value relationship more? Perhaps but they might also have a trait, which could be lost in younger generation, that makes marriages work - Tolerance.

On a happier note, the chronicles of my jobless journey is finally over! Going to start a new career at this seemingly wonderful and creative company this Friday. It's a small company but its boss and my supervisor-to-be seems very nice! Can't wait to start work again! But first, I have to adjust my body clock, which has gone haywired with my jobless journey. Oosh! 加油！

Quote of the day - "The trouble with gloom is that when you're surrounded by it, that's all you can see."

Decisions, decisions, decisions / Jobless Chronicles - Day 49

2008-06-20T15:11:00.003+08:00

Life is about decisions. Deciding to write a blog entry today, deciding to submit 10 applications today, deciding not to watch Croatia vs Turkey today etc. Some decisions are big and will affect what happens later in life while others are small and insignificant.

Ronaldo, after Portugal's exit in Euro 08 at the hands of Germany, said he is relishing a dream move to Real Madrid (RM) and will be talking to Man Utd to reach an agreement. Why are we not surprised? After Man Utd's success in Champions League (yeah!), he has been asked umpteen times on where will he be come next season. If he was loyal and had decided that Man Utd is the club for him, he would have just came out and clarified the rumours by perhaps making statement like "I will stay with Man Utd and there is no way that I will sign with RM". But what did he choose to do? "I will make my decision known after Euro 08". Seriously, can he be more stupid than this? Cos that statement simply translated to "I will declare my interest to move to RM after Euro 08"!

Well, decisions again isn't it? Is his decision correct? It will only be known in the future. However a good indication will be an advice from former Man Utd great, David Beckham (DB). DB had said Man Utd is the club for Ronaldo to grow and urged him to stay on with the Red Devils. Mind you, he must know something that people don't cos he happens to be a former RM player as well. Sir Alex said he will rather bench Ronaldo than sell him to RM. Again, wrong decision I say. Pay Ronaldo 150,000 GBP per week just to bench him and prove a point to RM? Doesn't make economical sense. I say sell Ronaldo for a hefty sum, say 100 million GBP. 1st, no point in keeping an unhappy and ingrateful player at the club; 2nd, use some of the money to clear debt (no thanks to the Glazers) and lastly use the remaining money to purchase another player. Ideally, it would be Messi cos he proved that he is way better than Ronaldo in both legs of the semi-final of the Champions League but then Barcelona won't sell for sure. But I won't mind Benzema, Ben Arfa, Robinho or even Ronaldinho either!

Now, just like Ronaldo's decision, my decision to leave SAF is a big decision. To leave my so-called comfort zone, where you honestly didnt really need to do much and still get a relatively high salary. This is what people normally term it as Zo Bo Lan (ZBL). The decision to leave seems a logical one when I was still in SAF as I frequently told myself that this life is not what I want. But as I moved to almost 50 days without employment, I'm wondering if I was too impulsive and made the wrong decision. Baby (and her friends) certainly think that 50 days is a short period to even sound the red alert and start taking jobs like insurance or property agents and told me not to be overly worried.

Moral of the story? Don't regret any decision that you had made. Regretting won't make things any better. In fact, it will just make you feel sore. The only thing to do is to try and make sure your decision turns out good. I'm sure Sir Alex didnt regret it when he sold Paul Ince, Jaap Stam, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, David Beckham and I'm also sure he won't regret it when he sells Ronaldo to RM in the coming months. Just make sure the decision to sell turns out good by putting the money from the sale to good use. Similarly for me, only thing I can do is keep sending applications, get a good job, work hard and hopefully, rewards that justified my decision.

Glory Glory Man Utd! / Jobless Chronicles - Day 13

2008-05-13T15:45:00.007+08:00

My 2nd posting in less than a week. Why? Simply because I'm jobless. =(

On a happier note, never have I been so happy that I'm wrong! I mentioned earlier that I don't have a good feeling for Man Utd's match against Wigan, fearing a recurrence of the situation in 1994 (see previous post). Chris Kirkland had an inspiring day in goal for Wigan but perhaps not as inspiring as Ludek Milosko for West Ham in 1994. Goals from Ronaldo and Giggsy ensured that Man Utd claimed their 10th Premiership title (17 league titles in all) and moved closer to Liverpool's all-time record of 18 league titles. It was a day to savour, especially for Giggsy, who not only scored the goal that probably decided it but also equalled the record for number of appearances for Man Utd, which is currently co-held by Sir Bobby Charlton, a legend himself. Actually, if not for Giggsy's troubling hamstring problems in his younger days, this record would have been broken long ago, a fact not lost on Sir Charlton himself. So kudos to Giggsy and what an occasion to break the record in a Champions League final. I hope I'm wrong again (see previous post again) in predicting a trophy each for Man Utd and Chelsea. Go Devils!

It has been 13 days since I left the service and plunge myself into the private sector. People have been asking me why on earth did I quit without finding a job first? In a perfect world, I will gladly do that. But I can't. First, I have to give 3 months notice (yes, not 1, not 2 but 3) to quit the service. Anyone who thinks it is possible for an guy with no relevant working experience to go for an interview and ask the employer to wait for 3 months must be an optimist. Sadly, I'm not one. Second, when I handed in my resignation, I had started to look for jobs from early Mar. Sadly (again), I couldn't find a job before I left.

To date, I have sent out more than 80 applications. And I have been through 3 interviews and 1 phone interview. The first (informal) interview was with a headhunting consultancy firm. They were interested in me but I wasn't interested as it was not something I want to do. A job is a job but what I'm looking for is a career and that's why I believe the first job is very important. Well, maybe that would change if this continues after a month. Anyway second (informal again) interview was interesting and the interviewer exudes a charm that captivated me. Decide to try it out until I realised that it was MLM in disguise on the first day. Did not even bother to show up on the second day, though I did send the interviewer an email to thank him for the opportunity. The phone interview from a training system company lasted 36 minutes and I was asked to sell a product (I chose PSP) to the interviewer so as to assess my sales pitching. I guess he wasn't really interested in me and the feeling was mutual as I seriously do not like to do sales job.

The final interview I went was finally a formal interview at last at an established company. The interview lasted 1 hr-plus and she said this is only the first round of interview and will inform me if I was shortlisted for the 2nd interview. I told Baby that I think I will not be shortlisted because of what she said to me towards the end of the interview. I am disappointed because this job is something that I wanted to kickstart my career. And failed interviews can be quite morale-sapping, not that I have high morale in the first place.

Baby has kept assuring me it's only 10-plus days since I was jobless and some of her friends took months to find a job. I myself know it takes time and have more confidence in myself that a suitable job will come my way soon. 加油加油加油！

好久好久。。。

2008-05-08T15:21:00.003+08:00

It has been a long four months since the last post in our blog... So much has happened since...

1. Most importantly, I have left the SAF and is now officially jobless. Many friends have came up to me and said "Shiok right! Missed your pink IC right?!". Well, my answer surprised some of them. When I was in the force, I couldn't wait for my ORD day to come and when it really came, I was less happy than I expected myself to be. Perhaps it's about getting out of my comfort zone. I was comfortable at my office, drawing a nice pay (to me, may not be to others) and life was good. I have started looking for a job since end Mar I think and have went for 2 interviews. Both are not what I want so I rejected them. Going for an interview tomorrow. I hope it's something I want and of course, also hoping I'm the person they want.

2. I finally completed my studies (ok.. I still got one paper in Jul but it's the end of my classes!)! 3 years have passed and I'm glad that it's all over. What pleases me most was my supervisor for my FYP said he will push me up to 1st Class Honours if there is a chance! Though I think it's very impossible (considering my results are now borderline 2nd Upper), I'm just glad that there is at least a chance, albeit a very slim one. Of course, it will also depend on my 2 papers that I took in March and the Jul paper.

3. Man Utd is going into Survival Sunday, level on points with Chelsea. A win against Wigan will seal it, barring a freakish result, i.e. Chelsea 21 Bolton 0. I don't have a good feeling because when was the last time Man Utd had to go into the last game, needing a win to seal the title? Yes... 1994 against West Ham and Blackburn against Liverpool. With Blackburn going to Anfield, Man Utd were favourites for the title. But alas, Man Utd somehow failed to win (and score), with the help of inspired goalkeeping from Ludek Milosko, and even though Blackburn lost to Liverpool, the title was snatched away from Man Utd. This time Man Utd is again favourites to win the title but I just don't feel right about this... I hope I'm wrong... Please, let me be wrong!

4. It sure is a repeat of last season, isn't it? Champions League final sees Man Utd pits against Chelsea, which was the FA Cup final last season. I think the result will be similar. They will share a trophy each so whoever wins the Premier League will be the loser for the final. That's my bet.

5. Saw Yanyang (YY) on TV some time back in the programme, Find Me A Singaporean. It was sure interesting and I had a big smile on my face when YY opened the door for Belinda (host). It's really tough living in a foreign country, not to say foreign language too, by yourself and as what YY said, friends are thus important and I can say that I'm glad that he has found some friends in Argentina, which will make those lonely nights less lonely. He's coming back on 24 Jun (TBC) for a month I think and I cant wait for this day to see an old friend again. This time in person. =)

pissed off with my boss

2008-01-14T21:36:00.000+08:00

Went to pick up my medical report + my parents' today together with dar dar. Everything's good except tat my mum's n dardar LDL cholestrol (aka bad cholestrol) are on the high side esp dardar's! so he has to watch me eat the delicious goody stuff! wahha :p hehe

Surprisely, mummy's cholestrol level is higher than father's...but it's okie cos mummy's diet easier to control and she's more guai haha and i'm glad my dad received a clean bill of health, considerin his smoking, late nights, lack of slp, etc...

and becos of the medical appointments.. i realised that my attitude towardswork has been wrong.. all along i was fine with giving a little more in doing my work.. stayin back for a while, etc
from now on, i will adjust my working attitude. When the clock strikes 12.30pm for lunch, i will stop work, when the clock strikes 5.30pm, official knock off time, i will stop work. I will not work an extra min.. if i ve to work overtime, i will only start working from 6pm onwards since OT can only be claimed from 6pm onwards.

Y am i being treated in such an unfair manner, other ppl go for medical appt do not have to apply for time off but i ve to. My mgr left after having lunch and even announced that she's goin shopping at Robinson later. Another colleague's appt was at 9am and it's ok BUT my appt at 3pm is at a weird timing? This is not the first time i have gone for medical appt... so y is she givin me grief this time round?

After workin for u for 4yrs and yet this is the way u tink of me, tink tat i wanna cheat u of that 1 - 2 hrs? sickening...

Sad, sad day...

2008-01-14T20:26:00.000+08:00

Sad, sad day...

1st sad
14 Jan 08. 1615hrs. I officially said goodbye to my favourite foods such as Laksa, Char Quay Teow, McSpicy Chicken, roast duck, roast pork etc. Or rather, a doctor had informed me that I have to abstain from all these food for about six months due to my overly high cholestorol level (201. He said below 130 is fine, 130-160 is borderline bad and above 160 is "jialat" bad) and see whether it would help in decreasing it. After listening to all the food that I have to abstain from, I asked him, so why not tell me what can I eat then?

"Basically, you shall live like a monk, except that you don't have to shave your head botak."

Wow. Thanks. That's...... comforting. Argh. I shouldn't have gone for the check-up.

2nd sad
Baby and I were stuck in Causeway Point today due to heavy rain and my car was parked just opposite. Thinking that the rain would last for some time, we decided to catch a movie. "American Gangster" and "AVP2" came to my mind immediately but I thought "AG" was too heavy for me today (please see 1st sad) and my colleague told me "AVP2" sucks big time, which I kinda expected it. Anyway, seeing one lizard-like alien killing a cockroach-like alien would be too bored for Baby too. Then, I saw the poster of "I am Legend". Oh, it's still around, I thought. Had heard it's nice and any movie starring Will Smith can't be that bad. Ok. We shall watch that then.

Though it was not exactly mind-blowing, I thought it was an excellent movie and definitely worth the $6 I paid per ticket. In fact, I don't even mind paying $9.50. So what's the 2nd sad then? For those who have watched the movie, there was a dog who had accompanied Will Smith for three years and she (Samantha was her name) was injured trying to save Smith's ass. Smith eventually had to kill her as she was turning into something evil. I had to try REALLY VERY hard to hold back my tears and it was that moving. Up till now, I still can't forget the scene, feeling sad upon remembering the doggie's death. On a sour note, some idiots laughed when Will Smith killed the dog as they thought his face was funny. I swore I would have killed them if I have a knife in my hand. Urgh!!! Anyway, do watch this show if you have the chance. It's really worth the money.

Hungry now but I can't eat anything! Argh! I can't order my favourite McDonald's as well. Eat fruits suan le... haiz... 我真可怜！

Collection of thoughts Part 3...

2008-01-10T23:13:00.000+08:00

Now now... should I say my first post of the new year or my first post in 3 months? Either way, I guess I will have a lot of posts titled "Collection of thoughts" due to my infrequent writing. =)

Manchester United
Think I'm going to talk about their recent matches? Nay. I always wanted to wear a "情侣装" with Baby but just couldn't find something that both of us likes. Btw, we are so so different. She likes things that I don't like and I like things that she doesn't like. Wonder how we got along. Haha. Anyway one fine day, my colleague asked me whether I wanted to buy Man Utd jersey from UK, which is supposed to be cheaper than buying locally even after adding in the shipping costs. Then a thought suddenly struck me! This is the perfect 情侣装!

Wanted to be a surprise for her and give it to her when the shipment arrives but (1) I can't keep secrets about surprises and (2) my colleague & I were still checking around. Eventually, I bought a female Man Utd jersey with Ronaldo printing for Baby at Peninsula Shopping Centre last Sun and will collect it this Sat. I shall post a photo of both of us in Man Utd jerseys when I finally get mine hands on one. Can't wait for that day... =)

"We take care of our taxi drivers..... not!"
Ok, this is old news but the recent increase in cab fares have been explained by ComfortDelGro as "due to the increase in oil prices". Bullshit. As a taxi uncle puts it, if ComfortDelGro really cares about their taxi drivers, why not decrease the amount of their daily rent of the taxi instead? Why increase the cab fare? I just hope this doesn't affect my dad too much. Haiz.

Leaving SAF in May 08
Finally the day to leave SAF can be confirmed. 30 Apr 08 is the day I say goodbye to the organisation that I would have served for 7 years and 7 months and 28 days. The thought of leaving has lied within me since the first year when I was posted to my current department. The guys are great. It's just that the work isn't. The future is uncertain and I'm a bit worried as to how would I cope in private sector after so many years in SAF. But I relish a new challenge so the feelings are mixed - worried and yet excited.

Quite tired now... Can't think of any more to write... Yawnz.....

Bad experience with Nanyang Optical

2007-12-26T23:36:00.000+08:00

My first complain letter!! hahaha
i just sent it today.. let's see when will i receive a reply from them

I recently had my eyes checked at one of your outlets located at Compass Point, hoping to get my contact lens done. However, till date, I have not been able to enjoy the conveniences that contact lens provides. I am curious but how long does a consumer has to wait before he/she is able to get the contact lens from a optical shop starting from the day he/she orders the contact lens?

I had always thought that Nanyang Optical, one of Singapore's largest optical retail chains, would be a good choice for consumers should they require glasses or contact lens from a reliable optical shop. But it seems that my trust has been misplaced by the branding of Nanyang Optical.

I first ordered my lenses from your outlet at Compass Point on 29 Sep 07. I was told by your staff, the branch manager I believe, that the lenses would be ready in 5 days, I was pleasantly surprised as I would normally need to wait for around 2 weeks for my lenses to be ready when I had them done at other optical shops.

I should have been able to receive my lenses on 05 Oct 07 after 5 working days. On the 06 Oct 07, around 7pm, I called the optical shop to ask if my lenses were ready. To my surprise I was told by one of the staff that it wasn't ready at that point of time, and she wanted to end my call just like that with no explanation OR even a date to let me know when my lenses will be ready. It was only when I made a fuss and demanded to know why I wasn't informed of the delay of my lenses, then did the staff told me she will check and get back to me.

I received a call from a guy, I think his name is Shawn, that the delay was because he was the one in charge of making the order of my lenses and as he was on leave on 01 & 02 Oct 07, the ordering of my lenses were delayed, and that it will be ready on 11 Oct 07.

Shouldn't Nanyang Optical have called and informed me that my lenses are not ready yet? What if I do not lived in the vicinity and had already made a trip down to collect my lenses? I actually had to call the outlet on my own to find out that my lenses were not ready.

On 11 Oct 07(the day I was supposed to collect my lenses), I received a SMS stating that it was from Nanyang Optical and that there will be a delay due to some problems and that if I require my lenses urgently, to contact Nanyang Optical to spare me a trial lens for temporary use. AGAIN I was not told when the lenses would be ready.

I finally managed to collect my lenses on 28 Oct 07 .
When I tried it on, I told the guy, Edmund, who was serving me, that I felt giddy and my vision was not clear. He told me that it could be because my eyes were not used to the contact lens yet, I was surprised as it wasn’t the first time I’m getting contact lens done but it is the first time that my vision is not clear after putting on the contact lenses. I was told to return in a week if my vision is still not clear. And this time, I was not given a collection slip/receipt for subsequent collection. When I asked the branch manager, I was told that I could just give any of the staff my I/C no. to collect my lenses. My question here is, shouldn’t there be any form of security given to customers?

After about 3days, 1 Nov 07,I went back. This time it was another staff , Swee Ting, who served me. She told me that the blurred vision could be due to the fact that I did not opt to make torric lenses for my right eye which was suffering from astigmatism. However, I was not told in the first place that I was suffering from astigmatism in my right eye when my eye was being tested by your branch manager. And it was also Swee Ting who told me that typically consumers have to wait for 14 working days before their contact lenses will be ready .

So WHY was I told by the branch manager that my lenses would be ready in 5 days?

And because your branch manager did not inform me or perhaps she did not detect that I was suffering from astigmatism in my right eye, I had to wait for another 14 working days so that Nanyang Optical could get the lenses for my right eye done correctly. And Swee Ting also offered to get me the trial lenses for temporary use. This time I learnt my lesson and specifically asked that I be informed about my lenses when the 14 working days were up, whether or not the lenses were ready and also when I would be able to collect the trial lenses .

My lenses were finally collected around the 3rd week of Nov 07, however, as I was preparing for my exams I did not want to put on the lenses in case my vision would still be not clear with the lenses on or would cause me dizziness. I told the staff that if there’s any problem with the lenses, would it be ok if I were to go down to Nanyang Optical in the 1st week of Dec 07. Swee Ting told me that she would not be around in the 1st week of Dec 07, but I could look for another staff , Christine. I went back to Nanyang Optical on 3 Dec 07 and was served by Christine and was told my lenses would be ready in 14days BUT as there is a public holiday, she could not guarantee that it would be ready on 21 Dec 07, and AGAIN I specifically request that Nanyang Optical inform me on 21 Dec 07 on my lenses whether or not it is ready for collection. It is now 26 Dec 07. 2 working days after the promised date and I have not received any phone calls or sms from Nanyang Optical.

I am very disappointed by the kind of service I have received from Nanyang Optical and find it very ridiculous that I have not been able to receive my contact lenses after 2 months.

However, I would like to compliment on the service standard of your part-time staff, Swee Ting, for the way she has handled the matter. I'm surprised that the standard of service from a part-time staff is actually better than that of your branch manager.

I am no longer interested in purchasing my contact lenses from Nanyang Optical.
I would like a written explanation from Nanyang Optical with regards to the services rendered to me during this period of time that has caused me tremendous inconvenience (5-6visits) and it is a total waste of my time just trying to get my lenses from Nanyang Optical. Thus, I would like Nanyang Optical to refund the $280 which I have fully paid ($200 on 29 Sep 2007 and $80 on 19 Nov 07 ).

I hope to hear from Nanyang Optical soonest possible and the company would look into ways to further improve on your services to your customers.

lazy ppl

2007-10-25T14:08:00.000+08:00

Had wanted to blog for quite awhile but was unable to get my hands on the PC haha so many of my siblings are "fighting" over the PC.. also becos i'm too tired after facing the PC at work ..

Well, to start off, i asked Dar Dar to "make noise" cos the lawyer said in the first place tat Dar Dar will be able to keep the flat by transferring ownership to one of his parents.

1) i tink the lawyer sucks big-time he doesnt bother to find out properly b4 telling his clients stuff
2) since he mentioned b4 it's possible to keep the flat..

of cos MUS make noise n make the lawyer do his job n find out how to keep the flat! some ppl r damn lazy they tink that they can jus bluff their way thru n not do wat they are paid to do
Ask me. I noe. Cos i ve tons of experience with these kind of bloody lazy ppl who always try to push things they r supposed to do.

Whether or not it's possible is besides the point. Make the stupid lawyer work. He's charging you, so he SHOULD try his v best to come up with a solution instead of telling u at first it's do-able den suddenly jus tell u oh sorry ar cannot.

Yes.. i'm a difficult customer :) esp nowadays when ppl at work are giving me tons of prob, BUT i will leave that to the next post.

I hate myself...

2007-10-22T22:15:00.000+08:00

Didn't planned to blog today until I receive a call from my lawyer at night. He just told me something that I kinda expected it but still hoped that he didn't tell me in person.

When I met my lawyer just last month, he told me that as long as I can form a family nucleus, the transfer of ownership from HER to one of my parents could be done. Now, he says the family nucleus to take over the ownership could only be formed by either my child, which I do not happen to have, or my new spouse. If not, the flat will be surrendered to the HDB. Baby asked me to "make noise" but I thought, no matter what the case is, I also want the divorce so I see no point in doing that.

My close friends and Baby know that my main concern in this whole divorce thingy is the flat. It doesn't matter if I'm living alone because I can just sell off the flat and rent a room outside. But my decision to ask my parents to sell off their flat and come to live with me a few years back now seems a bad decision. And all because of my divorce, I have to bother my parents once again. That's the part where I hate myself the most.

Of course I would have to discuss with my parents about what's next but currently I do not know how to broach this subject. Maybe because of my guilt ba. I tot I can let my parents live in peace for the rest of their lives and here I am, adding to their burden at the bloody age of 27. Damn. I hate myself.

I'm surrounded by idiots

2007-10-12T23:36:00.000+08:00

Haiz... y is it my coy keep hiring irritating ppl?
after one irritating person left another more irritating one comes in as the replacement! *SIGH*
Some ppl are so irritating... it's clearly their job but they wanna push it..idiots! New staff like tat old staff also like tat argh...

Cant stand these ppl esp the old staff who has stayed almost as long as me in the coy...

INCIDENT 1

Below is an email exchange between me n a colleague who has been in the coy for almost as long as me

ME
Colleague

Colleague,
With regards to the call that you have transfered to me earlier, pls send a ctc of the above invoice to Attn to the Finance Dept together with a cover letter to inform them that the amount is still outstanding.
the address should be XXX
Thanks

What is ctc? Wow lau, why last year matter, this year then come.
I pass to u the call as the invoices issue by you mah, thought u would have the record.

CTC = certified true copy..
we did send out CTC to chase for payment b4 but she didnt receive.. see we so nice help ur dept to chase for ur dept's revenue so hor u get bonus mus give me a treat..anyway she called cos they go thru their records n found this invoice still outstanding and the cheque (expired) has not been banked in..
yup, invoices generated by me but so many invoices by me how to rem.. anyway hor i checked le loh havnt received payment...For payment that our coy receievd you can check from Q:\PUBLIC FOLDER\Finance
then she say we have to notify them den they can send in chq so we have to send her a cover letter to say it's stil outstanding loh

don’t’ like that say leh. help coy, not our dept leh, revenue will still be split to all staff mah.
so each and everyone must team work right?
so invoice number as above.

ya la coy but dept revenue increase den the dept's bonus also will increase mah
got link one...
Yup.. invoice as per subject title..

Dun like tat say mah coy revenue increase is everyone's bonus increase mah :)

bloody hell.. ok in the first place, i'm in the membership dept however, i'm the one generating all invoices for events, how can she expect me to bloody rem this invoice siao!'s 8 dept and there's events almost everyday.
ibloody hell.. ok in the first place, i'm in the membership dept however, i'm the one generating all invoices for events, how can she expect me to bloody rem this invoice siao!there's 8 dept and there's events almost everyday.i purposely said that i'm so nice help them chase to let her noe it's not my JOB! i cahse the revenue goes into their dept BUT the bonus is theirs not mine so dun tok as if it's wat i'm supposed to do!
INCIDENT 2
This one is the best i tink, i have never ever called anyone in my coy a BITCH, but this person really takes the cake.

ME
BITCH

Hi BITCH,
Pls find the email below as per requested.
Thanks
====>
Hi Colleague,
There's only 2 boxes of the white folder left in the store room. Kindly place order for more..
Pls ensure that there is always stock for the white folders.
Thanks

Quantity and when you need them?
By telling Colleague to ensure there’s always stock in the storeroom, she would not know ‘how much’ stock you are referring to, because there are still quite a number of paper folders in the storeroom. As such, you may want to help me understand better the usage of white paper folder (and maybe other stationeries) for your dept in terms of the frequencies of the usage and the quantity.
Thks.

BITCH,
My email to Colleague was just to alert her that the quantity is diminishing so that she is able to put in an order for the folders to avoid shortage should any staff require the folders.
Admin has always been the one in charge of ordering stationeries including white folders and also the grey files n ensuring there's sufficient stock. I have never informed Admin of how much quantity to order as Admin is the one in charge.
Since I do not know what is the quantity that Admin normally order, I'm afraid i am unable to advise on the quantity.
As for the usage for white folders, MR will normally use abt 100 - 150 pcs each month..
Thanks..

In fact, my email was not intended to make you worry for the stocks for these items. If you have read my email carefully, I am only asking about usage for your dept.
You last sentence on ‘MR’ normally use abt 100 – 150 pcs each month is what I am asking for.
Pls revert for stationeries usage as well for your dept.
Regards
BITCH

BITCH,
I reiterate, my purpose in emailing Colleague was to inform her that the stock is running low so that she could place an order to avoid any shortage out of goodwill, so that when other staff needs it, we wont run out of stock and wont face the problem of not being able to order it in time.
I refer to this line "Quantity and when you need them?
By telling Colleague to ensure there’s always stock in the storeroom, she would not know ‘how much’ stock you are referring to, because there are still quite a number of paper folders in the storeroom."
As your above sentence asked for the quantity, therefore I thought i should clarify that I did not indicate any quantity as I have never placed any order for the folders.
that is why i replied this - "Admin has always been the one in charge of ordering stationeries including white folders and also the grey files n ensuring there's sufficient stock. I have never informed Admin of how much quantity to order as Admin is the one in charge.
Since I do not know what is the quantity that Admin normally order, I'm afraid i am unable to advise on the quantity."
Again i reiterate, my purpose was just to ensure that Admin do not run out of stock.
As for the usage of stationeries, i am unable to give u a figure on the number of stationeries required as it depends on how many events there are, and there is no fixed number of events per month.
As agreed with the previous HR in charge, Admin will always maintain stock of 150 pens..
I hope you understand n do not take this the wrong way n take offence.
Regards,

Oh, then I should really thank you for the initiativeness and nice gesture. No worries, I do not take offence. I see it more as a misinterpretation of my email, and possible miscommunication, that’s why misunderstanding occurred.
By the way, you may not be aware, there has not been any handover from the previous HR & Admin in-charge to me, so I would not know what was the previous agreement you all had with her, and when I asked, nobody could give me an answer on anything that has been communicated to other departments pertaining to stationaries requests and usage. Unfortunately to mention, not even Colleague could answer these doubts I have.
Anyway, my purpose of checking with you is because as far as I understand, stationaries usage for Markets and MR Depts may be higher compared to other departments, due to seminars, events & activities. In fact, other than you, I have also spoken to a staff from Markets department on their usage. I need to get a feel of the utilisation rate of these items so that you get the stock you want to serve your work purpose.
Anyway, maybe w/o you realizing, you have answered my question on the quantity of the white paper folder i.e. 100 – 150 pcs per month. That will serve as a good gauge for us to note.
We will explore better ways to see how we can ensure that stocks are maintained at a constant level to cater to every department needs.
Regards,
BITCH

Ya.. like i wouldnt noe that i have answer ur qns. STUPID. she's the stupid one yet wanna try to make it seems like i so blur dunno that i have answered her qns hiaz dumbass.
She's the laziest HR/admin Executive i ve ever seen.. everything also push.
this email is jus an example of the way she tries to push her job to others.
She should be the one taking note of the stock available for staff to use. Still wanna ask me for amt to order bloody hell, can she jus drop dead n die..

sickening! PUI!

Collection of thoughts Part 2

2007-10-10T23:23:00.000+08:00

Looked into the mirror this morning and stared at myself for 5 seconds. During the break at class, I suddenly asked Baby "Why did you choose me over HIM when it was apparent that he was better-looking than me?" Baby was quite shocked and asked me why I asked this question out of the blue. Told her I looked into the mirror this morning and suddenly had this niggling thought. Forgot what her answer was because first she never did really answered the question and second I was too tired. Just knew that she mentioned "sometimes it's not about looks". That means I'm really uglier than him lor. =( Jokes aside, most importantly is the fact that she's by my side. Guess it's just one of those wu liao thoughts.

==================

Man Utd finally scored more than 1 goal in open play this season le! 4-0 winners over Wigan and everybody says MU is back. Hope it's true! But suay suay got what international break for 2 weeks. Damn. Break the momentum that MU is building. No choice but to pray that no one, esp Ferdy, Rooney, Ronaldo doesn't pick up injuries.

==================

Wanted to post this for a long time but was too lazy to transfer the photos out.

So true... My kiki only has my family and I plus Baby... but still I think it's quite cool... mobile pet cremation... Why do I have images of you passing your dead pet and on the way to the pet cemetery (if there is one), they will do the cremation in this lorry??

Disturbance in class

2007-10-08T23:06:00.001+08:00

Some ppl are so inconsiderate..
This guy who sits at the same table as me keep knockin his feet against the table!
so irritating n keep toking..
it gets on my nerves esp when i'm tryin to concentrate on what the lecturer is saying ..unlike when ppl's hp sms comes in (even repeatedly) at least u can still hear the lecturer toking.. but when this guy toks.. i cant catch wat the lecturer says.. hmp! tat's y i get so irritated..not cos he will cost me an "A"..

Mid-Autumn Festival

2007-09-29T18:08:00.000+08:00

I was dead tired last nite after class, actually fell asleep in the van.. n woke up with a start a few times when the vehicle stopped at traffic lights.. when i reached home i jus lay on the sofa n fell asleep immediately..

After abt half an hr, i heard my mum callin me n i opened my eyes to find a plate of cut fruits for me! hehe.. Mummy is the best.. while i was enjoying my fruits sleepily, my mum was telling me abt returning of mooncakes... As i was sleepy i didnt really pay attention to my mum n she had to repeat quite a few times..poor thing haha

Haiz.. i actually bought mooncakes for my paternal grandma who's living with my youngest uncle.. She called n said that they (my cousins) dunno how to eat mooncakes and the mooncake was too much so they can't finish and she wanted to return the mooncake to us..

Sidetrack abit, so what kind of mooncake do u suppose we should ve got back? The box tat i bought for them? or other boxes?

Anyway, den my mum said nvm la slowly eat loh (she already dun really like the idea of them returnin the mooncake that i gave them) den my Gu Gu got it from my grandma's n asked my dad to go pick it up.. My mum tried to persuade my Gu Gu to keep it but my Gu Gu said that her children also dun eat only she eats.. so no choice my dad had to go pick up..
But as my dad always comes home late so my Gu Gu bought over and passed it to us..

Guess wat? I bought them Meritus Mandarin's mooncake n they returned us Polar Mooncake!
1) you said the kids duno how to eat n cant finish so u wanna return us, we r ur rubbish bin la n hor i gave the mooncakes to them before the mid-autumn festival now so many days has passed since the festival le then u say wanna return?
2) you said u dunno how to eat how come it's Polar's tat came back n not Meritus? This only shows that you really treat us as ur rubbish bin!! those not nice things give us la

Damn! I shouldnt have been so dumb to buy her mooncakes, yes, by her i mean my grandmother.. If it was my other cousin who bought the mooncakes, she wouldnt have returned them Polar mooncakes loh..

My dad actually told my mum that he dun wan the mooncakes as it's confirm some ulu brand that's not nice.. My mum say no la should be the Meritus mooncakes tat i bought since they say they cant finish.. My dad really knows his mother well..

Lesson learnt.. dun ve to be so fillial to her..

I am not going to live so long la...

2007-09-26T22:24:00.001+08:00

It's either I don't blog for some time or I have some many things to write about. One national issue that occupied the minds of those who bothered was the announcement by the government on our CPF. There were basically two prominent issues - the planned increase in draw-down age and the compulsory longevity insurance.

The current draw-down age, the age at which CPF Minimum Sum funds may be withdrawn in monthly instalments, is 62 years. The government estimated that the payouts from the CPF will run out before they are 82 for many Singaporeans. This is why Singaporeans are encouraged to work as long as they can and withdraw their savings later. This draw-down age would slowly be raised to 63 in 2012, 64 in 2015 and 65 in 2018.

A lot of people are skeptical about this, especially the older people. They think that the government is not sensible by raising the draw-down age. It's their own money for Christ sake! Some even think that the government increased the draw-down age so that they can continue to use our money to invest in some other areas. If that's what some elders think, I guess it's understandable. My colleague, Patrick, who is as old as me, also agrees with the conspiracy theory. Oh come on!

No doubt many would say the government is "KPO" - a lot of them would just say "I know how to take care of myself" - but these are also the same people that would complain that the government never take care of them when they are old and penniless. So the government, in a way, pre-empts this and take care of us when we grow old through our CPF. It really is a good scheme. You just need to appreciate it.

The longevity insurance came about because the government believes (of course, research was done) that Singaporeans are living much longer than before (Funny. With all the junk food and the rising pollution, it is indeed a surprise). Thus the longevity insurance. Initial plan is to be compulsory for those who are currently 50 and below. It would require them to use a small part of their Retirement Account to purchase longevity insurance when they are 55 years. It is suppose to give the member a monthly income from a pre-determined age (looking at 85 years) and for as long as he lives.

Again, controversy. People are saying "Walau! I won't live that long la. You see hah. I buy at 55 years old and suay suay I die at 84 leh? Bo hua ma!" Patrick also mentioned that in order to benefit from this (Sidetrack a bit. Patrick cannot be taken advantage of. Everything must have a ROI, then he will do. That's why I don't really like him.), he must live more than 85 years, perhaps even more than 90 years to fully reap the rewards. Patrick mentioned he won't be that lucky to live that long. I only said "What if you heng heng live up to 100? Let's take it that your CPF savings by 85 years already paid out and you have no savings. So how are you going to survive the remaining 15 years?" He turned silent.

Thing is, people are short-sighted. Look far, people. I know the day when you die is not predictable but isn't it too late, when you start preparing for it when you realise that you are going to live much longer? It is simply not possible that one could pay as little as $4,000-plus (initial proposed amount) when he is 85 years, just because he knows he is going to live past 85 years, and then hope to be paid a monthly income of $400 for the rest of his remaining years. If you know of one, please feedback to the MOM because I certainly do not know of one insurance company that will do just that.

But one thing that maybe MOM can review is the age to purchase. It is now pegged at 55 years, which I think it's too early. Maybe an age of 60 years or 62 years, a few years before the draw-down age, would be a better option.

In short, these announcements are really not as bad as most people think. This reform must be communicated clearly to the public to let them understand the benefits, even though it might take some time.

欠钱还钱!

2007-09-26T21:21:00.000+08:00

I am in debt. Recently, there were reports that National Library Board (NLB) incurred losses of up to approximately $3 million dollars from those people who refused to pay the fine after returning the book late or even worse, not returning the book at all. This prompted NLB to send out reminders to these people (800,000) that decided to cheat the system.

Unfortunately, I am one of them. I owed a sum of, hold your breath, $3.05 for a book that I returned late in 2005. It really is a small sum and I intend to play the part of a good citizen and pay the fine this time. There were fines that were much lesser than me, so much so that they actually complained on national newspaper, saying "Why is NLB now asking me to pay a fine of 30 cents that I incurred years ago?".

When I saw the "complaint", I thought to myself "Because you simply refuse to pay the fine at that point of time when you returned late? Duh." I mean if you had paid the fine at that moment, would you then have received the reminder of such a petty fine? If it's your own fault, then learn to shut up and just pay the fine. And that's what I'm doing.

I am glad that NLB is a non-profit organisation. Can you imagine if it's not? NLB would be rich, with all those interest charges going as far back as 1998! Phew.

I have been abused!! (late entry haha)

2007-09-12T23:24:00.000+08:00

Day 1 - it turned purple within half an hr..

Day 2 - it has spread

and i present, the culprit

.

stupid table fell on me.. sob!

姐姐 n 哥哥..

2007-09-12T22:26:00.000+08:00

This entry is to "correct" dardar's previous entry.

1) i didn't lament tat they were starting to be rude to me..i'm not grieving over it, just statin a fact

I brought it up cos i was talking abt their family.. n i mentioned that they do not greet me 姐姐 anymore.. not only to me but also to another cousin who's the same age as me.. i didnt say they didnt greet me.. i only said they didnt call me 姐姐.. actually they either nod to aknowlegde presence,wave or mumble a hello.

2) Not only the 2 boys were taught to be polite. What i meant was all of us children were taught to be polite n tat we ve to greet our elders.. therefore by not greeting.. it's rude

of cos it also depends on individual families.. n in this case i'm refering to mine

3) i tink it's rubbish.. when guys reach a certain age they find it hard to call others 姐姐? or 哥哥.. RUBBISH :p

lastly.. gers may not necessarily be more well-mannered.. BUT gers do not greet others 姐姐 or 哥哥so as to feel young.. otherwise.. might as well greet ppl as uncles n aunties..

Greetings

2007-09-12T00:13:00.000+08:00

After class tonight, there was a mini jam at Little India and I was starting to get frustrated as I was quite tired and had wished to go back home ASAP to bathe and sleep. In the end, I was actually quite glad that there was this jam as Baby and I engaged in a debate, which I found it interesting to share.

Baby lamented that her cousins are starting to be "rude" to her nowadays. What does she mean by rude? In this case, she mentioned that they, both guys aged 24 and 21, used to call her "雪玉姐姐" and now they simply don't greet her. Upon hearing this, I gave my two cents worth. I told her that it was a guy's thing. I don't know about you guys but for me, I never called my older, female cousins "姐姐" as I grew older. When I was a cute little boy, yes. In secondary school, maybe. In poly, unless forced, I guess not. During army times, no way. It feels kind of weak if I, 21 or 22 years old, called my cousin, who is just 1 year older than me, "嘉雯姐姐". It just doesn't sound........... man. Note that it only applies to cousins. I still call my sis "姐姐", though somewhat reluctantly. Haha.

Baby kept insisting that her two cousins were taught to be polite and greet their seniors when they were little kids. Most importantly, it's not as if they didn't called her "雪玉姐姐" when they were young. I rebutted her by saying "So since you emphasised on upbringing, do you expect the cousin who is 1 year younger than you to even call you "雪玉姐姐" when he hits the age of 38?". I forgot what's her answer to it but she did brought up the point that her brother still greets the elder cousins "kor kor" or "姐姐". I said give him a few more years, especially after his army days. I don't know but I'm really interested to find out, though whether would I even remember about this issue is totally another matter.

So this was the interesting debate that we had during our journey back home. Of course, beside the guy's thing, I also cannot rule out the possibility that the boys have lost their manners somehow. Only they themselves will know what's the real reason, though I have a sneaky feeling that I might be correct. =)

Afternote: While I was bathing, I realised that my female cousin who is 2 years younger than me, still calls me "Alvin kor kor" up till now. At first I thought, maybe girls are just better-mannered than guys. But all of a sudden, I realise I may have uncover the real reason behind it. Girls are notoriously famous for not admitting that they are old, so by calling their elder cousins "kor kor" or "姐姐", it will make them feel younger as in their mind, there is someone who is older than them. Evil.

冤冤相报何时了。。。

2007-08-29T00:06:00.000+08:00

Honestly, I didn't plan to write an entry today but the retirement of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer gave me the idea of blogging about one of my favourite players despite having class today and reaching home at 11-plus. Interestingly, I decided to visit one of my friend's blog before I start to blog. Why is it interestingly? Because of the plain fact that I haven't visited his blog for months. Anyway was looking through his blog when a few Chinese characters caught my attention.

The few Chinese characters were "怨恨三部曲之拾不回的贝壳". And it had a total of six chapters plus a foreword, making it a total of seven entries, entirely in Chinese. I smiled when I saw the title. Only a few would know why is it called "the seashell that can't be retrieved" and I was one of them. In fact, I was heavily involved with this seashell.

It all happened when we were Sec 3 (I think). My class was attending OBS (Outward Bound School) and we were supposed to canoe to a deserted island and stay there for a few hours or even overnight, which I can't remember. Anyway, Long-ge (author of the seven blog entries in Chinese) and I were partners in canoeing to the deserted island and when we settled down, we began walking down the beach. Long-ge found a seashell that he thought beautiful and when I saw he was holding something in his hands, I asked him what is it that he's holding. Long-ge passed to me the seashell he picked and being the mischievous me, I said, "Nice meh?" and threw the seashell into the sea. Long-ge shouted "Wei!" and went on to say that he wanted to take the seashell back home. I forgot what I answered him but it certainly can't be nice as I was fast gaining a reputation for being quick-tempered and having an evil tongue.

Fast forward 12 years later, the blog entries caught my attention and I started reading the entries. I started reading from chapter 1 to chapter 6, which is the final chapter. I was laughing when I read the story that he conjured. Once again, only a few of us know what he is talking about, especially stuff that others would find it out of the blue. The names of certain characters such as "the girl without a waist", "Auntie Goh", "Exorcist Boy", "Duck girl" etc would only be known by some as well as certain lines that the characters uttered are events that actually happened in real life such as Yogi's complaint about having to collect money during a chalet.

After reading the six chapters, I then proceed to read the foreword. It was short but it was heavy and dark in my opinion. I stopped smiling. After which I also saw the comments made by Edward, who was also mentioned in the story, to Long-ge saying that the story might actually anger some (think he was referring to me). Long-ge, in his own words, said "The story is not about me. It´s about a kind boy. The same goes for other characters also - it might be based on some ppl we know, but it's not about them". Is that really the case?

First of all, it's really a good read. Long-ge's grasp of the Chinese language has always been of the highest level and it was evident once again in the seven entries that he wrote. I'm actually kind of waiting in anticipation for the second part of this trilogy, tentatively titled as two boys and a lantern. In spite of the fact that it was a good read, I also felt that Long-ge, up till now, still feels a tinge of hatred for some who had done him wrong in a way or another. Long-ge, if you are trying to be like House, cynical with your blog entries as a form of "revenge", then I would say you are successful. In fact, I even feel obliged to apologise formally to you in my blog. Really sorry for throwing away your seashell 12 year ago. If I have a chance to go back in time, I would................ most probably do the same thing. =)

Jokes aside, my point being, it's good to bring out these good, old memories for a laugh among our buddies. It's perfectly alright as it really shows how innocent, naive, evil, arrogant some of us are during our younger days. But don't always keep it in your heart because if you let it live long enough in your heart (12 years already leh!), it will have a high chance it could become hatred. No matter how little that hatred might be or how insignificant that you think that hatred might be, it's still hatred. And it's detrimental to health.

Having said all that, please do work on your second part of the trilogy soon... =)

Afternote:

I really, really do not want to talk about football too often in this blog but I have to write this. I had originally decided to dedicate an entire post to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, a Man Utd legend, who announced his retirement from football today, until I stumbled upon Long-ge's blog entry. Nonetheless, Ole was a great servant to the club and is also considered a rarity in modern football era. Though not a star player, he still performs what he is required to do with great efficiency and dedication whenever called upon. I was really sad and disappointed with his retirement announcement, though it was inevitable. Thank you Ole for your services and this song will forever be remembered by Man Utd fans who had the honour to watch him pull on a Man Utd jersey...

You are my Solskjaer;
my only Solskjaer;
you make me happy when skies are gray.
You never will know;
how much I love you;
please don't take my Solskjaer away!

Collection of thoughts...

2007-08-27T23:19:00.000+08:00

Wohoo!! I finally kept my promise to post at least once a week! It may be the start of something! Before I get carried away, let me get back to earth, for I know this might be just a once-in-a-blue-moon thing. This is titled "Collection of thoughts" because I don't really have something to write... Actually I do have something to write... But I really do not want it to become a blog about football (yes, it's not soccer... it's called football. Only the Americans call it soccer.)

Thought 1
Though I said I do not want this blog to talk all about football, my beloved Man Utd finally recorded their first win of the season! Seeing that they were "languishing" in 19th place before they won, I really can't fathom the idea of them not winning again, though I had the oh-shit feeling after 20 minutes of the game as Tottenham Hotspurs (their opponent) were clearly the better side. How ironic that Man Utd played so badly against Tottenham and yet, garnered more points than their previous 3 matches. Lady Luck really has a good sense of humour...

Thought 2

Heard this on the radio when I was driving back home...

If you keep saying you are busy, then you are never free;
If you keep saying you got no time, then you never will have the time;
If you keep saying wait till tomorrow, then your tomorrow will never come.

Really felt it was something meaningful... Especially the last line... keep using tomorrow as an excuse for my assignments recently... Sorry baby... I will pull my socks up!!! Starting from tomorrow that is..................................

Thought 3
One fine day, when I was walking to my office, I saw this stray dog walking past me and I thought to myself, "Wow... even a stray dog looks so cute." Oh god. I'm fast becoming a dog fanatic. I've even got this crazy idea that I told baby about that if I were to become a millionaire, I would definitely donate money to SPCA or even set up a fund myself to help those unfortunate dogs! Suddenly it struck my mind that dog is such a wonderful creature so then why is god spelled the opposite of dog? Unless......... Fullstop. Next.

Thought 4
PUB won the Stockholm Industry Water Award (water industry's equivalent of Nobel Prize) for its success in wringing maximum value from every drop of water. Remember when NEWater was first introduced? The common reaction among Singaporeans was "Huh? Can drink bang4 sai4 zui4 one meh?" Now this so-called bang4 sai4 zui4 has not only won an accolade for Singapore, the concept of recycling waste water to drinkable ultraclean water will also help other thirsty nations overcome their problem of shortage of water. Bang4 sai4 zui4 anyone? =)

Thought 5
Yesterday, I did one thing that I thought I could not. Let me just use a popular national song (to the tune of "Count on me Singapore").

"There was a time, when people said that Alvin Mok won't make it, but he did."

I actually completed the Army Half Marathon (AHM), which is 21km in total, and also in under 2 hrs and 40 mins. Ok ok. To some, or even many, that is chicken feet but considering that the number of times that I ran for the past 3 months was once and the longest distance that I managed to cover before the AHM was 8km, hey I think I did well. I'm glad I put myself to the test and I managed to endure the physical challenges that were evident during the run, though it came with a price. From waist-down, it was aching everywhere. And I had to walk with a slight limp this morning.

Sad to say, a 25-year old guy also managed to complete the AHM and he too had to pay a price, only that he paid a much higher price. He paid it with his life. And even earlier, a 19-year old young boy died in a triathlon. Why are all these young men dying?? I heard people saying that these guys didn't know when to stop. Perhaps they were at their limit but they still persevere, thinking that their young athletic body would still be able to take it. Is that the case? Nobody knows now and though it's definitely not their choice to die in such circumstances, I still feel it's not worth it. Damn bloody not worth it.

Yawnz. Shall stop here now. Stay tuned... =)

Man, U Didn't Win Again!

2007-08-20T23:15:00.000+08:00

I'm back again (for a cameo appearance! hahaha.)! Three months is quite a long time and really, I must cultivate the habit of having at least a post per week. Haiz. My determination is really damn weak.

So what should I write after such a long absence? Hmm... talking about three months ago, Man Utd celebrated its 16th English title won after Man Utd won at Man City. Those were the times. Fast forward to three months later, Man Utd just lost to Man City and remained winless after three games into the new season. In fact, to make things worse, Man Utd has not won in their last seven competitive matches (counting in the community shield and FA Cup final plus the final two games of last season where they drew 0-0 against Chelsea and lost 1-0 against West Ham)!

I really hate to talk about soccer in the blog (even though I love the sport) since I'm having the blog with Baby but I really can't tahan le!! The first three matches saw Man Utd garnered a miserly two points, where in truth it should have been nine. With due respect to Reading, Portsmouth and Man City, they weren't exactly the top dogs in the league. Also, Man Utd had 22 and 16 goal attempts against Reading and Man City respectively, enough attempts to even win five matches in a row! So what's the problem?

The sale of Alan Smith to Newcastle, on hindsight, seems a bad decision. Selling Smith, together with Giuseppe Rossi, meant Man Utd had to start the campaign with Wayne Rooney as the only recognised and experienced striker, as the Carlos Tevez affair was still hanging in the air and Saha, who always seems to get injured whenever he pulls on a Man Utd jersey, and Solskjaer were out with injuries. Interestingly, Sir Alex Ferguson pointed out before that the key to the Treble success in 1999 was having four strikers (Yorke, Cole, Solskjaer and Sheringham) challenging for the position of the front two. I think he forgot to add the word "fit".

If selling Alan Smith wasn't bad enough, the decision not to buy a target man was worst. Don't get me wrong. Tevez is a world class player who can work magic on the field. But like Rooney, he must be given the space and freedom to work his magic and like Rooney, their magic works best when they play behind the front man and not as the front man. Rooney was not at his best against Reading and Tevez was slightly better against Portsmouth, and simply horrendous against Man City. The three matches had only highlight a stinging problem for Man Utd - they need a target man upfront, in order for Tevez / Rooney to showcase what are they made of. Now I miss a certain Ruud Van Nistelrooy.

Last and the most important factor, luck. If not, how do you explain Rooney's injury in the first game and Ronaldo's sending-off in the second game? If not, how do you explain 38 goal attempts in 2 matches and yet, Man Utd managed to grab only a point out of a possible six? If not, how do you explain that in the above-mentioned two games, the Man-of-the-Match awards went to Michael Duberry and Micah Richards, both defenders? The commentator for the Man Utd-Man City game pointed out that how ironic it can be when Man Utd bought in new players during off-season, people were wondering how Ferguson would accomodate Hargreaves, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs, Nani, Anderson, Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez in one team!

I hope by the time I post again, Man Utd would have gotten their first win of the season and start chasing the early leaders before it's too late. Haiz.

Have been gettin fed up more n more frequently at work

2007-08-18T20:48:00.000+08:00

Today is Saturday.. it's not my working sat.. but i went back to work...
End up... my bosses asked y i went back.. wat work do i ve to rush...Felt so pissed..
It's not as if they dunno how many events there are.. it's not as if i'm very free..
It's not the first time i ve done OT, y suddenly r u so concerned abt balanced life? *Pui*
If i dun finish whose responsibility is it? I'm not claiming money for the OT i have done.. it's not as if i m cheating on ur OT.. do u tink i ve nth better to do?
I could ve slept longer for one.. Y do i bother gettin up early on a SAT to go to work..
Felt so angry.. My efforts are not being appreciated.. tot to myself that i will never put in extra effort or time anymore..

BUT! after my anger has subsided, i was again wishing that time would not pass so fast so that i can do more work... yes. i noe i'm dumb haiz... someone help me...

lead me to tink of of sth which had happened quite awhile ago.. *didn't managed to blog the other time haha*
why would someone tink that by putting his msn nick as "3As!!" would scare me?
For god's sake, i'm not like you.. hoping others will do badly to form a safety net for u..
At that moment i was really displeased... irritated.. i guess.. no words tat can actually describe my feelings at that moment..

Also.. when ur seat is behind me and you have to pass by me to get to ur prj.. would it kill you to inform me that we have to hand in our prj to the class aunite? Thanks alot old fren..
Jus putting sth in the van or bringing sth back for us n we are in ur debt? yes i noe u dun ve to.. tat's y i didn't asked or expected u to.. but dun try to make us tink that he minds putting our books in his van when he's not the kind of calculative person like u r

And from an old acquaintance, i'm suddenly ur gd/close/old fren..whichever term u may chose to use.. reason? yup cos i ve gained some value.. there's sth tat you want from me.. i wonder wat..
Must everything you do be carefully tot out n considered? whether u would get some value out of it...or whether it would make ppl feel indebted to u so that u can make use of tat person in future..
It's a sad life when u ve to consider if u will be rewarded for every single thing you have done..

Again, i'm dumb. cos despite having said all these.. i still have a "soft spot" for u, willing to help u when u ask.. afterall... we Are old frens.. n there was once when u were a true fren...at least i tot so..

*to someone.. Dun u ever say tat i'm like her..cos i dun pretend to like someone tat i dun.. i treat her well cos of the past not cos i'm being hypocritical..

It's been a long time...

2007-08-18T00:01:00.000+08:00

It has really been a long time since i last posted... not that i dunwan to post.. but rather..
lazy to do so... tired... no pc to use.. haha

there's so many things yes unhappy stuff (abt work wat else)to post abt haha but at the end of everyday kinda forget and dun feel so irritated wif the issue anymore...

Work is gettin... i dreaded going back after my exam leave...
Seems that I have been throwing temper after my leave... kinda feel bad though i was really angry....

Now even with the new ger i cant cope.. there's too many calls coming in.. n too many events i can't do any work cos of all those calls haiz so tiring... after each phone call i get so thirsty...
Again those ppl ask wat is the membership abt.. cant they read? there's a letter informin them of the ACT.. n how come there's still SO many ppl who dunno the ACT.. haiz.. not forgettin stupid callers...
we really need to push our name...

some of the stupid calls...

Caller: Can you remove my fax no from ur database?
Me: Sorry, we will need u to fax or email your request as we need black n white b4 we can update the DB
Caller: But last time i also called and asked the ger to remove she say ok but i still keep receiving faxes from u
Me: We need black n white b4 we can update our records so we need you to write in
DUH~~told u need u to write in still tell me last time u called n "the ger" say ok but u still receiving so WRITE in la..

Caller: *qns*
Me: if the amt is half a million n above, blah blah blah
Caller: oh billion ah
Me: no no million million, half a million
Caller: ok so if it's more than a billion den blah blah blah
Me: Million! half a million! five hundred thousand
Caller: oh ok hit tat amt la
Me: yes.. blah blah blah
Caller: ok loh so five thousand blah blah blah
Me *roll eyes violent*: five HUNDRED thousand not five thousand
Caller: oh ok

MY GOD! y these ppl can be so... i dun even noe wat word to use to describe.. can die from answerin these kind of calls.. half a million u tot it's half a billion i can understand but... haiz really puke blood man..

best part are those accountants... we sent invoice some mths back
den due to GST increase we had to readjust cos have not received payment by july so we sent a credit note n another invoice for 7% n they ask why they ve to pay amt (invoice @5% plus invoice @7%) haiz dun u noe wat is a credit note!!!

what kind of jobs should i look for?? hm...

Complaints Again

2007-05-19T21:15:00.000+08:00

Oh i wrote this on 19May n didn't finish it but hah ai dun rem wat happened le wahahah...

Haha.. as the title suggests... i'm here to complain again...

It's been a long long time since i have posted anything.. i guess i was too lazy (unlike my dardar who's trying to blame someone else for his laziness, i admit! haha yup! it all boils down to laziness..) of cos the fact tat i'm facing a PC the whole day at work n lack of access to a com at home also contributed to the lack of post from myself (hehe).

It's not that there's nth happy to blog.. jus that the moment pass n the laziness settles in therefore no post haha.. Anyway back to the irritating thing that has made me come back to blogging wahhaa...

My coy had a seminar yesterday.. now it's a damn popular event.. it's so popular that within the very day we blast out to our mbrs, we had already received 500plus registrations.. we blast out on 2May n can only take in 450 pax so u can imagine how many ppl we had to turn away since the event is like 2wks later.. plenty of time for ppl to register..

Anyway on 18 May ard 11am, yup on the very day of the event itself. This china lady called and said that they have not receieved any confirmation from us n thus wanted to noe if they have been confirmed..

I went thru my list and the list of "rejections" and also those registrations that we have not been able to key in (there's lots of other events also) n told her that we have not received her registration and besides it was full 2weeks ago. However, we have another session on the same topic by the same ppl next month and if she would be interested.

Guess wat.. she begged me to allow her boss to attend saying that her boss has resheduled his timetable jus to attend the breifing on this date (18may) but i told her that there's really no more vacancies n tat i have 200plus ppl on the rejection list, there's no way i can squeeze her in. Even if there's any cancellation it would go the the first few ppl at the very top of the rejection list. (I'm fair wat) but she jus rattle on n on begging for me to allow her in so i asked my mgr abt it, hoping that tat lady would jus let it go after i have conferred wif my mgr n we really can't put her in. Since she's so insistent... my mgr relented and agreed to let her attend.

GUESS WAT!

China Lady: No no my boss will want me to go with him so i need 2 seats

Me: I'm sorry, as i've said earlier, there's really no more space n as i ve informed u earlier we have already rejected 200plus ppl and it's unfair to them tat we are making an exception by allowing you one seat and nw u want me to give u another seat?! I'm sorry there's really no way. (of cos.. i said it in a nice tone)

China Lady: I noe i noe. daphne u dun so agitated.. but u see my boss will surely want me to go with him

Me: *gave a laugh* i'm not agitated but i hope u understand... we are really full already n ve rejected so many ppl 200plus now we are already making an exception you still want me to give u 1 more seat??!! (thinking)*who cares ur boss nwill surely want u to go wif him give u seat u should tou xiao already still wan me to give u 1 more seat*

China Lady: no u see ah *try to explain to me y she NEEDS 2seats as if other ppl no reason to attend the seminar* cos i'm the one doing the stuff so i need to go n liosten then my boss needs to noe wat is happenin therefore i need 2 seats.

Me: then one of u attend today's session, another attend next month's one loh!

and she keep rattling all over again as to y she needs the bloody 2seats *GOD! I was so damn irritated loh*

then the best part came...

China Lady: nw is not we never register le. u said u ve received the form already

Me *wanna put words into my mouth.. super hot liao!!*: I DID NOT say that i have received ur form. All along i VE been saying i ve NOT received ur form n even if we have received ur form WHICH we did NOT!, it doesn't mean that u would definitely have a seat. As i said to you earlier.. Out of those 200plus ppl we rejected, there area alot of whom ve faxed in their registration on the very day we blast out.

300 - 240

2007-05-19T11:45:00.000+08:00

The title is weird. I suddenly thought of the movie "300" when I was about to write this post. "300" is a movie about the ancient Battle of Thermopylae where King Leonidas (fab abs!) and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes and his massive Persian army. Facing insurmountable odds, their valor and sacrifice inspire all of Greece to unite against their Persian enemy, drawing a line in the sand for democracy.

This post is about 60 students (hence the title 300 - 240) of our (Baby and I) class of a particular education institution, "rising" against a lecturer, who is deemed unfit / unqualified to teach the class. The accusations against the lecturers were he doesn't know his stuff, he can't answer questions posed to him, he is ambiguous in giving answers, if any, and "targetting" students who do not participate in discussions or came late to the class. Before I even continue, let me just say that though the accusations were somewhat accurate, Baby and I were actually against the idea.

Anyway, the 60 students can no longer stand for this BS and decide to "rise" against the lecturer. Facing insurmountable odds (the class was told by many such as seniors or former students that highlighting is futile), the students led by Mr Fishy and Ms Favourite Auntie, supported by Mr Ground Wolf [Note: Names have been changed to protect the innoncent] brought the battle to higher management. Surprisingly, the higher management got to know of this and arranged a feedback session with the class, chaired by two MDIS staff, who apparently are decision-makers.

The feedback session was scheduled at 6pm on one of the days when we had class. Ms Favourite Auntie sent an email, asking people to come early to class so as to give "valuable feedback" to the MDIS staff. Baby and I ignored the call, having our dinner before we reached the class at 6.45pm. We were quite surprised at the high turnout but nonetheless settled in our usual seats in the class. Not long after that, one of the MDIS staff began pointing at me, saying that he needs to be democratic and hear the views of other students. I was like "Walau! Why me?".

Nevertheless, I began to speak. I started with "I'm not trying to be a traitor here...". Come to think of it, it sounds a bit corny. Kind of regretted the way I opened my "speech". I then proceeded to defend the lecturer, stating that as degree students and working adults, we cannot expect lecturers to spoon-feed us. As for the answers that the "accused" did not provide, I went on to say that the "accused" did tell us on the very first day of lesson that there is no right or wrong answer, so long as your justification is sound and makes sense. Hence in a nutshell, it simply means that there might be different answers to a question and all answers could also score 'A', as long as the justification for the ansewer is correct.

The class was quiet after what I said and for a moment, the MDIS staff who asked me to voice out my views was silent for a while. After that awkward moment (in my opinion), normal service was resumed, with students lobbying for a change in lecturer. After that session, all the MDIS staff did reply was they would have a discussion with the "accused" to see what can be improved with regards to his teaching methods, while distancing themselves from making a definite commitment to change the lecturer.

Then came the most embarassing part. In spite of all the defence that I put up for the lecturer, when the petition to change the lecturer was passed around, I duly signed beside my name. What the ...? I didn't want to but what could I do? What could my one signature do? I only know that the only thing that my signature could do was getting myself ostracised by the whole class. In the end, I succumb to the "evil forces", I mean, peer pressure. In the end, I made myself look so stupid as my words of justice seem to count for nothing when I signed on the petition.

Fast forward to a few weeks later, the "accused" was pronounced guilty and promptly changed. The replacement came in and Baby gave a honest assessment during his first lesson. "He would have been changed if he was the first lecturer that taught us." How true. As what I had feared most, the change was not for the better but for the worst. But surprisingly, the students that led the rise against the first lecturer, seems happy with the change and the lecturer. I keep thinking to myself, "Are they forcing themselves to accept the lecturer, so as not to look stupid in being the ones who forced the change?" Or is it just me?

In the end, I couldn't but help thinking, "We won the battle but did we win the war?" I guess we would know when the results for this module are revealed in four months time.

What's up, doc?

2007-05-19T11:17:00.000+08:00

Nope, this post has nothing to do with Bugs Bunny. Speaking of which, I heard a joke about Bugs Bunny. What do you get when you cross an insect and a rabbit? Bugs Bunny! Hahaha. Ok, its lame.

But I do need a doc. I am sick. I am hit by a bug. It's called the lazy bug. This bug will come and hit me once in a while in the whole of my 26 years and 9 months. Normally, it will "possess" for me a while and then go off. But for some unknown reason, this bug has been with me for the past six months, in the process, breaking its longevity record in me. It has irritated me a few times but as I'm writing this, I'm still powerless against this bug...

- Lazy to study.

Promises to myself and baby that I will start preparing notes for exams early has been conveniently forgotten till the very last minute. Actually, its not my fault. Blame it on the exciting movies that my sis keeps supplying me, the animes that I downloaded, which gets more and more interesting by the episode, a funny Korean drama, my PS2 games and AXN that shows really good shows like CSI and Heroes. Seriously, they shouldn't make these stuff so exciting. It's addictive.

- Lazy to train for fitness test

Scheduled to take my test in early May but I sort of chickened out cos I know I'm not prepared enough. I swore to myself then I must train intensively to take the test in Jun. Same old shit again. I'm still not training again. Actually its not my fault. Why? Ditto previous point.

- Lazy to tidy my rooms

Some time back, I saw piles of notes being chucked aside on my bookshelf in a messy manner. I decided that enough is enough. I shall organise my notes and make my bookshelf look like a bookshelf. Fast forward to now, the notes are still smiling at me, taunting me. Damn. I guess I will let them taunt me for a while still. I'll be back. But then again, its not my fault. *Denial mode in progress.......... yet again*

- Lazy to blog

Early intentions were to blog everyday but realise that it simply can't be done. Why? Because I'm too lazy to write? Sometimes I even find it lazy to turn on my computer...

This bug is known to be infectious. Baby has somewhat gotten this bug from me when a few days ago, she mentioned that she's getting lazier. Or did I actually got the bug from her? Hmm... Anyway the battle may be lost but the war is not over!! But maybe I shall continue this war after watching my shows and playing my games?! =)

天使

2007-04-19T21:43:00.000+08:00

Yeah! I'm back! Hope it's gonna last! Hahaha. How many times have I said that? I better shut up before people start to throw rotten eggs at me for my empty promises. =)

Recently, I've come to love one of Mayday's new song, Angel (天使). The lyrics really touched me and it has been a long time since I heard any song that actually has a deep meaning to it. I especially like this part of the lyrics...

像孩子依赖着肩膀，像眼泪依赖着脸庞，你就像天使一样，给我依赖，给我力量

像诗人依赖着月亮，像海豚依赖海洋，你是天使，你是天使

你是我最初和最后的天堂

Nice lyrics right?? I certainly think so... and who's my 天使? Of course its my baby! Hahaha. The lyrics are dedicated to you and I love you... =)

Cherish the ones before you...

2007-03-10T11:25:00.000+08:00

I received a sms from Don sometime this week to inform me that one of our friends' grandfather has passed away. Just this morning, I saw this friend on MSN and her nick was in Chinese, which after some loose translation, it simply means life is short, cherish the ones before you.

I'm actually not sure whether I have posted something like this but I guess even if that's the case, it doesn't hurts. People nowadays do not know how to cherish their loved ones and in this case, I'm talking about parents. People normally take for granted that they will be there forever. The sad truth is, they aren't. They will leave us one day and that day might come sooner than later for some of us. And when it comes, it strikes you like a sudden lightning and regret at that moment, becomes just another emotion with sadness, devastation etc.

I, too, am guilty of that. So is baby, I think. So next time when you are about to raise your voices to your parents, stop for a moment and think. When you are buying presents for your friends, colleagues, gfs/bfs, also stop for a moment and think. Are you doing enough for your parents? Are you caring more about your friends / colleagues / gfs/bfs/ wifes/husbands than your own parents who have showed you care and concern for the best part of your life?

Sometimes I wish I am an ang moh (foreigner). They are not shy when it comes to expressing their love for their parents. I shall strive to tell them at least once that I love them before they are gone. But right now, I can only write in this blog and they are most likely unable to see this.

I love you dad... I love you mum... I love you sis...

It's now 2pm.. i'm in office!! haha

2007-02-01T13:48:00.000+08:00

Wahhaha... as my title suggests... i'm "eating snake" haha actually, i'm waiting at the seminar room for participants to come so i'm still working ok...
As u can see i'm bored that's y i'm blogging now haha..

Past few days have been answering lesser phones calls but! haha.. more idiotic ppl..

First one - our invoice layout is such that the first line shows "Attention: person's name (the contact point) followed by the company's name n the address..
This lady called and said that they cannot make payment because... it's not attention to the comapny's name! My god.. so i told her that it's attention to that person as that person is the contact point BUT the invoice is still billed to the company and not that person. she kept insisting and then told me she will check with her accounts. After checking they still insist that the person's name cannot appear above the company's name the company's name mus be on the first line. Crazy one le these ppl so inflexible.. expect us to change out layout cos of one company?? no other company make noise...only this.. haiz brainless...

Second one - Applied to be a member of my company then when she received out invoice she claim ignorance. Stupid.. say wat thought it was a free listing thingy so she sign up. First of all.. how can she give out her company's details jus like tat? and.. after we received her application we had also sent an email to her indicating the membership fees. These ppl ah... weird le where got free things in this world one.. siao..

These are only two examples of the stupid things i have encountered... can't rem the rest now.. maybe i will update again when i recall haha..

some excitin happenings in office

2007-01-24T21:47:00.001+08:00

After reading the previous post, by my Dar Dar, i tink you guys might find my post boring... why? cos.... haha we are in a somewhat similiar situation...

As u guys know.. i used to work with Runying in the events sector in the membership department.. after she left (Again...I miss u!! :P) After Runying, there was a replacement, a guy who didn't last long... after that came a young girl... 19 or 20 yrs old.. called Julia
looks like an innocent child.. those really green, just got out of JC students...
Runying, Martin said she looks jus like Clariz when Clariz jus joined the organisation.. n i agree look abit nerd nerd, damn skinny looks so frail as if wind could blow her away...even skinner than Clariz.. everyone was saying oh finally someone to help me with the workload..

After briefing her abt wat the job entails... i went on study & exam leave..

This girl has no initiative at all, the first day she came, i was briefing her and showing her wat to do for events registration at the seminar room and was pushing this box to another place But she just stood there lookin at me push..normally, ppl would ve offered to help as it's quite obvious that the box was super heavy.. nvm... there was actually another box that needed to be moved but she didn't help also..shesh... and she does things super slowly (u guys say i'm slow rite? u should look at her speed and u guys will know how fast i actually m, haha) it got to a point where another colleague was always shouting at her, screaming at her, etc... She is really those kind of ppl whereby u ve to push then she will move a little tiny bit forward...

When i came back from my leave... i brief her again on the job duties... which includes answering of phone calls cos my colleagues had complained to me that she refuses to answer calls...
Even my mgrs, had to repeatedly ask her to ans the calls, but it wasn't of much use.. I had to behave as if i'm asking my sister to ans the phone at home... by calling out "Julia, can u ans the phone?!" then will she pick up the call.. which is really ridiculous cos when i call out to her it's when i'm away from my desk and i had to call out from some distance away from our desks to her who is jus next to the phone to pick up the call...

We also begun to realise that she is very good at pushing blames and also responsibilities to others... always asking temp staff to help with her work.. until a mgr had specifically told her that she is not to get any temp to help her... if she so wishes to, she will need to get permission from the mgr first... after tat, the mgr found out she was still getting temp staff to help with her work and confronted her but she jus blantantly denied it... even with all the "ren zheng & wu zheng" infront of us..

Not only that, she also lied to the mgr that her time-table is not fixed, that she will only know her schedule at the beginning of every week. (she is also taking a course at MDIS) telling us that her classes start at 6pm and sometimes at 6.30pm.. how could it be possible for a part-time course (catered for working adults) be starting at such an early hr.. some companies don't even knock off at 6pm.. best of all... myself and another colleague are also taking a course at MDIS too.. how can it be that we start at 7pm and she start her classes so early?

To cut a long story short, yup there's actually alot more to tell abt the things she has done during the short period of less than 3months at our organisation, she was given a ultimatum by our boss... to increase the ringing volume of her phone (cos she repeatedly decrease her ringing volume to such a soft vol that it was virtually silent, even after my various bosses & I had adjusted the vol & asked her not to adjust again )such that my big boss can hear her phone ringing from our big boss's desk or our big boss will log in the calls that she ans and she is expected to answer 200 calls (it was to scare her into answering calls, i tink)...
But haha the irony is though she has increased the ringing vol and is supposed to be the first to answer calls, she still seldom ans the calls... end up it was another colleague and myself who would pick up first cos we couldn't take the loud (noisy) volume..

You would think that all those things she did would only brand her irritating and irresponsible, she had sth else up her sleeve...

She actually forged her MC!!! she called in sick on 9th & 16th Jan n my snr mgr had to asked her repeatedly for her MC.. last friday morning, my snr mgr came to her and asked her for her MC yet again... And she finally gave a... photocopied of her MC!! with the reason that she sent the original to her insurance agent for claims... and it was a chinese physician.. not a western doctor..

Den my snr mgr asked her why the MC indicates both dates 9th & 16th.. If she knew that she was going back for for a follow-up visit then she should have informed us earlier instead of notifying us on the morning of 16th itself when she asked to come in early to finish some work
and also to prepare some stuff for an event happening on that day itself. Her excuse? She forgot to get the MC from the sinseh on the 9th so when she went again on the 16th she asked the sinseh to write both dates on the single MC..

My snr mgr told her it's not very convincing cos... normally it would be 2 seperate piece of MC for 2 seperate days not one piece of MC for 2 seperate days that is days apart and also cos it's a photocopied one... In any case, my snr mgr appeared to accept the MC after clarifying which branch did she visit the sinseh...

Den in the noon, she was called to one of the meeting rooms where my boss spoke to her.. we din't know what happened but we heard that our bosses found out that she forged the MC.. adding a date to the MC..so we gathered that the snr mgr mus ve called the branch that she visited and verified with the physician..

One of the mgrs commented... y dun she jus admit her mistake hiaz... really cannot judge a book by its cover... looks so innocent, like those guai guai type end up......

This monday,21 Jan, our big boss told us... Julia is no longer comin to work, she has tendered and get this... the mum told my big boss that Julia is suffering from depression and feels very stressed working here..and wants to quit, so my boss told her if that's the case than ok, she will waive off the notice period and let her leave immediately. And my boss told us now that julia has left it's better for us right? not so stressed... haha...
And it's no loss... cos with her gone.. the rest of us are happier and i dun ve to always check on her work and clear her shit... though i ve to clear the mess she had created while she was ard.. at least there won't be more mess created...

But i really wonder... would someone have done the things she did if she's really down with depression? i'm no doc so i can't tell u if she's really down with depression but i tink we will arrive at the same conclusion... rite? :)

Updates, Updates and More Updates!

2007-01-17T22:52:00.001+08:00

It has been a long two months since the last post in our blog. Baby and I have been busy - preparing for exams, taking exams, studies, work etc. I think some of our friends have forgotten about our blog and I don't blame them. It was till I received a email from Long-ge during Christmas (Thanks for the e-card Long-ge!) and he mentioned that I should update my blog so that he, who is thousand miles away from Singapore, could know how I am doing currently.

So very well. I guess the most significant thing that happened over the past two months was I became a proud owner of a Kangoo! I bought a second-hand Renault Kangoo, which is a Eurovan, for $22k in late Nov. Reason why I chose a Kangoo was it is cheap and most importantly, it consumes diesel. So far, all those who had an opportunity to sit in the van says its quite a good catch at $22k. I'm crossing my fingers still, hoping that no major problems would surface for the next one year.

I have to admit that driving a manual car for the first time in perhaps two years did provide a challenge to me. I was literally sweating especially when it comes to steep slopes, where there is a danger of rolling back too much or a "die car" situation arises on the slope. I kind of avoid those roads that may be potentially embarassing for me. But now, with constant driving everyday, I must say my driving skills have improved though still not yet the level of the uncles who can even read newspaper while driving.

Work-wise, it has not been a good few months for me because of my colleague, Jeff. Jeff came to my section in Jun 06, replacing one of my colleagues who left the service. Before he came, my section head asked me what is my opinion of Jeff. I told her that he seems okay and among the shortlisted candidates, he is perhaps the best choice among them. He came in and within a month, Jeff proved that he was more a liability to our section rather than an asset. Joe, my other colleague in the section, and I were trying to go through the job scope and guide Jeff along the way as much as possible. Whenever we asked him if he got any problems, he would give a definite no and appeared confident in the job. However, when his supervisor starts to ask him questions, Jeff would either say "I don't know", "They never teach me" or he would try to bluff his way through, or what we Army guys normally term it as "smoke". Joe and I got fed up with him (we come to a conclusion that it was Jeff's ego problem - he was a SSG and 32 years old at that point of time - that causes this) and when Joe left the service in Sep 06, he said good luck to me. Ya thanks.

Replacing Joe was a guy called Patrick. Patrick was the opposite of Jeff. Patrick was eager to learn the ropes and asked questions whenever he was unsure of the things that Joe and I taught him. With the departure of Joe, I was the most senior specialist in the section (4 years), followed by Jeff and then Patrick. However, Jeff, by virtue of rank, is still the most senior specialist, and therefore was supposed to oversee some of the work that our section does. From the time Joe left till now, almost 90% of the work that Jeff had to oversee became my task. It's either he conveniently forgets or he does such a bad job on the work that I have to clean his shit behind him. At that point, I was damn pissed. I kept thinking how did he attained his SSG rank and can't believe a person older than me by 6 years old could be so irresponsible. Joe's words were beginning to come true.

All of a sudden, Jeff started to talk about leaving our section. He told me that he is getting old and finds it hard to remember some of the things that our officers asked him to. He even said that he is a liability to the branch and leaving the branch ASAP would be better as he does not want to get the branch into trouble. Jeff subsequently talked to my section head, branch head and head of administration department about posting out. I was puzzled and at the same time, curious. I talked to him a few times during our teabreaks and lunch, trying to fish out what is the cause for this sudden decision. Eventually Jeff started to open up to me and told me something that pisses me even more. Jeff said he would be leaving the service in Jun 08 and pointed out that one of our colleagues, Max, who will also be leaving the service in Dec 08, was in a branch that is doing basically nothing. Jeff said why is it so unfair that Max, who is leaving later than him, gets to "rot" and wait for his time in that branch while he got to slog it out in our section. Jeff repeatedly said that our administration department should just post him there to "tuang" with Max and a couple of guys there.

I was furious! So the real reason why Jeff wants to leave is he wants to get his monthly pay of $3k-plus doing nothing in that branch instead of having to work for his pay! So all this talk about he can't remember stuff or he doesn't want to get the section into trouble because of his mistakes were all rubbish! I am planning to leave the service in Mar 08, three months earlier than Jeff, so does that mean I should also look for a posting to that branch? Joe worked all the way to his very last day in the service and I respect him for that. Jeff is just rubbish. Eventually, my branch head refused to let him leave, asking him to "bite the bullet". Hurray! He isn't going to get his way so easily because this aint his father's army. But Jeff proved me wrong in the end, with a price to pay.

Jeff's work improved slightly for the next few months after the I-want-to-post-out incident, though I still have to clear the shit after him. I even chanced upon his business plans when he was printing out the label design for his products and he sounded quite enthusiastic about it. All was fine until last week. Jeff was preparing something with a supervisor and a lot of mistakes were spotted due to the frequent last-minute changes to the work. Jeff showed a black face all day long [It has become his trademark whenever he's stressed with a lot of work (even though to my section, its just a little work but to him, its like a big project is thrown to him. Seems like he can't handle stress too well.)] and started saying things like "Ya la, every mistake also blame me. I'm okay with it because specialists are paid to take the blame." Childish. Nonetheless, I tried to tell him that nobody is blaming him and he just need to rectify the mistakes. That's all. Don't take it so hard man. That didn't work. Jeff remarked that he will expedite his departure from the section and even started clearing his stuff in his cabinet. At that moment, I thought to myself, "Siao". I couldn't believe how accurate can I be.

Jeff arranged for a medical appointment at Institute of Mental Health (IMH) the following week. He was later diagnosed with some anxiety depression disorder or something along that line. It was said that he was stressed by the working pace of our section and it has become so bad that he began to turn violent at home. Jeff again requested to be posted out. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that this time he got what he wanted. He was posted to the branch that would allow him to "rot" and wait for his time, while collecting his $3k-plus pay per month. My branch head believes that Jeff has a serious problem, my section head wants us to believe that Jeff has a serious problem but you know what? Call me cynical, skeptical, cold-blooded or whatever shit that you could think of. Up till now, I still do not believe that he has such a serious problem. My branch head commented that nobody in the right frame of mind would go to IMH and declare himself problematic as it would virtually destroy his future. My branch head is right in a sense but you can never underestimate a desperate man.

To me, Jeff is so desperate to get out of our section that even going to IMH and having a record thereafter wouldn't bother him. I have my reasons to doubt him. My previous conversations with him already indicated his intention to "tuang" in the branch that does nothing and his business plans. If a person is so stressed, got into depression and even becomes violent at home, does he still have the time to plan for his future business? Does he still have the mood to plan? Who could be witness to his outbreaks of violence at home? His wife and his sister were the ones who told the doctor this. Who could certify that what they said is true? In a few years time, all Jeff got to do is to go back to IMH and declare himself "healthy" again. There is a record but how many employers would really check the mental state of an employee? I rest my case.

As such, my workload has increased and so is Patrick's. Both of us have to suffer for one's rubbish. Jeff got what he wanted and I'm certainly not happy. But what can I do? Suck thumb. All I can do is just to complain on this online diary and that's it. I guess I should leave it at that. That's all folks! I'll be back! Soon... I hope...

P.S. - Long-ge, see you in a couple of weeks time!

Rest in Peace, Xiao B...

2006-10-23T16:08:00.000+08:00

Before I write anything, let's just say one of my ST goals that I hoped to achieve, which was mentioned in my earlier post, didn't work out. I half-expected that as I am not one that is so disciplined and determined to log onto the internet everyday and write a post on what happened or how I felt each day. Perhaps, an entry per week would be more realistic? Forget it. I shall come in and write when I have the time and when I feel like it. Haha..

On 22 Oct 06, one of my beloved pets (the other being KiKi), Xiao B (a rabbit), passed away at 0829 hrs. She was three years old (A vet once told me a rabbit has a maximum lifespan of six years). When I heard the news from my mum, I was a bit stumped. A rush of bitterness and sadness filled my heart. To be honest, I was surprised at how sad I was. Why do I say that? Ever since KiKi entered my family's life a year-plus ago, Xiao B was kindda neglected. Reason being KiKi was more responsive than Xiao B, who spent most of her life lying in a cage. To put it simply, Kiki was fun and Xiao B was boring. The only person who showed attention to the rabbit was my mum. Maybe that is why my mum cried the hardest when my rabbit passed away.

Don't get me wrong. I love my rabbit. It is certainly no exaggeration that I feel like crying when I'm typing this. The two things that is stopping me from crying are a men's ego and the fact that I'm in office right now. I seldom or never play with my rabbit. One of the reasons may be I'm afraid of getting bitten by her (She's that fierce and her bite hurts. My dog can vouch for that.) The moment I heard the demise of Xiao B, I felt guilty. Guilty of not spending time with her, guilty of not taking care of her and guilty of neglecting her. Why must I only know this when Xiao B is gone? Is it human nature? I do not know. But I had a funny thinking after Xiao B was gone. I suddenly have a thinking that I might be a rabbit come my next life - to experience the loneliness of Xiao B when I neglected her.

Actually, it applies to humans as well. People do not cherish the people around them until they suddenly realise that they do not have another opportunity to cherish them anymore. I have friends that dislike their family members. I pity them. Because those people who dislike their family members are more likely to be hit the hardest once their loved ones are gone. Don't dislike them. They may be naggy at times but it's all for your own good. If you are not important to them, they will leave you out to die. It's precisely they care, that's why they nag. Treat them better than your boyfriend / girlfriend for they are the ones that would not leave you in the lurch under any circumstances. I do not know why I typed this all of a sudden but it's a thought that's in my mind for a while.

Last but not least, rest in peace Xiao B...

ST, MT and LT Goals

2006-10-07T01:21:00.000+08:00

Had thought about this particular entry a few weeks ago but was too lazy to do up the entry and my computer was giving me some problems with some irritating pop-up windows. Anyway I reformatted my computer and now it feels so fast! Yipee!

Have to take reference to my buddy, YY again. As mentioned earlier, I am different from him. He can do things out of spontaneity while I can't. I like to set goals for myself but I must stress here that carrying out the necessary processes to reach the goals is another matter. =)

Short-Term Goals (anything less than six months)

1. Reformat my computer - I manage to do this just yesterday. It's about time...

2. Tidy my bedroom and study room - I have been saying this for a long time and for some reason, the urge is even more unbearable during exam periods.

3. Do notes for upcoming exams - Exams is around the corner again... Did I managed to take a break from exams I wonder??

4. Daily entry in blog - Er... I will try my very best, and I mean VERY best, to do this. Perhaps three entries per week would be a more logical choice...

Mid-Term Goals (more than six months but less than three years)

1. Get a good degree - I'm on my way... Just that little time left... Go Go Fighting! (copyright belongs to scriptwriters of "Full House")

2. Leave SAF - ditto.

3. Settle my divorce proceedings - I'm looking to settle this ASAP but some IRRESPONSIBLE shit just doesn't want to be contacted. I'm working with her friend though to sort this out.

Long-Term Goals (more than three years)

1. Sell my Punggol House - I just hope I won't lose too much money here. It's a crappy place and worse of all, it faces the carpark! Kaoz. Need to start collecting those flyers by property agents in the letterbox.

2. Own a car - If I knew the meaning of the word "save", I would have had a car by now. But no use crying over spilt milk. I shall embrace the word from now on.

3. Last, and certainly not the least, is to marry my baby. Hehe. I know she also wants to. Please wait for me, ok? Haha!

Woosh!!! My second consecutive post... Getting closer to short-term goal no.4...

Apologies, and Farewell to Hermit Crab

2006-10-06T04:32:00.000+08:00

Before I even say anything, I should apologise to Hermit Crab, aka Long-ge, for failing to send him off at the airport on 2 Oct 06. I actually forgot he is leaving on that day! My god! If possible, I would call him personally and offer my sincere apologies.

Chuyao, one of the three members of the Three Musketeers (the other two being YY and me), messaged me earlier to inform us about the departure date of Long-ge and asked if anyone is going to send Long-ge off as he himself would not be able to make it. On hindsight, I should have replied immediately but did not and instead, choose to let it rest in my inbox. I would forget about this message eventually and the performing of a tiring, overnight duty required of me on 1 Oct certainly didn't help much.

In the end, just a day after Long-ge departed, while I was working, a suddent thought struck me and I was going "F**k s**t!". Still trying to convince myself that I could have remembered the departure date wrongly, I called Long-ge's mobile number and the familiar operator's voice told me the "line is currently unavailable". Fearing the worst, I went on to call Chuyao and heard two news that I didn't want to hear - Long-ge indeed departed on 2 Oct and nobody from our clique went to send him off! Long-ge, if you see this, sincere apologies and forgive this friend of yours who is getting old and forgetful.

Now to say our "love-hate" relationship. I would be the first to admit that during the early days, my friendship with Long-ge was not as stable as, say with Chuyao. We had a lot of skirmishes during secondary school days (perhaps it's just me... for reference, please look at previous post by me, titled "Devil Inside Me I"), mostly in soccer games, where I always got lost in the heat of the moment. Credit to Long-ge, he remained silent even when I'm getting abusive, though he will nag at me when the thing blows over. Hahaha... Now? The fire in me has mellowed down considerably and skirmishes or even a war of words are considered rare nowadays...

One thing that we could identify Shiyong with is his mega memory. We used to joke that his brain is a computer with a hard disk of unlimited storage space. Hahaha... For example, our clique would think of an event that happened during our secondary school days and we would struggle to remember the details of the event. Long-ge would step in and furnish us with all the nitty gritty details of the event and we would like "Wow...". I think Long-ge is proud of this too. However, together with Chuyao, we have expressed doubts at his memory and had even concluded that Long-ge may be "hala-ing" with us all this while! Hahaha...

The other thing we could identify with was his gel-up hair. "Long-ge" came about because of two things; one, he was the Treasurer of our class and he will chase us for money like a loanshark and two, his gel-up hair. To get a better idea of gel-up hair, think Chow Yun Fatt in God of Gamblers. In fact, I think Long-ge modelled himself after Chow! Hahaha... Oh ya! The most hilarious thing about his hair that I could remembered was his hair would come in handy during spot-checks. Why do I say that? Due to the large amount of gel he used for his gel-up hair, sometimes "remains" of the gel could be found stuck in his hair and guys whose hair were not exactly short, would say "Long-ge, borrow some from you", and start "taking" gel from his hair and apply to their hair! Yuck! I wondered have I done it before... Hmmm... Hahahaa... Revive the God of Gamblers Hair ba Long-ge... Hahaha...

On a more serious note, some people might actually find Long-ge not that likable because of his sarcasm, straightforwardness (is there such a word?) and his "cold" jokes. Being a friend with him for 13 years, I would say that I'm actually glad he's my friend Long-ge, thanks for being there when I'm down and out and I hope there would be many more 13 years to come for our friendship. As Chuyao put it in a recent message to me, we have lost a valuable tennis partner. We will await your coming back from Switzerland in a year's time to continue our intense tennis battles. Switzerland... Hmmm... Who knows? Maybe you can pick up some tricks from Roger Federer when you are there! Hahaha...

Farewell my friend and take care...

Funniest sight in ages

2006-10-01T15:05:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, we went to Hougang Mall's Cafe Cartel..
As u noe, there's free flow of bread if u order their main course...n they provide glove, tongs n knife for customers to cut the bread..

i saw this guy.. putting on the glove onto his left hand & using his left hand in the glove.. hold the tongs to hold the bread in place n then with the knife in his right hand...cut the bread

haha classic man... i couldn't stop laughing so funny!!
why the hell he use the glove with the tongs haha

n as if it's not enough he use his right hand... yes.. the one without the glove to push the bread... adjusting it into a better position for him to cut the bread...

what was he thinking man? haha
n at the other side an uncle was like staring n then he smiled at the guy haha i tink the guy didn't realise why the uncle was so "friendly"
*haha* yup i laugh till pengz..

oh ya their soft shell crab n prawn platter or sth like tat (forgot the name) is quite pathetic.. a few pieces only.. doubt it's filling n their ribs are huge!! pork ribs i mean i dunno abt their beef ribs..
super big plate couldn't finish it..

bu yao lian

2006-09-18T19:20:00.000+08:00

This email was sent by an admin personnel becos tat stupid idiot kept going to eat the food meant for participants…so cheapskate..

Dear All,
As you are aware, we do organize seminars and events regularly on 21st floor, sometimes co-organized with outsiders. Food is usually catered for the seminar participants. Please note that staff can also share in the catered food, but only after all the seminar participants have had their share and have left the premises. The organizer/person-in-charge of the seminar/event will inform our staff of this. Thank you for your co-operation.

This email was craft by his boss and sent thru another colleague’s email..
And guess wat? Tat thick-skinned guy was so oblivious he went to “shoot” email somemore *faint*

All colleagues,
In most circumstances, organizers have too many things to take care of and will not inform our staff of balanced seminar food. To prevent unnecessary wastage of food, you are encouraged to share in the catered food at these time slots:- Seminar lunch – 1:30pm (if you can fasts for that long); Tea breaks – 11:00am & 4:00pm. These time slots ensure that seminar participants have already had their share of the food and proceeded to the seminar room/left the premises. If the seminar organizer happens to be some other organizations, please show your courtesy by asking for their permissions first. Please note that seminar organizers & participants have absolute right over seminar food. Beginning from 2/10/2006, we will have a new cleaning team to service us and I will instruct them on what to do with the balanced seminar food (on seminars organized by us). Thank you.

haha and he gave us official break times..
Ying – tink u might b d only one to really understand this n d previous entry save for my dar dar hahah

ARGHHHHH stupid uncle

2006-09-18T16:27:00.000+08:00

This guy really pisses me off.. BIG time!!
now i noe y this colleague is so hated by my colleagues!! ARGH!!

Sent the following email to 5ppl.. for no good reason

Subject: Missing Requistion Forms
Dear Colleagues, The following requisition forms are missing. Seek your co-operation & understanding in returning them to me as there are invoices to be processed.
Form 06/08/028
Form 06/07/038
Thank you.
Kind regards,

Now, we have a system of signing for the requisition forms that we take. So it is stupid of him to send this kind of email.

I replied him since I was included in the email, he should ve only sent the email to the person who has signed for the req forms! N he should ve indicated who was the one who took the forms.

Kristian, I thought it's noted down in the file who has taken which req form?
Can u pls check the file? cos i dun think the forms are with me. Thanks

Daphne, Form 06/07/038 was signed by Tommy. Form 06/08/028 has been traced.

Kristian, Wat invoices do u have on hand for this req form?

Kristian, Invoice from *printer coy* of amt $420 under this req from has already been paid. So the req form has definitely been submitted to Admin before

Daphne, The invoices are from *venuevendor*, amounted to $6,783; & *printing coy 2*, amounted to $999.60. Lesson from previous incidents is they will chase you & then Jenny, followed by me ……………………..

Accounts who was included in the email :
Hey daphne, *venue vendor* not process coz it’s with him. then he keep quiet until today.
Wat a word to use….”traced” how he came up with that word? He should have voice it out when the found the req form missing. Irritating.

Another colleague who was included in the email :
I see his reply, I want to vomit blood le… Ur first reply is obvious that the original req form is not with us and he want to share his lessons with us….y this batch of admin staff “so smart, so beautiful, so handsome”….

And guess wat? After my last email he never reply me anymore…

Accounts: He lose liao mah. Remember the last time? You shoot him, then he neva reply. Then he walk to you and ask if doris got reply u. Siao huh? u r replyin him not doris. Then he’s like pushin the blame to doris. He lose liao then push to doris.

This guy is really damn irritating.. always trying to push blame to others..
shesh..

Hello, I am Alvin...

2006-09-12T23:46:00.000+08:00

Before I even start on this post, I am please to announce that I have deleted some of the earlier posts I have posted. Reason being, I don't see the point of all those soccer entries in our blog. Remember I was saying in my very first post, that I hoped our blog would be one that when read, you won't feel you are wasting time. Hence, the decision to delete those "wu liao" soccer posts! Haha...

Recently I discovered a problem in me. I start to ask myself - "What am I actually like? Am I an extrovert or introvert?" To my secondary friends and poly friends, I am perhaps extroverted but to my colleagues, army friends, my classmates at MDIS and baby's friends & parents, I am perhaps introverted. Why does this "phenomenon" occurs?

Among my close secondary school friends, with the exception of YY, I am perhaps the more loud & daring chap in the group, always finding ways and means to crack a joke to liven up the mood or to start a conversation. But I seem like a different person with groups other than my close secondary school friends and close poly friends. Ask my MDIS classmates. Some have even branded me "dao". Others like baby's close friends refer me as "wood", which I found out recently. I do not know whether to laugh or cry at this newly-found nick. Haha...

As much as I would like to know the reason to the occurrence of this phenomenon, I really think that the chances of me finding out is 0.0000000000001%. Perhaps the only way I could "console" myself is the saying “真心的朋友不需要太多，只要几个就足够了。。。“ (You will only need a few bosom friends in your life)

I am actually happy that I have more than "a few" bosom friends that I have met in my life so far. To Chuyao, Don, Douglas, Huiguang, Joseph (my mentor and brother), Shiyong, YY and Yiqing, thanks guys for all the help rendered when I was seemingly down and out... To have known you all is my honour and may our friendship stay strong forever!

So I guess I will still be that "dao kia" and "wood" for quite some time to come to the rest of my friends... Sincere apologies. Cheers!

Overlooked

2006-09-12T16:16:00.000+08:00

Colleague A,

The flyer was given to us on 4 Sep. Colleague C asked IT to convert the flyer into HTML on 5 Sep, which was ready on 6 Sep.

I apologise for overlooking the sending of the flyer as we were busy with events on 6 & 7 Sep.

Yesterday when Colleague B called me to ask about the email blasting, i told her that i will send it out yesterday forgetting that I had already sent 3emails to the server prior to her phonecall.

1) Employment Relations' Legislation Workshop Series (18, 20 & 28 Sep 06)
2) Business Mission to Changsha, Hunan Province In Conjunction with the Expo Central China 2006 - 25 - 29 Sep 06
3) Seminar on Mergers & Acquisitions Law - 28 Sep 06

CA expo was not included as there was no way the server would have been able to send all four jobs out yesterday.

The server only managed to send out 1) & 2) yesterday n 3) was only sent out this morning,
thus the CA expo email was only sent out today.

As the other 3 events are in Sep whereas CA Expo is on 31 oct, priority was given to the other events as the numbers are very low.

My apologies for the overlook.

Regards,

After my boss read the email, she said.. oh event in oct n late by a few days (today's 12 Sep) only ah aiya... ok wat.. n replied..

"Typically would have sent out by 8 Sep.
In this case a little late by two days due to the unusual workload.
Colleague A – we have also sent for faxing becos we were under impression only email since there are so many pages and would be costly. Else typically, fax would have gone out first since no need to change to HTML by IT. "

she dun even bother to ask me wat happened b4hand..

hm... eh no la she did la she did ask me why didn't send but my com was down n i had no way of checkin the dates of when we receievd the flyer, etc. so i told her i'll chk n get back to her once my PC was workin.. after that Colleague A called her again to make noise n my boss told me to fax out n tat Colleague A wans a black n white explanation haha

so... was she leavin me to fend for myself? maybe she tot it's nth...
dun get me wrong i realise that i was at fault, i dun even have any answers for myself as to why the email blast wasn't done..

come to think of it maybe my boss really tot it's nth.. a small matter only... cos if it were another dept i tink she would ve been more concerned and she would be the one draftin the explanation. haha... dunno y... feel very tired today... maybe cos i realised there's quite some stuff i have got to do... some stuff which was handed over to me to do when a colleaue left.. n also the knowlegde of knowin there would be some things that i would ve to *re-do* cos the colleague who left didn't do a gd job n is not meticulous AT All... wait ba... wait till i have the time to sort things out ba...

I have a dream...

2006-09-08T02:34:00.000+08:00

Ever thought of what have you achieved in life? I do... And I am sad to say that I have achieved nothing in my 26 years of life. I saw a blog of my friend, Long-ge, recently and his profile wrote, "Hitting the big 30 in a few yrs time and I still can't figure out what I want to do." Bro, you summed up my feelings as well.

Steve Jobs became a self-made millionaire at the age of 24. Some people might say you can't compare with people such as Steve Jobs and USA is such a big place, which means more opportunities. True to an extent, but with the advancement of technology, isn't the world getting flat? Doesn't it mean opportunities are everywhere? It's just a matter of whether you manage to hop onto a particular bandwagon or better still, controlling the bandwagon. I dream of starting a business. A business with either my close friends or my baby or a combination of both. I mentioned to Long-ge about this before and he highlighted to me his biggest worry - money might erode our long-standing friendship.

It is somehow true that when friends get into business, their friendship will be on the line. Normally, nothing of this sort will happen if the company is successful unless people are greedy and are not happy with their share of dividend. Problems mostly come when the going gets tough. I do have a naive way to answer Long-ge's worry - "just make sure we are damn successful!" Naive because no one can guarantee success, more so in business context, and it is easier said than done. In any case, I haven't really get to speak to my kakis about the possibility of starting a business and I don't even know the nature of the business that I want to be in. We shall talk about this over coffee someday. In the meantime, I shall continue to....

dream......

Confirmation of Attendance

2006-08-28T10:54:00.000+08:00

I actually saved this in 28 Aug, havn't had the chance to post it haha
some ppl are jus so irritating.. actually it's nth much jus tat at tat v moment, had tons of stuff to do n then meet this kind of irritatin ppl jus can't help but feel pek chey..

-----Original Message-----
From: SW
Sent: Monday, August 28, 2006 9:32 AM
To: Me
Subject: Confirmation of attendance
Referring to the attached, appreciate if your company could fax me the confirmation of attendance for Ms. XXX by today.
SW

-----Original Message-----
From: Me
Sent: Monday, August 28, 2006 10:37 AM
To: SW
Subject: RE: Confirmation of attendance
Dear SW,
It seems that we have not recieved the registration for Ms. XXX. Kindly ask Ms. XXX to bring along her namecard tomorrow to register on the spot.
Thank you.

-----Original Message-----
From: SW
Sent: Monday, August 28, 2006 10:42 AM
To: Me
Subject: RE: Confirmation of attendance

Please open up my previous email attachment. I had registered Mr. XXX and as Mr. XXX is now unable to attend, Ms. XXX is attending on his behalf.
SW

-----Original Message-----
From: Me
Sent: Monday, August 28, 2006 10:50 AM
To: SW

Dear XXX,
Yes, I did open up the attachment but it was not indicated that there was to be a change of participant. Thank you for your clarification, we will update on our side.
Regards,

Fun with Sparklers

2006-08-26T20:36:00.000+08:00

Am I Cute or Wat hahah

2006-08-26T20:23:00.000+08:00

ain't i lovable? (hehe)

Stupidity Act 2 & 3

2006-08-26T19:40:00.000+08:00

Helo i wan to chk payment for *coy name*

u wan to chk payment for?

for *coy name*

*yes i noe u wan to chk for ur coy but payment for wat!* for events or sub fee?

i tink should be sub fee

u dun even noe wat u wan to chk *faint*

on the same day...

I recieved a call from a lady who informed me that their coy's name has changed & so they won't be able to make payment as the invoice reflects the wrong name n i understand perfectly anyway i told her to send in an email so we can update our records of the change in name n will also send her an amended invoice with the correct company's name.then she asked if the date of the invoice will be changed.. well it won't n i told her so, that we will reprint the invoice with the correct company's name but the invoice date will b the same n she started going nuts n kept insistin that the date be changed else she won't accept the invoice.

wat the heck is her prob??? why MUS the invoice date be changed? it's not that we jus bill u wat. the invoice date is correct wat it should be billed in Jan 06 jus tat ur company's name changed u idiot! :p

this blog is fast becoming a place for me to complain.. n i'm resisting it haha tat explains the delay of this post from me (n also lack of posts haha)...

Let the games begin!

2006-08-19T12:19:00.000+08:00

Today being a Saturday, coupled with me not being able to go anywhere but home, should see several entries posted by me. After a 3-month break, which included the World Cup 2006 as well, the EPL is back and it's back to soccer-watching days for soccer fans. I have to admit that my passion for soccer is not that great anymore, though I still support my beloved Manchester United.

I have to sidetrack a bit and take us back to 21 Apr 1991, where my romance with MU started. It was the league cup final in 1991 and against Sheffield Wednesday, which was not a bad team in those days I think. I was only 11 and before that, my only exposure to soccer was Italia 90 (World Cup 1990), where I caught a glimpse of a footballer by the name of Maradona. In any case, I wasn't that interested in soccer at that point of time. My father, who was, by the way, a Liverpool fan, was watching the match when I sat down and joined him in watching that match. (Afterthought: Come to think of it, I think I vaguely remembered my father grinning after the match... Did I think too much?)

I really couldn't and didn't understand what was soccer all about at my tender age and all I could remembered from that match was a long shot by a Sheff Wed player that beat Les Sealey (I still remembered his name, partly because of his name and because of his jersey that looks like a watermelon) in goal. After the final whistle was blown, the players in blue were celebrating while some of the players in red were either sitting or lying down on the pitch, in tears. I felt the players in blue were cocky and I sympathized with the players in red. I asked my dad, "What is the name of team in red?". He looked at me and replied, "Man U". From that day onwards, I decided to support this "red team" by the name of "Man U" who was the so-called "losers" in my opinion. The rest is history.

Snap back to 2006. The hottest topic revolving this season's EPL must surely be "Will Chelsea make or break?". Three consecutive EPL championships is not even a feat that is achieved by both Sir Alex Ferguson (thereafter referred to as SAF) and Arsene Wenger (AW) [Disclaimer: This is according to my limited memory so apologies if I get it wrong.] The pressure is surely on Jose Mourinho (JM) and with the pretenders to the crown seemingly stronger, it will be interesting what comments he will give if Chelsea does not perform to standards.

I always wanted to share my analysis on the championship and perhaps this blog will give me a chance to be a pundit! Hehe... All in all, allow me to say... "Let the games begin!"

Devil inside me I

2006-08-19T10:43:00.000+08:00

Humans are not perfect. Each and every one of us has a flaw and it's either you come face to face with your own flaws through knowing yourself better or through someone telling you in your face about your flaws. For me, I came to know one of my serious flaws - bad-tempered - at a relatively young age.

During my primary school days, I started playing soccer and I would cry whenever my team loses. I thought that was because I just didn't like to lose, such was my competitive nature (only in soccer!). Forward to secondary school days, eliminate the crying part but I was still a sore loser. I would start to get physical (but how physical can I get with my small frame) when my team, consisting of my secondary classmates, is trailing in a match.

I still remember a classic, if not embarassing, scenario where we were playing soccer with a team from another school and we were losing quite badly. I started to get rough and one of their players was really angry at me. He confronted me and pushed me to the ground (Ahem! Don't think I'm weak, ok? I was small-sized and didn't really expect him to push me.). The next thing I knew was players from both sides began to intervene and separate both of us to prevent a fight from ensuing. In the midst of chaos, I blurted out, for whatever reason that up to now remains a mystery to me, "Which gang are you from? Come fight la! (In Hokkien cum Chinese)". The aggressor heard me and became even more agitated but thanks to his teamates, though he was struggling to get to me, I was still separated from him.

Then came the moment when everyone calmed down and I could see a guy, presumbably older than us because he looks old (Oooppss!), from the opposition who came walking to me and put his hand over my shoulder and started to walk me away from the crowd. My legs just followed him wherever he wanted to lead me to and I didn't dare moved an inch of my muscle. He said to me, "Kid, don't anyhow talk about gangs ok? You wouldn't want to be associated with a gang, trust me..." I think he still said some more stuff to me but that's all I can remember now.

After the match, one of my classmates by the name of Gavin (he was the one who arranged the match) told me that the guy talking to me was a member of a notorious gang and I totally blanked out. I realised that he could have walloped me in his usual gangster style but he didn't. I was and still grateful to him up till now that he pulled me away from what could be a painful experience, literally.

Ooppss... I have written so much but I have yet to really go into my serious flaw... Think this could be a trilogy in the making... Continue in my next post then! Cheers!

Stupidity act

2006-08-18T10:54:00.000+08:00

gd morning, *org name*

rattles off her mbership number

may i noe wat is it regarding?

can u note down the number first (in a unhappy tone)

yes? (no choice, LL)

can u take note for this coy, *name* has left u keep sending stuff attn to him can u change to *name*

can u send us an email pls? as we will require black n white for record purposes

wat's ur email id?

moral -> dun be so stubborn, asked u wat is it regarding dun wan to say mus insist on givin ur mber no i also cannot do anything dumbass.. when u call up a coy, it's always wise to let the person noe wat is it regarding instead of jus plunging into watever shit u wanna say

A.M.O.K to aPpLe & oRaNgE

2006-08-17T13:44:00.000+08:00

Just two days after I announced the birth of A.M.O.K, the blog went through a transformation and it is now known as aPpLe & oRaNgE. The naming process was fast - it took less than a minute. In a nutshell, I suggested two names - The Inseparables (it was immediately rejected. Sounds too corny i guess) and apple & orange (her face brightened up upon hearing this). Why the name? It is a long story and a secret shared by baby and me... Perhaps I will post the story of apple & orange someday... Of course it will be subject to approval... Haha

After seeing baby's virgin post, I believe you will find this blog quite interesting. Why? Simply because you will find two different styles of entries in aPpLe & oRaNgE. My style of writing belongs to a traditional, boring style (she actually described my first two posts to a friend as "attending a history lesson". Haha...) while baby's style treads on a more interesting and gossipy style. It will be interesting to see how it goes from here.

I've been to other blogs and they are totally more colourful and lively. I will be working towards that, though my IT knowledge sucks big time and my MC ends tomorrow officially. Haiz... That leaves me with little time now... And hereby introducing another member of our blog... Unofficial though... Hehe... Cheers!

Hello! My name is Kiki

My hobbies are biting, biting, and er... more biting?

can't get my ass moving

2006-08-16T21:02:00.000+08:00

Finally~~ a blog haha... ve been wantin to ve a blog.. to record happenings in my life but ve been lazy.. but now... since dardar has started one... so i extra join in... but then maybe i will only san fen zhong re du (maybe he also wahahahaha :p )

Seems like my temper this week has been quite bad.. got so angry i said tat i'm gonan make suer my resume is ready by this week n will start mass sending out my resume w/o bothering wat job it is hahah... easily irritated.. easily angered but then everything will be fine after a little stewing.. *wonder if it's gd or bad haha*

I wanted to complain abt sth tat happened at work today BUT... i can't recall wat is it.. definitely has sth to do wif event n stupid member haha ....

Got irriated by a member who couldn't seem to understand wat i was saying... i only asked her to mail in her registration n the payment n she keep askin "oh no more vacancy huh" *faint* Ok i cut the story short but wat is it abt these ppl man... these members always make me think nan2 dao4 singaporeans are so dumb mah? they can't understand simple english? my colleagues n myself always ve got to repeat ourseleves b4 they can get it... there r also those who tink tat i know them n can recognize their voice siao!

met one such nut today.. call n jus blabber but never tell me her coy's name n wat event she was asking abt n sounded so bu shuang somemore, irritatin...

oh ya.. there's 3 events today n one of the events had a change in venue, some participants ended up at the wrong venue n made a huge fuss but guess wat? their forms, the one they used to register their interes, indicates the correct venue... so wat's their prob??

today a colleague asked me.. y i stayed when the pay is so low.. n another asked how i managed to stay so
long.. maybe generally speaking... 3yrs is not tat long.. but for this company.. ya.. i guess it's considered damn long... bottomline... i keep thinking abt changing job whenever i get irritated tis week hahah..

have been in a state of uncertainty for a loo...ng time.. part of me wanna leave, part of me wanna stay... not tat i enjoy workin here jus tat ve been here for a long time...too comfortable.. can't get my ass movin...

Adiós, amigo...

2006-08-16T01:49:00.000+08:00

Thought my second post would not come almost immediately after my first but I just have to post this...

One of my closest secondary school friends, Isaac (better known as YY), as of now, is currently on a plane to Argentina via South Africa. He will be embarking on a 4-year journey of knowledge by pursuing a Degree in Philosophy (conducted in Spanish) as well as to learn Tango in a country where one of the best footballers of all time, Diego Armando Maradona, was born some 46 years ago. Anyway YY, among our clique, has always been different - loud, adventurous, outgoing, everchanging, trendy, a bit of cockiness and confidence in himself. Oh, did I mention that he was also a ladies man? Most gals will find him charming and I can see why.

Despite all these years of shocking antics from YY that our clique has gradually come to grasp with, his journey to Argentina was still a shocker. With all due respect to Argentina, it really isn't a top choice for most Singaporeans to further their studies. Furthermore, he has to learn a new language. Perhaps the most shocking of all was a conversation that transpired during a recent farewell dinner for him and Long-ge..

Douglas: So what's your plans for the stay in Argentina?

YY: Actually... I only made concrete plans for the 1st week of my stay... After that, its a see-how approach...

All of us: ..........................................

For those who knows YY, "typical YY" might be an appropriate conclusion to his see-how approach. He did however explain later at the dinner that he is tired of being a normal Singaporean - going to school to get your qualifications, setting goals or objectives to achieve, working hard to earn money and finally retiring when you have earned enough. YY says he did not want such a predictable life. "Wouldn't it be challenging to wake up not knowing what the future holds for you?" was what he said to round off his explanation. My immediate thought was there is a limit to leading an unpredictable life and this was far too much. Going to Argentina for four years but having a concrete plan for only the first week?

I can safely say that if I were the one to go Argentina in a state like YY, I will never survive past one week. I am a typical Singaporean. But we are talking about YY now. In my opinion, he is just that bit different. YY is intelligent, determined and most important of all, he is receptive to change. His intelligence is never doubted, though intelligence almost always comes with a negative trait - laziness (I am lazy so does that makes me.....). YY's determination is somewhat refined in the Army where he had to use his determination to pull through so many stern tests in the Army. His receptiveness to change springs from the fact that he has a happy-go-lucky character and he is most likely to try anything new than all of us.

When he left Singapore on the airplane, I was not at the airport to bade him farewell. On hindsight, I should have skipped class as I did not really learn anything from that lesson. I will miss him. Our clique will miss him. Those who knows him personally will miss him. He did mentioned that he will return to Singapore in nine months time before going back to Argentina again, so till then take care my friend...

Adiós, amigo...

Birth of A.M.O.K

2006-08-15T15:32:00.000+08:00

On 13 Aug 1980, a chap by the name of Mok Wei Loon Alvin was borned...

On 15 Aug 2006, a blog by the name of A.M.O.K was borned...

I have to admit that in the past, I was totally skeptical about having a blog... I mean what's the big deal about your personal stuff that you have to post it on the web and let everybody know? To me then, bloggers are just show-offs, attention-seekers, attention-grabbers etc etc.. In a nutshell, I have nothing but skeptism for blogs and those who would spend hours in front of the computer screen to see people talk about their personal stuff...

It all changed when I started reading a blog that Daphne (my lovely baby and my other member in this blog) told me to go to... I was amazed that as I was reading the blog, I was getting more and more interested in the personal stuff of that blogger... It made me feel so 38 (for the benefit of any non-Chinese readers stumbling upon my blog, "38" simply means busybody, nosey parker)... The blog captivated me! Ok.. Maybe I exaggerated but I was certainly interested. I started to read up a few more blogs and to my surprise, my previous skeptism of blogs was crumbling down to earth within me... I started thinking to myself... "It's quite interesting after all..."

This happened almost half a year ago and throughout this six months, I had the urge to create my own blog... A few things stopped me though... 1) I do not know what stuff that I can write in my blog. I mean its not as if my life is so exciting that people would actually take the time to read my posts. 2) I'm a computer nerd and I certainly do not have the expertise to make my blog look "aesthetically-correct" 3) I do not have the time as I'm juggling both my work and studies so you can imagine how tired I am every night. (Yeah, right.)

So people might ask, "Aren't you creating one right now, duh?" Ok ok... Let me explain. Let's just say I managed to overcome the three obstacles that I had mentioned earlier. First, I still do not know what stuff should I write but why should I really care whether people would browse through my blog? Second, there is such a function called "Help" that is absolutely helpful to people like me who knows nuts about IT stuff. Lastly, a freak accident while playing soccer left me with a hairline crack at the base of my 1st metatarsal (big toe area) and I'm on medical leave for the week thus I decided to create a simple blog for me as well as Daphne to write our stuff in it.

I think I'm too excited that I wrote too much for my liking but for people that have a chance to browse my blog, I hope my blog will churn out meaningful afterthoughts and even if it doesn't, a feeling of "good time spent on reading A.M.O.K" rather than "its a waste of time to read A.M.O.K" is what I hope to at least achieve.

Cheers.