Bloglogger Lair

Relocation

2008-09-07T14:12:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

In case you didn't yet know, I decided to relocate my blog some 5 months ago.

My new blog can be found at http://thedarrensay.blogspot.com

Please click on the link above to be automatically directed there.

See you there soon!

Lunar New Year

2008-02-08T16:29:00.001-08:00

How time flies.. I'm almost halfway into my 5.5 days break from work already!

Went to my maternal grandmother's place for reunion dinner on Wednesday night. Her steamboat soup is MILES better than the steamboat soup my paternal relatives used to prepare, mainly because she ensures the soup is tasty before it even goes into the steamboat. The soup my paternal relatives prepare is way too bland for my liking and it's like you can only taste the soup after the steamboat ingredients are put in.

My cousin brought his newly bought PS3 along so after dinner we played FIFA 08. I thought the graphics were better than Winning Eleven 2008, although some of the in-game features were not as good.

Then on the first day of the lunar new year I only woke up at 11am because I had slept at 3am the night before. Half day gone already... so I quickly prepared myself and hurried down to my relative's place to do the usual visitation, have lunch and resume our FIFA 08 tournament.

And on a sidenote, I wonder how Lunar New Year gatherings are going to be like for the next generation. You see, currently most of us have large extended families since in the past, every couple easily had at least six or seven children each. Which means you have more cousins who have fun together with you as you grow up, and which in turn also adds to the warmth and spirit of CNY.

These days our families have watered down so much in size, to the sole child, or two children, or maybe three each. It's really a pity future generations may not enjoy the same atmosphere and fun a large extended family brings during the festive season!

Snowy @ 1 Year 10 Months

2008-01-11T16:57:00.001-08:00

It's been some time since I posted some pics of my husky.

So here are some pictures of Snowy when we sent her for boarding the other time due to our NZ holiday trip.. Hope you like them!!

Another hot day... so on pops the sunglasses

Excellent day for a dip, too!

Only dogs allowed, of course!

So she swims lap after lap

Wanting to impress

Until her stamina runs out

Then it's time for a bath

And a thorough drying before we head home!

Song Of The Month (Dec 07)

2008-01-05T20:40:00.001-08:00

MELEE - BUILT TO LAST

I've looked for love in stranger places
But never found someone like you
Someone whose smile makes me feel
I've been holding back
And now there's nothing I can't do

'Cause this is real, and this is good
It warms the inside just like it should
But most of all, most of all it's built to last

All of our friends saw from the start
So why didn't we believe it too?
Whoa yeah, now look where we are
You're in my heart now
And there's no escaping it for you

'Cause this is real, and this is good
It warms the inside just like it should
But most of all, most of all it's built to last

Walking on the hills that night
With those fireworks and candlelight
You and I were made to get love right

'Cause this is real, and this is good
It warms the inside just like it should
But most of all, most of all it's built to last

'Cause you are the sun in my universe
Considered the best when we've felt the worst
And most of all, most of all it's built to last

SPL#2 - NZ Trip (1-11Nov 07) Day 10 & 11

2007-12-31T16:46:00.001-08:00

SPL#2 - NZ Trip (1-11Nov 07) Day 9

2007-12-28T22:13:00.001-08:00

Busy Busy Christmas

2007-12-18T15:54:00.001-08:00

Hey, so I'll digress for one post from my NZ holiday series to say "this Christmas is a really busy one for me."

Which explains the sluggishness of my posting frequency recently.

Look at my schedule:

Dec 19 - High tea buffet @ office
Dec 20 - Gathering with army friends
Dec 21 - Lunch at Jack's Place with colleagues including gift exchange
Dec 24 - Another gift exchange with colleagues
Dec 25 - Xmas celebration at Uncle J's
Dec 26, 27 & 28 - Quarter end madness
Dec 29 - Pearline's 21st birthday party
Dec 30 - Mike's wedding
Dec 31 - Movie outing
Jan 5 - BBQ with ex-colleagues

Told ya.. BUSY BUSY BUSY BUSY BUSY Christmas!

SPL#2 - NZ Trip (1-11Nov 07) Day 8

2007-12-08T18:28:00.000-08:00

SPL#2 - NZ Trip (1-11Nov 07) Day 7

2007-11-30T18:12:00.001-08:00

DAY 7 - NOV 7, 2007

The day commenced with a morning stroll in the Arrowtown Park, to take in the fresh air. We would be leaving Arrowtown for Queenstown later in the day, so we wanted to enjoy the tranquility, and the inner peace which tranquility brings, one last time before we left.

Arrowtown Park

Swinging around in an old town's playground

Feels like being at the top of the world?

We went around taking photos of the houses in the vicinity, of the Arrow River and of the Arrowtown Park till it was almost time to check out. Then, we proceeded back to our motel, packed our belongings, dialled a cab and off we were to Queenstown!

Arrow River

Settlers used to mine for gold here

There was a problem, however. Our plan for that afternoon was to join the cruise on the TSS Earnslaw plus the Walter Peak farm tour at 12 noon. Usually the check in time for motels is at 2pm, so the thought of dragging our luggage along onboard the ship appeared both impractical and impossible.

Our motel unit in Arrowtown

The garden area

Sure wish I owned this house!

So, our cabbie suggested that we drop by Sherwood Manor, the hotel we would be staying in, on our way to Steamer Wharf (the pick up location for the cruise) to ask if we could leave our luggage with them. To our delight, when we got there, the receptionist indicated that our room was ready for occupancy anyway so we could leave our luggage in it.

Steamer Wharf

The TSS Earnslaw

Then, we were off to Steamer Wharf for the TSS Earnslaw cruise. The TSS Earnslaw is a steamship which operates on coal, and it was going to transport us across Lake Wakatipu to our destination at Walter Peak high country farm.

The vessel being loaded with coal

After receiving a journey's supply of coal, the ship set sail, or rather, "set steam" at noontime for the 30 minute journey to Walter Peak. Food was available onboard but we did not order any as we were going to have our lunch at Walter Peak itself. So our time onboard was spent exploring every crook and corner of the ship, exaggeratedly speaking. And also relishing the sights of the scenic Lake Wakatipu accompanied by the stunning backdrop of the Remarkables mountain ranges.

Bye Queenstown!

For we must be on our way to Walter Peak

Upon arrival at Walter Peak, we indulged in our BBQ buffet lunch, which consisted of barbecued chicken drumsticks, beef sausages, lamb chops, grilled fish, pork ribs, salad and fruits. Lunch was at an open dining area by Lake Wakatipu. It was wonderful because there was scenery to enjoy and fresh air to breathe along with lunch. Although it was cold, we'd agree that it was a worthwhile experience.

BBQ lunch feast

Lunch by the lakeside

I should be ashamed to say this, but lunch was so good and we so engrossed with it that we were still eating when the farm personnel beckoned everyone to join him for the farm tour.

In the farm tour, which wasn't really a tour actually, we experienced a sheep performance and sheep shearing. We had the chance to hand feed the sheep, but they defecated all over the place after eating. That was pretty grotesque - some unsuspecting tourists even stepped on you know what... eeeeewwwwww!

Yes there were plenty of these in NZ

The sheep had this uncanny behaviour of moving around together, and not just together as you will see in the pictures, but very closely together even when they are dashing from place to place, led by the sheep dog. I really wonder how they were able to run so fast so closely together without tripping over one another - if they were humans we'd possibly have a stampede.

See how they run together

So close together

Besides seeing how a sheep got laid bare in the sheep shearing performance, we were also shown a demonstration on how wool is woven. Takes a lot of time and patience, I'd say. I wouldn't be able to imagine myself sitting there all day trying to make something out of the wool; I'd probably go mad.

The sheep shearing performance

That's a lot of wool!

Reminds me of Grandma & her sewing machine!

After the farm tour, we took the TSS Earnslaw back to Queenstown. Since it was pretty early when we got back to Queenstown, we decided to do some shopping. My parents had been trying to find high quality honey since day 1, but the UMF20+ ones didn't come cheap and cost 50 bucks per bottle. I don't know what UMF is exactly, but supposedly the higher the figure is, the more active ingredients there are in it.

And one last shot before we leave Walter Peak

While we were shopping, however, we chanced upon a shop which was selling these quality honey at a sale price of $33 per bottle. As you'd expect, my parents bought a couple without any hesitation. As for myself, I bought two T-shirts. I was also looking out for a suitable wallet and keychain for I couldn't find any design I liked so the tees were all I bought.

In the evening, after 3 hours of shopping, we decided to have KFC for dinner. I know its weird, going overseas and eating something readily available in Singapore. But it's cheaper, and I thought the chicken was juicier and definitely a lot bigger compated to Singapore.

With that, it marked the end of yet another day. Our New Zealand holiday was fast drawing to a close. Four more days and we would be back in Singapore - the prospect was unthinkable but surely unavoidable...

SPL#2 - NZ Trip (1-11Nov 07) Day 6

2007-11-22T21:33:00.001-08:00

DAY 6 - NOV 6, 2007

I was awoken by the sound of the engines, bright and early. We were going to cruise the full length of Milford Sound this morning out to the Tasman Sea and back.

Good morning Milford Sound!

It was another extremely cold morning, and the mist we exhaled when talking to each other confirmed my suspicions.

While cruising the Sound, the skipper drove the boat really close to the waterfalls so everybody could get some nice close up shots and an opportunity to get themselves wet if they wanted. There was water coming down from the waterfalls, splattering all over the deck, bouncing off the surface to whoever and whatever was there.

One of the 1000 (reportedly) waterfalls in the Milford Sound area

Breakfast was served shortly after and consisted of hash browns, bacon, sausages, eggs and toast. Meanwhile, our ship was approaching the Tasman Sea and the sea started to get quite rough. The vessel was sailing by the rules of this vast ocean - we could literally feel the boat being lifted, going up and then down at every oncoming wave. Then it dawned upon us that a vessel, no matter how big, is always at the mercy of the elements.

The dining area

The cabin

After spending a little time to take in the sea and the sights out in the Tasman Sea, we turned back towards Milford Sound, heading for the docking area. A couple more photo opportunities and then we were back at where we boarded the ship yesterday, signalling the end of the overnight cruise on the Milford Wanderer.

Flight option: $300 Photos: FREE

Next up, the return journey to Queenstown. Everyone had the option of taking a helicopter flight and landing on one of the snow capped peaks at Milford Sound. But it was extremely costly, like $300 for just a 30 minute ride so we decided not to opt for that.

One last photo stop before we bid goodbye to the Fiordlands

We stopped over at Te Anau for lunch en route to Queenstown. As we were not very hungry, we shared some light food - fish and chips, chicken nuggets and ice cream. Then, we proceeded with the rest of our journey to our destination.

Back in Te Anau for lunch!

Because we were going to Arrowtown, Real Journeys (the company with which we booked the overnight cruise) did not have any obligation to send us to our destination. They had indicated they would only drive customers to their destination if it was in Queenstown. Obviously on this occasion they had to stick to their plans, but guess what?

We were dropped off in Queenstown, but the coach driver arranged for a taxi transfer to our motel in Arrowtown. Remember taxi rides in NZ cost four times as much compared to SG. So we hopped on, wondering how much the 20 minute ride from Queenstown to Arrowtown would cost us. As it turned out, when we arrived at our motel, we were told that we didn't have to pay a cent because Real Journeys already paid for it. How wonderful.

Back in Arrowtown!

And with that, I was back in Arrowtown after four long years. A town I liked very much when I visited it the last time I was in NZ. Obviously it's springtime and the town didn't look like it did in autumn but it was beautiful nevertheless. Colourful trees, rivers, hills, uniquely designed buildings, spring blossoms - Arrowtown never fails to delight.

Viking Lodge motel

We stayed in one of these double storey units

Upon checking in to the Viking Lodge motel, we also rented a set of gold panning equipment. History has it that many gold miners flocked to Arrowtown in the 1800s to mine for gold in the Arrow River, and many present day visitors still try their luck at the river. Obviously gold wasn't going to be as loosely available as it was in 1862, but who ever knows...

So we brought our gold panning equipment to the Arrow River and did our thing. As it turned out, not only was there no gold, the water was freezing cold. Maybe we'll try out luck again in summer sometime in the future.

After failing to find gold in the Arrow River, we sauntered towards the town centre hoping to find gold pieces some careless tourist miner might have dropped along the way. No luck either!

Arrowtown town centre

Arrowtown pharmacy

Lakes District Museum

Exhausted, jaded and discouraged after our futile efforts, we hoped to find some renewed energy and encouragement in dinner at a good makan place! After browsing the streets and taking pictures of the uniquely designed shops, we did settle at a cafe for a dinner of seafood basket with chips, squid rings and pork rib burgers.

"Hello family and friends, can I choose to remain here?"

People go horse riding, we choose sheep riding

Oops.. didn't know sheep riding was illegal!

Then, with whatever was left of that evening, we went for a stroll in the Arrowtown park, which must have been the best stroll I've had in years, walking in a cool and non-humid environment, or simply lying on one of the benches, staring at the sky, or take in the marvellous scenery nature has to offer.

Happy to be at the summit of... uhm a huge rock

When it started to get dark, we went back to our motel and played card games for the rest of the night, accompanied by great music on the radio. And times like these, are when you wish time would just stop.....

SPL#2 - NZ Trip (1-11Nov 07) Day 5

2007-11-20T21:05:00.000-08:00

DAY 5 - NOV 5, 2007

It sounds crazy trying to do this in such cold conditions, but since our motel was just a two minute walk to the lakefront, we thought we'd rise early to take a morning stroll by the lake.

A beautiful morning

So we woke up at 6.30am on this cold and misty morning, navigated our way to the lakefront in the semi-darkness and were greeted by blasts after blasts of cold wind. It may have been much warmer, but with the strong gusts of wind it truly felt like winter.

Fifteen minutes was all we could bear before we dashed back to the motel. Although I didn't have a great appetite as I was not used to having such early breakfasts, I very much welcomed the hot cereal my father prepared after spending that fifteen minutes outdoors.

Looks so good you can smell it, can't ya?

Then 10am came along and we checked out of the motel. But because our Real Journeys coach would only arrive at the motel around noontime we had 2 hours to spare. So we went once again to the lakeside for more photos and to enjoy the scenery, basically.

Lake Te Anau

Sure wish that boat was ours

Trees swaying lazily in the wind

Around 12.15pm, our coach, a specially designed bus with roofs made of glass so tourists like us could fully enjoy the magnificent views en route to Milford Sound, finally picked us up at our motel and off we were!

Mirror Lakes

It is truly a mirror, isn't it?

It was a 3 hour drive north to Milford Sound. If it were a direct drive from Te Anau to Milford Sound, it wouldn't even have taken 2 hours. But for our sakes our coach driver decided to make several photo stops along the way, like Mirror Lakes and The Chasm for example. We also had the opportunity to stop by a small stream and fill our water bottles with natural spring water which tasted like fresh mineral water. Sure was value added stuff I didn't get on my last NZ trip!

The Chasm

That's where a thirsty man goes to quench his thirst

And yet another photo stop

Upon arrival at Milford Sound, we went through some registration procedures and then waited for our turn to board our vessel, the Milford Wanderer. As you can see from the pictures, the Milford Wanderer isn't a cruise ship but a mid-sized vessel equipped with just the basics.

The Milford Wanderer

Side view

Our ship left dock at 4.30pm and the first event on the overnight cruise was an introduction by the skipper, plus a safety briefing. Hot mushroom soup was served shortly after, and many probably welcomed the hot soup after being battered by the wind at the docking area earlier. But I didn't because the soup tasted so buttery, and I gave my portion to my mother just after one sip.

One of the many waterfalls

A closer look

Thereafter, we were led to our cabins. To our surprise, our cabin had no doors!! But it wasn't just our cabin, ALL the cabins had no doors. The cabin area was also very cramped, with each bed just about half the size of a super-single mattress.

Brushing aside the thoughts of spending the night in a cramped cabin, we then proceeded to the lounge area and were greeted by an announcement: water activities would be commencing in ten minutes and everybody had the choice of either paddling around in the kayaks or joining the tour in the tender craft.

Whatever the activity, lifejackets are mandatory!

Meryl wanted to kayak but we thought it wouldn't be safe for someone her age, so we opted for the speedboat tour. In any case, the demand for the kayaks was overwhelming so they didn't have enough kayaks for everybody.

Touring the surroundings in a speedboat meant we were exposed to the elements, and exposed to the elements meant it was going to be very cold, but it was a good thing our guide had the initiative not to speed, else it would have been even colder. On the boat, he gave us insights into the geological aspects of Milford Sound, and it's flora and fauna.

Good day skipper! And off we go!

Thirty minutes later we were back in the Milford Wanderer, ready for dinner. On the menu tonight - Lamb Chops. Oh goodness, how dreadful! Both my sister and I don't consume mutton! So we asked if they had something else in store and boy were we lucky - they only had 2 pieces of chicken breasts left and since we asked they said we could have them for dinner! Along with the main course we had some really delicious fruit crumble pies and chocolate chip ice cream. Still thinking about it now, you know?!

After dinner and for the rest of that evening we engaged ourselves in some card games. And with that we bid goodbye to the 5th of November.

SPL#2 - NZ Trip (1-11Nov 07) Day 4

2007-11-17T20:44:00.001-08:00

DAY 4 - NOV 4, 2007

Our plan was to cook our own breakfasts on days we had to leave the motel early to catch our bus, and to grab hot breakfast in one of the cafes around town on days we didn't have to rush for time. And since we didn't have to be early birds as our coach to Te Anau departs at 2pm today, we went searching for a cooked Kiwi breakfast!

Otago Railway Station

We decided to dine somewhere close to the Intercity Coachlines pickup point, and that's a five bus stop walk from our motel. Yeah, I detest walking in hot and humid conditions but I totally enjoyed walking there because the weather was cool and dry. No sweat at all!

Finding a cooked breakfast proved a daunting task, because it was Sunday and most restaurants and cafes were either closed or only opened in the afternoon. But finally we found one... hotels oh hotels, they are ever so reliable because they never close.

Anyway, we proceeded to Cadbury World after breakfast. As it was a Sunday (again, because it was a Sunday) the factory wasn't open and we could only join the reduced tour for 10 dollars per person.

Entrance to Cadbury World

Darren landed a new job in Cadbury

And so did they...

We were first shown a video about how Cadbury chocolates are made, introducing the essential ingredients, stuff like that. Then we were led along a walkway leading to the chocolate falls. Even though the factory was closed, we could still smell the unmistakable fragrance of chocolate from the walkway.

At the chocolate falls, which is literally speaking a chocolate WATERFALL, we saw one TONNE of melted chocolate falling the height of a seven storey building at the press of a button. We were not allowed to get too close to it, though, else our shirts would.. uhm.. become very chocolatey.

After the tour, we went to the Cadbury souvenir shop, and I bought $50 worth of souvenirs there, including a T-shirt, pens and some Cadbury dessert series chocolates. This series is not yet available in Singapore, by the way.

Then it was time to leave Dunedin for Te Anau, and that means another long 4 1/2 hour journey. Yesterday there was not much to see in terms of scenery besides the green pastures and Otago coastline en route to Dunedin from Christchurch. But today as we're entering the Fiordland region, we are starting to see more lakes, waterfalls, streams and mountains along the way and they are so, so beautiful.

At one of the stopovers en route to Te Anau

It was hard not to take a photo in this garden

En route to Te Anau we also passed by the townships of Clinton and Gore, which was just south of Clinton. They were not very big towns, but they for sure had "big" names. Then I wondered if they were related to the American politicians in any way, too.

Anchorage Motel

Jumping's a great way to keep warm

We arrived at our destination at six in the evening, and made our way to the Anchorage motel. There's this Lake Te Anau in Te Anau, which is the largest lake in the south island of New Zealand. Our motel was only a two minute walk from the lakefront, so we were constantly belted by the winds that came down from the mountains to the lake. The lakefront would perhaps be a fine place to have an outdoor picnic in summer, but that proposition definitely does not apply to the 4th of November, 2007. My hands became numb after they were exposed to the breeze for a mere five minutes - it was that cold.

Te Anau town centre

After checking in, we slowly strolled to the town centre for dinner. Dinner was at this chinese restaurant, and the food was a welcome change to the instant noodles we had been consuming for our past two dinners.

sweet & sour pork, hotplate chicken, fried rice.. very yummy

Have you ever wished you could relive the best moments in your life, wished the photos you had taken would somehow come to life again? Being back in Te Anau felt exactly like deja vu, and I could still remember some of the shops and the hotel I had stayed in the last time I was here.

Okay, I digressed. After the meal we went to shop for souvenirs. Mum bought some lanolin cream, which I know is made from sheeps' wool and which is good for the skin. Meryl also bought a soft toy, which you will see in one of my later posts. Then it was back to motel sweet motel for a good night's rest.

SPL#2 - NZ Trip (1-11Nov 07) Day 3

2007-11-14T15:48:00.001-08:00

DAY 3 - NOV 3, 2007

We had to wake up early to catch the Intercity coach down to Dunedin today. Nevertheless I woke up thinking that must have been the best sleep I've had in a long while, since we barely slept the night before last.

It's a 5 1/2 hour drive south to Dunedin, so there was plenty of time to catch up on some sleep. But I told my parents I'd rather stay awake to enjoy the scenery. En route to Dunedin there were several stops made, specifically Ashburton and Timaru for toilet breaks and Oamaru for lunch.

Ashburton i-SITE stop

Unfortunately, the lunch break was very brief (about 25 minutes) and by the time we purchased our food we realized we had only 15 minutes to consume all of it. As you might have already expected, we didn't manage to finish everything within 15 minutes so we had to take away the remainder.

Umm.. Tastes so good.. Umm..

Upon arrival at Dunedin, we checked in to our motel. Then we proceeded for a tour of Larnach Castle, a tour I had booked weeks ago. This is the only castle in New Zealand, or so I heard. It was a Victorian- styled castle located on top on a hill overlooking the Otago Peninsula. I must be honest... I wish I had a house like that - the views were awesome!

Paranomic view of the Otago Peninsula

Larnach Castle

The castle was huge - its extravagant design included rooms specially catered for newborns, dressing up, entertainment and so on, plus a basement to top it off. Visitors were however not allowed to take photos while in the castle's premises, and I didn't think they were about to grant us a special exception so no photos on the interior decor and all, unfortunately.

Larnach Castle gardens

Conversations with... a sheep

After spending about an hour exploring the castle grounds, we travelled back to the city to see Baldwin Street, famously known as "the world's steepest street". It was a street which looked no different from the others, just that it was VERY VERY steep. From the bottom end of the street it seemed like a 45 degree slope to the top, and looking from the top end we felt there was a good chance we would fall and hurtle down the street.

Baldwin Street - look at how steep it is!

On our way back to Cable Court motel, we simply asked the driver where the supermarket was located and to our surprise, not only did he tell us where it was, he also graciously offered to wait for us as we bought our groceries. People, this is what I'd call excellent service. But now that I'm back in our third world culture I'd better not expect too much.

Cable Court motel

After we were driven back to our motel, I took a short 1 hour nap and woke up thereafter to the aroma of fried eggs, noodles and cooked cereal - a dinner meal my Dad had whipped up. Once everybody was done with dinner we went for a stroll and bought some ice cream along the way and I totally enjoyed eating it because it wasn't melting away as it would have in hotter climates.

University of Otago

We returned to our motel at around 8pm, and to our delight there were some nice programmes on television like Amazing Race Asia 2 and Deep Blue Sea (movie), which pretty much kept us occupied for the rest of the night.

SPL#2 - NZ Trip (1-11Nov 07) Day 1 & 2

2007-11-12T15:07:00.001-08:00

DAY 1 - Nov 1, 2007

We were all prepared and ready and left our home at 4pm. Normally we would have gone on the ECP but we heard there was a massive jam there that day so we used the PIE instead.

So we got there, checked-in and had our dinner at Swensen's as planned. Which was good, as it turned out to be.

Dinner at Swensen's

Hmm.. what are we going to have?

On flight dinner (or you could call that supper, as it was served at 10pm, 2 hours after the flight took off) was served, and there was supposed to be a choice between chicken and beef, but when they got to us there was no chicken left!! And as you know I do not consume beef and mutton because of the smell, so I was like err.. okay.. luckily I had Swensen's earlier, otherwise I would have starved, like literally.

And for the rest of the night, it was really about frantically trying to catch some sleep. There was so much movement, people walking about, going to the toilets, people adjusting their luggage, and so on. It was irritating and I couldn't wait to arrive in Sydney.

DAY 2 - Nov 2, 2007

We landed in Sydney at 6am Australia time, which is 3am our time. Another round of security checks and transit desk registration at Kingsford Smith airport, and off we were on our flight to Christchurch.

Our flight to Christchurch was delayed by about 30 minutes, not that we were too energetic to bother about that though. This was a good time to catch on some sleep, and so we did!

After another 3 hours on the plane, we finally arrived in the "most English looking city outside of England". First thing I did upon arrival? Oh that's easy, dash out of the airport to take in some of that cold, fresh air. It was lovely - just yesterday everything felt so hot and humid.

Outside the Christchurch Airport

Very happy to be back in NZ...

Beautiful spring flowers that lace the pathways

Next stop, Belle Bonne motel. The cab ride cost us $35. But our motel wasn't even that far away from the airport. But this is with taxi rides in New Zealand - you pay four times as much as you would in Singapore.

Belle Bonne motel

It was already 4pm when we arrived at the motel. We were still tired from the lack of sleep, but that wouldn't be an acceptable excuse for not checking the city out. It's nearing summertime so nights are short and days are long, therefore some shops and attractions extend their operating hours. And that is just perfect for tourists like us who need more time to explore the city.

We took a cab down to Cathedral Square, which is in the heart of Christchurch city. We bought some groceries there so we could prepare dinner when we returned to our motel. But since none of us wanted to wait that long for dinner as we were already famished from not having any breakfast or lunch, we bought some food from the street stalls to temporarily relieve our hunger.

Cathedral Square

Cathedral Square tram station

It was an extremely windy evening, gusts after gusts of cold wind blew in our faces as we made our way around. After dinner and doing some shopping in the vicinity, we decided to go for a tram tour around the city.

And surely after being hit continuously by gusts of cold wind outside, the warmer temperature inside the tram was of much relief to us!

Interior of the tram

The blossoms which remind us it's springtime

Hagley Park

A couple of rides around the city, a few more photo stops, a stroll in Hagley Park and then we were back in the comfort of our motel. And what's better than some instant noodles and hot chocolate drinks before we go to bed!

Tour Itinerary

2007-11-01T00:03:00.001-07:00

Three years ago, after I came back from my New Zealand holiday, I told my parents that it was my dream to bring them there for a holiday someday.

Today, this dream is about to come true. I am both very happy and thankful for this as we haven't gone on a holiday as a family for quite some time already.

The itinerary I have planned is as follows:

DAY 1 : 01 NOV, 2007
(SINGAPORE - EN ROUTE CHRISTCHURCH)
DINNER ON BOARD

06:00 PM (SIN TIME)
Check in at Changi International Airport Terminal 1.

08:00 PM (SIN TIME)
Depart Singapore. Enjoy the flight to Sydney onboard Qantas Airlines QF320.

DAY 2 : 02 NOV, 2007
(EN ROUTE CHRISTCHURCH - CHRISTCHURCH)
BREAKFAST ON BOARD

06:50 AM (AU TIME)
Arrive Sydney. Kingsford Smith Airport Terminal 1.

08:50 AM (AU TIME)
Depart Sydney. Enjoy the flight to Christchurch onboard Qantas Airlines QF205.

01:50 PM (NZ TIME)
Arrive Christchurch. Terminal M.

02:00 PM (NZ TIME)
Immigration procedures and transfer to Belle Bonne Motel for check-in.

04:00 PM (NZ TIME)
In the evening, take a ride onboard both the Christchurch Gondola and Tram. Time to explore the city at convenience.

DAY 3 : 03 NOV, 2007
(CHRISTCHURCH - DUNEDIN)

06:00 AM (NZ TIME)
Rise and shine. Quick breakfast and check out of motel.

07:30 AM (NZ TIME)
Gather at Intercity Coachlines pickup location - Ritchies Travel, 123 Worcester Street.

08:00 AM (NZ TIME)
Depart for Dunedin.

01:45 PM (NZ TIME)
Arrive Dunedin. Dropoff location - Ritchies / Intercity Travel, 205 St. Andrew's Street.

02:00 PM (NZ TIME)
Transfer to Cable Court Motel for check-in. Rest of day at leisure.

DAY 4 : 04 NOV, 2007
(DUNEDIN - TE ANAU)

08:00 AM (NZ TIME)
Rise and shine. Morning at leisure. Visit Cadbury World if time permits.

12:00 PM (NZ TIME)
Check out of motel and dine for lunch at convenience.

01:30 PM (NZ TIME)
Gather at Intercity Coachlines pickup location - Ritchies / Intercity Travel, 205 St. Andrew's Street.

01:55 PM (NZ TIME)
Depart for Te Anau.

04:35 PM (NZ TIME)
Transfer to Intercity Coachlines 8112 at Gore. Location - Outside i-SITE, 16 Hokonui Drive.

06:30 PM (NZ TIME)
Arrive Te Anau. Dropoff location - Real Journey Visitor Centre, Lakefront Drive.

06:45 PM (NZ TIME)
Transfer to Anchorage Motel for check-in. Evening at leisure.

DAY 5 : 05 NOV, 2007
(TE ANAU - MILFORD SOUND)
DINNER ON BOARD MILFORD WANDERER

08:00 AM (NZ TIME)
Rise and shine. Morning at leisure.

11:30 AM (NZ TIME)
Lunch at convenience before checking out of motel.

12:30 PM (NZ TIME)
Gather outside Anchorage Motel for pickup by Real Journeys coach and depart for Milford Sound.

04:15 PM (NZ TIME)
Arrive Milford Sound.

04:30 PM (NZ TIME)
Depart for Milford Sound Overnight Cruise onboard Milford Wanderer. Cruise the full length of the spectacular fiord to the Tasman Sea. Explore the surroundings in the tender craft and kayaks or simply relax on deck - the choice is yours. Then enjoy a delicious meal in the cosy saloon before anchoring for the night in Harrison Cove.

DAY 6 : 06 NOV, 2007
(MILFORD SOUND - QUEENSTOWN - ARROWTOWN)
BREAKFAST ON BOARD MILFORD WANDERER

06:00 AM (NZ TIME)
Wake up early to enjoy the sunrise. Have breakfast onboard before the ship returns to pier.

09:30 AM (NZ TIME)
End of overnight cruise. Depart Milford Sound on Real Journeys coach to Queenstown.

03:30 PM (NZ TIME)
Arrive Queenstown.

03:45 PM (NZ TIME)
Transfer to Viking Lodge Motel for check-in.

04:20 PM (NZ TIME)
In the evening, why not take a leisurely browse through the main street's shops and cafes? Alternatively, take the Arrowtown bus to Queenstown to do some self-exploration, shopping and have dinner.

DAY 7 : 07 NOV, 2007
(ARROWTOWN - QUEENSTOWN)
BBQ LUNCH AT WALTER PEAK

07:00 AM (NZ TIME)
Rise and shine. Have breakfast at one of Arrowtown's cafes.

10:30 AM (NZ TIME)
Check out of motel and transfer to Real Journeys pickup location for TSS Earnslaw Cruise and Walter Peak farm tour.

12:00 PM (NZ TIME)
Travel to Walter Peak on the TSS Earnslaw steamship, known locally as "Lady of the Lake". Feel the heat of the boilers and hear the steam engines rolling on this steamship.

12:30 PM (NZ TIME)
Arrive Walter Peak. Enjoy a BBQ Lunch before joining the guided farmyard walking tour by a farm host.

03:00 PM (NZ TIME)
Walter Peak farm excursion concludes. Travel to Real Journeys dropoff location on the TSS Earnslaw steamship.

03:30 PM (NZ TIME)
Transfer to Sherwood Manor Hotel for check-in.

04:30 PM (NZ TIME)
Travel to Queenstown city centre for dinner and shopping.

DAY 8 : 08 NOV, 2007
(QUEENSTOWN - FOX GLACIER)

06:00 AM (NZ TIME)
Rise and shine. Quick breakfast and check out of motel.

07:40 AM (NZ TIME)
Gather at Newmans Coachlines pickup location - Athol Street Carpark.

08:10 AM (NZ TIME)
Depart for Fox Glacier.

03:25 PM (NZ TIME)
Arrive Fox Glacier. Dropoff location - Fox Glacier Guiding, Main Road.

03:40 PM (NZ TIME)
Transfer to Sunset Motel for check-in. Rest of day at leisure. Chance to explore the famous Fox Glacier, which is nestled amidst primeval rainforest.

DAY 9 : 09 NOV, 2007
(FOX GLACIER - GREYMOUTH - CHRISTCHURCH)

06:30 AM (NZ TIME)
Rise and shine. Quick breakfast and check out of motel.

08:00 AM (NZ TIME)
Gather at Intercity Coachlines pickup location - Fox Glacier Guiding, Main Road.

08:30 AM (NZ TIME)
Depart for Greymouth.

01:15 PM (NZ TIME)
Arrive Greymouth. Dropoff location - Greymouth Railway Station, 164 Mackay Street.

01:30 PM (NZ TIME)
Check-in at counter for transfer to Christchurch onboard the Tranz Alpine train.

01:45 PM (NZ TIME)
Depart for Christchurch. Rated as one of the most scenic train journeys in the world, the Tranz Alpine will take you from lush green forest and idyllic lakes through the spectacular gorges and viaducts of the Southern Alps mountain ranges, before crossing the Canterbury Plains to Christchurch.

06:05 PM (NZ TIME)
Arrive Christchurch. Dropoff location - Christchurch Railway Station, Troup Drive.

06:20 PM (NZ TIME)
Transfer to Christchurch Motel for check-in. Rest of day at leisure.

DAY 10 : 10 NOV, 2007
(CHRISTCHURCH - MOUNT SUNDAY - CHRISTCHURCH)
PICNIC LUNCH AT MOUNT SUNDAY

07:30 AM (NZ TIME)
Rise and shine. Have breakfast before setting off on Lord of the Rings tour.

09:00 AM (NZ TIME)
Gather outside Christchurch Motel for pickup by Hassle Free Tours coach and depart for Mount Sunday.

11:10 AM (NZ TIME)
Arrive Mount Potts high country station, home of Mount Sunday. See how this peaceful mountain was transformed into Edoras, the capital city of the Rohan people in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Immerse in the natural unspoilt beauty of the high country's sparkling clear lakes, glistening blue rivers and fresh mountain air.

12:30 PM (NZ TIME)
Enjoy a champagne picnic lunch on Edoras itself, before proceeding with the rest of the day's adventure.

04:00 PM (NZ TIME)
End of Lord of the Rings tour. Depart Mount Sunday on Hassle Free Tours coach to Christchurch.

06:00 PM (NZ TIME)
Arrive Christchurch.

06:15 PM (NZ TIME)
Transfer back to Christchurch Motel. Rest of day at leisure. Shop for souvenirs at convenience.

DAY 11 : 11 NOV, 2007
(CHRISTCHURCH - SINGAPORE)
DINNER ON BOARD

08:00 AM (NZ TIME)
Rise and shine. Morning at leisure.

10:00 AM (NZ TIME)
Have breakfast before checking out of motel.

11:00 AM (NZ TIME)
Transfer to Christchurch Airport to do some last minute shopping before departure.

01:05 PM (NZ TIME)
Check-in at Christchurch Airport Terminal M.

03:05 PM (NZ TIME)
Depart Christchurch. Enjoy the flight to Sydney onboard Qantas Airlines QF208.

04:30 PM (AU TIME)
Arrive Sydney. Kingsford Smith Airport Terminal 1.

05:50 PM (AU TIME)
Depart Sydney. Enjoy the flight to Singapore onboard Qantas Airlines QF31.

10:30 PM (SIN TIME)
Arrive Singapore. Changi International Airport Terminal 1.

Snowy Boarded!!

2007-10-31T22:33:00.000-07:00

I've just sent Snowy to Mutts And Mittens to be boarded for 11 days as our entire family is going away for a holiday.

As much as I'm looking forward to this 11 day holiday, I will also be looking forward to the 12 of November when I will be able to see Snowy again!!

Seriously, it does feel horrible to be apart from her. The house seems so empty and quiet without her, it feels unnatural.

Mutts And Mittens is located at 11 Pasir Ris Farmway 2, so if you do happen to drop by, please send her my love!!

They say photos keep your memories alive, so I'm gonna upload some pictures of her before we head for the airport.

:)

Doing the funky thing with Meryl

Won't you give me a hug?

Waiting for the knight in shining armour

Work. Life. Play.

2007-10-14T19:04:00.000-07:00

Gosh. I haven't been able to update my blog recently due to work commitments. Well I'm back, now that the quarter end has passed.

Not only has the quarter end passed - I have a great week to look forward to as well. I won't have to work on Monday as our deparment is having an off-in-lieu for Hari Raya, which falls on a Saturday. Then, on Friday, I'll be away for an off-site event. So it's gonna be a short and lovely 3 day work week.

However, the past week / this week also marks the last week at Symantec for a couple of my colleagues whom I have been working with. I think they have been a pleasure to work with and I wish them all the best in their future undertakings.

I'm starting to sound formal, that's terrible. On another note, a few folks' been asking me if I had gone back to BEC recently. My answer is No.

I've heard the "Oh they don't want to come back because they despise us for being small" rumours. So I'd better make it clear that I refrain from going back not because I despise the small numbers. And although I have not gone back for some time, I still do keep in contact with many folks there.

The ONLY reason I do not want to go back? I hate oppression and therefore will not like or enjoy committing my time to an unreasonable dictator.

Vacation Plans

2007-09-24T23:40:00.000-07:00

Yays! I'm going to New Zealand again this November!

I had been there before, and that was in May 2003. Still seems like yesterday.

The other time I had gone on a scheduled tour with Dynasty Travel to both the North and South islands for a total of 12 days. But you bet it wasn't enough, and I had promised myself then I would go back there someday. So here I am.

I'm really looking forward to this 11 days trip to the South Island. Especially so because I had planned the entire trip myself, right down to the choice of accomodation, transport and day tours, and am really eager to find how things turns out.

And the reason for not going on a scheduled tour with a local travel agent like I did the last time?

Well, a few reasons actually. With the amount we are forking out on this 11 days vacation, we will only be able to go on a 8 days vacation if we were to follow a group tour. That's 3 days extra value for the same price!!

Besides, I have always believed that it is pointless in forking out thousands of dollars on five star accomodation on vacations when I'm going to be away from the hotel most of the time doing sightseeing and shopping. This unless, of course, I'm rich.

Thus, I have gone for the cheaper options, like motels where there are also kitchen facilities to do our own cooking.

Lastly, I get to choose my own tours, the places I want to go to, the things I want to do. This is much better than the standard attractions/day tours the local travel agencies offer.

Planning the trip isn't easy as there is a lot of research involved. But I learn from it, and I get to make informed and independent choices in regards to the tour itinerary. Besides, reading up on such things never fails to make me dreamy and put me in a holiday mood. :)

Anyway, I will be travelling with my entire family this time round and I hope they will enjoy the activities I have arranged for everyone.

Will update this blog with photos when we're back!

Humour Mail 7

2007-09-12T05:05:00.000-07:00

WIFE: What would you do if I died? Would you get married again?

HUSBAND: Definitely not!

WIFE: Why not - don't you like being married?

HUSBAND: Of course I do.

WIFE: Then why wouldn't you remarry?

HUSBAND: Okay, I'd get married again.

WIFE: You would? (with a hurtful look on her face)

HUSBAND: (makes audible groan)

WIFE: Would you sleep with her in our bed?

HUSBAND: Where else would we sleep?

WIFE: Would you replace my pictures with hers?

HUSBAND: That would seem like the proper thing to do.

WIFE: Would she use my golf clubs?

HUSBAND: No, she's left-handed.

WIFE: - - - silence - - -

HUSBAND: Shit.

_____________________________________________________

The teacher gave her fifth grade class an assignment: Get their parents to tell them a story with a moral at the end of it.

The next day the kids came back and one by one began to tell their stories.

Ashley said, "My father's a farmer and we have a lot of egg laying hens. One time we were taking our eggs to market in a basket on the front seat of the car when we hit a big bump in the road and all the eggs went flying and broke and made a mess."

"What's the moral of the story?" asked the teacher.

"Don't put all your eggs in one basket!"

"Very good," said the teacher.

Next little Sarah raised her hand and said, "Our family are farmers too. But we raise chickens for the meat market. We had a dozen eggs one time, but when they hatched we only got ten live chicks, and the moral to this story is, "don't count your chickens before they're hatched."

"That was a fine story Sarah. Michael, do you have a story to share?"

"Yes, my daddy told me this story about my Aunt Karen. Aunt Karen was a flight engineer in the Gulf War and her plane got hit. She had to bail out over enemy territory and all she had was a bottle of whiskey, a machine gun and a machete. She drank the whiskey on the way down so it wouldn't break and then she landed right in the middle of 100 enemy troops. She killed seventy of them with the machine gun until she ran out of bullets. Then she killed twenty more with the machete until the blade broke. And then she killed the last ten with her bare hands."

Good heavens," said the horrified teacher, "what kind of moral did your daddy tell you from that horrible story?"

"Stay the fuck away from Aunt Karen when she's been drinking."

_____________________________________________________

Once upon a time there lived a woman who had a maddening passion for baked beans. She loved them but unfortunately they had always had a very embarrassing reaction to her.

Then one day she met a guy and fell in love. When it became apparent that they would marry she thought to herself, " He is such a sweet and gentle man, he would never go for this carrying on." So she made the supreme sacrifice and gave up beans.

Some months later her car broke down on the way home from work. Since she lived in the country she called her husband and told him that she would be late because she had to walk home.

On her way she passed a small diner and the odour of the baked beans was more than she could stand. Since she still had miles to walk, she figured that she would walk off any ill effects by the time she reached home.

So, she stopped at the diner and before she knew it, she had consumed three large orders of baked beans. All the way home she farted and farted.

Upon arriving home she felt reasonably sure she could control it. Her husband seemed excited to see her and exclaimed delightedly, "Darling, I have a surprise for dinner tonight." He then blindfolded her and led her to her chair at the table.

She seated herself and just as he was about to remove the blindfold from his wife, the telephone rang. He made her promise not to touch the blindfold until he returned. He then went to answer the phone.

The baked beans she had consumed were still affecting her and the pressure was becoming almost unbearable, so while her husband was out of the room she seized the opportunity, shifted her weight to one leg and let it go. It was not only loud, but it smelled like a fertilizer truck running over a skunk.

She took her napkin and fanned the air around her vigorously. Then, she shifted to the other cheek and ripped three more.

Keeping her ears tuned to the conversation in the other room, she went on like this for another ten minutes. When the phone farewells signaled the end of her freedom, she fanned the air a few more times with her napkin, placed it on her lap and folded her hands upon it, smiling contentedly to herself.

She was the picture of innocence when her husband returned. Apologizing for taking so long, he asked her if she peeked, and she assured him that she had not.

At this point, he removed the blindfold, and she was surprised. There were twelve dinner guests seated around the table to wish her a Happy Birthday!!!

_____________________________________________________

John O'Reilly hoisted his beer and said, "Here's to spending the rest of me life, between the legs of me wife!" That won him the top prize for the best toast of the night!

He went home and told his wife, Mary, "I won the prize for the best toast of the night."

She said, "Aye, what was your toast?"

John said, "Here's to spending the rest of me life, sitting in Church beside my wife."

"Oh that is very nice indeed, John!" Mary said.

The next day, Mary ran into one of John's toasting buddies on the street corner. The man chuckled leeringly and said, "John won the prize, the other night, with a toast about you, Mary."

She said, "Aye and I was a bit surprised myself! You know, he's only been there twice! Once he fell asleep, and the other time I had to pull him by the ears to make him come."

Snowy @ 1 Year 7 Months

2007-08-31T20:53:00.000-07:00

You give the dog a toy...

The dog really wants the toy...

So she tries to grab it from you...

But gets caught instead...

Taken from the Snowy Dairies. All rights reserved.

RE: I Love Potatoes

2007-08-22T05:44:00.000-07:00

Oh! Received a comment on my "I Love Potatoes" post.

Missmowie said:

"You hit it on the dot. I was sitting in a garden when it struck me why I have been having so many problems with my life. Why I am having difficulty finding my own voice, passion, true self.And it dawned on me - asian culture instills fear. We are raised to fear authority, to give up any right to think, believe, be. Our parents dictate what we eat, wear, do, who we hang out with. Then, when we grow up we're thrown into a world and people wonder why we're so f'ed up. I get it now. I will not let my culture bring me down!"

Thanks for your comment, Missmowie. It's always comforting to know that someone else out there isn't drawn into our myopic culture's web of deceit.

I am blessed to have parents that are rather westernised compared to most of their peers.

But not everyone is so lucky. I would say that the majority of older Singaporeans continue to embrace Asian values, which if i could sum it all up, is to basically talk less and obey more. And because they embrace Asian values, they raise their children in accordance to these values.

Their children may be caned at home or in school for disobedience but the reason behind the caning may never be brought to light.

Asking questions with regards to why a certain rule is in place, for example, may also be deemed as an act of defiance rather than an act of curiosity or plain ignorance.

Career paths may even be chosen for them even before they decide one for themselves. Any career "out of the ordinary" is vehemently opposed. The usual lame reasons like "I know what's better for you" and "You will not survive doing this in Singapore" are given so as to oppress their children into submission.

Eventually, their children end up obeying just for the sake of obeying, and not obeying for the sake of knowing what's right, and doing what's right.

I dread to wonder how I would be like now had I been brought up in a typical, conservative Chinese family.

Just look at our so-called labour unions. More passive than they are active, I'd say. We live in a society where many workers are so subservient to authority, they'd walk away with a "$3 an hour pay check" saying thank you very much, not realizing how much they've been underpaid.

Why are we so afraid and continue to be submissive even in situations when we are injustly treated? Well we won't have to look far really, just consider what the Asian culture has done to make us the people-machines we are.

To others the Asian culture may be their ideal culture. For people like the both of us it will forever be a third world culture. A low class culture worth forgetting. And forsaking.

I couldn't be more blunt.

I Despise Taliban Dogs

2007-08-02T22:01:00.000-07:00

The Taliban dogs are at it again.

Kidnapping over twenty South Korean hostages so they can demand the release of eight Taliban dogs who are currently held captive in Afghan jails.

But what has South Koreans got to do with the Afghan government deciding to imprison Taliban dogs? If the Taliban fighters had the "balls", and it is very apparent at this stage that they have got none, they would have broken into the Afghan jails to rescue their fellow dogs instead of threatening to kill innocent South Korean hostages if the Afghan government does not release eight equally insane dogs.

These cowardly acts, that is, to murder innocent people to achieve one's disgraceful aims, reminds me of what the communists used to do in Malaya and Singapore in the post-World War Two era.

You see, the equation is very simple. Such extremist groups are the root of the problem. If you don't get rid of the root problem, you are always going to live in fear. Tighten security as much as you wish, but until the day these dogs are entirely eradicated no one can guarantee another extremists-initiated attack will not take place.

I hope this episode sparks off a desire among the South Korean people, the South Korean government to want to actively join the war against terrorism. And when I say "war against terrorism", I don't mean merely defending against and preventing acts of terrorism like what most countries are doing now. I do mean going down there physically to kill those towel wrapping numbskulls.

Which reminds me actually. That many comrades of these Taliban numbskulls have already been killed in clashes with the US military forces. Oh, and then these Taliban numbskulls whine at how the US military forces attacked, killed, torched and disposed of their fellow dogs.

It's funny how they should be whining about the killings of their fellow dogs. Don't they do the same to many innocent civilians day in, day out? From a military perspective, I actually liked how some US military personnel torched the bodies of those Taliban dogs. I mean, when your enemy wrap towels around their heads like that, wouldn't fire be part of your military strategy?

So before anyone tries to pull the "oh if we do that then we are no better than the Talibans" bullshit on me, let me remind you that you won't exactly be patting a Taliban numbskull on his back for a job well done if he murdered one of your loved ones in a similarly inhumane fashion.

I completely agree with the father of one of the South Korean victims, when he described the Taliban dogs as being "worse than animals". And because they are worse than animals, I totally endorse the beating, torturing, disembowelling and slaughtering of the Taliban rebels in a manner that befits entities worse off than animals.

Better still, set their towels alight.

Song Of The Month (Jul 07)

2007-07-24T21:58:00.000-07:00

1. PLAIN WHITE T'S - HEY THERE DELILAH

Hey there Delilah
What's it like in New York City?
I'm a thousand miles away
But girl tonight you look so pretty
Yes you do
Times Square can't shine as bright as you
I swear it's true

Hey there Delilah
Don't you worry about the distance
I'm right there if you get lonely
Give this song another listen
Close your eyes
Listen to my voice
It's my disguise
I'm by your side

Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
What you do to me

Hey there Delilah
I know times are getting hard
But just believe me girl
Someday I'll pay the bills with this guitar
We'll have it good
We'll have the life we knew we would
My word is good

Hey there Delilah
I've got so much left to say
If every simple song I wrote to you
Would take your breath away
I'd write it all
Even more in love with me you'd fall
We'd have it all

Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me

A thousand miles seems pretty far
But they've got planes and trains and cars
I'd walk to you if I had no other way

Our friends would all make fun of us
and we'll just laugh along because we know
That none of them have felt this way

Delilah I can promise you
That by the time we get through
The world will never ever be the same
And you're to blame

Hey there Delilah
You be good and don't you miss me
Two more years and you'll be done with school
And I'll be making history like I do

You'll know it's all because of you
We can do whatever we want to
Hey there Delilah here's to you
This ones for you

Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
What you do to me

2. MIKA - LOVE TODAY

Everybody's gonna love today
Gonna love today
Gonna love today
And everybody's gonna love today
Gonna love today
Gonna love today
Anyway you want to
Anyway you've got to
Love love me
Love love me
Love love

I've been crying for so long
Fighting tears just to carry on but now
But now its gone away

Hey girl why can't you carry on
Is it cos you're just cloudin your mother
Little tight
Like to taste for fun
Well you ain't gonna taste no other
Gonna make you a lover

Everybody's gonna love today
Love today
Love today
Everybody's gonna love today
Anyway you want to
Anyway you've got to
Love love me
Love love me
Love love

Girl with a groove with the big bust on
Big bust on
Big bust on
Wait till your mother and your papa's gone
Papa's gone
Ohh mutha for her papa
Shock shock me
Shock shock me
Shock shock

I said everybody's gonna love today
Gonna love today
Gonna love today
I said everybody's gonna love today
Gonna love today
Gonna love today
Anyway you want to
Anyway you've got to
Love love me
Love love me
Love love

Yeah she's a lover and she's mighty fine
Give her a dollar and she'll make you smile
Hooker walk a looker walk away

Carry dresses like a kid for fun
Licks her lips like their something other
Tries to tell you life has just begun
But you know she's gettin sumthing otha
Makes you a life from the mother

Everybody's gonna love today
Love today
Love today
Everybody's gonna love today
Anyway you want to
Anyway you've got to
Love love me
Love love me
Love love

Girl with a groove with the big bust on
Big bust on
Big bust on
Wait till your mother and your papa's gone
Papa's gone
Ohh mutha for her papa
Shock shock me
Shock shock me
Shock shock

I said everybody's gonna love today
Gonna love today
Gonna love today
I said everybody's gonna love today
Gonna love today
Anyway you want to
Anyway you've got to
Love love me
Love love me
Love love

Snowy @ 1 Year 5 Months

2007-07-13T20:59:00.001-07:00

Last picture.. then I'm going for my afternoon nap

What did I tell ya..?

Snooze...

Snooze... Snooze...

Don't think I don't know.. No pictures of me sleeping please!!

More Quick Updates

2007-07-07T23:02:00.001-07:00

First of all, quarter end is finally over!! Hopefully there will not be any late nights for the next two months at least.

I've been having too many buffets recently. Had a company lunch buffet, plus a buffet with Dad, Jason and Sherlyn, plus a high tea buffet with my maternal relatives all in the span of one week!

Sometimes, what my Dad has been telling me rekindles the "A Passion For Truth" fire in me, and gives me the inspiration to want to write about LH once again. But I shall have some self-control and hold it for now.

Okay that's it for now. It's late, I'm drained and I'm gonna tuck in. Until next time.

Some Quick Updates

2007-06-20T22:01:00.000-07:00

Okay, just some quick updates.

Work. Quarter-end is approaching and I've been putting in more hours lately. It can only get busier from here.

Life. What life is left when you're caught in the middle of the quarter-end frenzy? Nevertheless I somehow managed to catch Ocean's Thirteen with Joel, Rufus and Eunice some days back. Well it wasn't bad, but it wasn't fantastic either. T'was nothing really exciting about it, just fun to watch.

Then we went to Haagen Dazs and after sharing 6 scoops of mix-and-match-it-yourself ice cream, realised we would have gotten more for 30 bucks had we bought two tubs instead. Oh damn, maybe next time.

Well that's all for now. Busy times are ahead, so I probably won't be blogging too much over the next two weeks or so.

I Love Potatoes

2007-06-15T15:45:00.000-07:00

I hardly consider it an insult when someone calls me a "potatohead" or "potato-eater".

In fact, I consider it a compliment. The fact I'm branded a "potatohead" or "potato-eater" represents the person's acknowlegement of my desire to be deassociated with the low class and superficial Asian culture. Not many acknowledgements could ever be better than this.

So why would I want to be deassociated with the Asian culture? Why would I want to embrace the Western culture instead of the good old Asian culture, being an Asian myself? Well, the following excerpts from the book "Affluenza" by Oliver James explains quite clearly, why.

"I met few Singaporeans who seemed to have any life outside work. Most are doing jobs that entail very long hours (sixty or more a week), dedicating their minds and bodies to selling of services or commodities rather than to activities they find intrinsically absorbing."

"All had been caned as children by parents and subsequently put under tremendous pressure at school. This surely means that they are more easily coerced into subservience to authority and its goals in the workplace, and a sense of filial duty (originally based on fear of the cane) anchors the people-machines in place. Until they are married they remain in the family home, where parents can continue to monitor them; it is barely thinkable for them to take off for other countries where they would have greater freedom."

"These examples, and that of Singapore as a nation, were the purest that I encountered on my mind tour of the damage done by the Virus to the playfulness and sense of volition which are so important for well-being."

So you see, as unbelievable as it may seem, I really appreciate the "potatohead" and "potato-eater" comments.

That's because I do not want to be associated with a culture whose people condone, and even propagate, directly or indirectly, not having a life outside of work.

I do not want to be associated with a culture whose people use oppressive, barbaric methods to instil fear and to breed obedience. I believe obedience will naturally follow when understanding is first put in place. If little efforts are invested in relating this understanding, how can we expect obedience?

I do not want to be associated with a culture whose people-machines are not capable of independent thinking.

I do not want to be associated with a conservative culture whose people seek to censor all media content deemed unacceptable to them. Just THEM, and the world is devoid of such content.

I do not want to be associated with a rigid, retarded society where aspiring musicians and movie makers are mocked at for wanting to pursue a career in the creative industries instead of a career down the regular trodden path.

I do not want to be associated with a culture whose people refuse to get real, get out of this well called Singapore (so they're able to see whatever Singapore does is not the LAW and that in fact, it's nothing because what we do is only what one of the hundreds of countries do), experience other cultures so they are able to make informed decisions in future.

I do not want to be associated with a culture whose stingy, pathetic bosses will not think twice, lest be remorseful about exploiting their workers with long hours and low wages.

A first world country we may be, but a third world Asian culture is evident for all to see.

Thank goodness for the English language. It's the hallmark of civilisation.

And thank goodness for the Western culture. Really.

Humour Mail 6

2007-05-28T07:54:00.000-07:00

The Pentagon recently found it had too many generals and offered an early retirement bonus. They promised any general who retired straight away his full annual benefits plus $10,000 for every inch measured in a straight line between any two parts of the general's body, with the general getting to select any pair of points he wished.

The first man, an Air Force general, accepted. He asked the pension man to measure from the top of his head to the tip of his toes. Six feet. He walked out with a check of $720,000.

The second man, an Army general, asked them to measure from the tip of his outstretched hands to his toes. Eight feet. He walked out with a check for $960,000.

When the third general, a grizzled old Marine, was asked where to measure, he told the pension man... "From the tip of my penis to the bottom of my testicles."

The pension man suggested that perhaps the Marine general might like to reconsider, pointing out the nice checks the previous two generals had received.

The Marine insisted and the pension expert said that would be fine, but that he'd better get the medical officer to do the measuring.

The medical officer attended and asked the general to drop the pants. He did. The medical officer placed the tape on the tip of the general's penis and began to work back. "My God!" he said. "Where are your testicles?"

The general replied, "In Vietnam."

_____________________________________________________

A chinese guy, a white guy, and a black guy all get a job at the same place.

The boss comes out and says, "I'm leaving for awhile, and when I get back I want to see this place swept, and that pile of dirt out front shoveled and in five different piles."

So he tells the white guy, "You are in charge of sweeping."

He tells the black guy, "You're in charge of shoveling."

And finally he tells the chinese guy, "You're in charge of the supplies."

He leaves and comes back in about three hours and sees nothing done. So he asked the white guy, "Why didn't you do anything?"

He replies, "I would have but the chinese guy didn't give me a broom."

So he askes the black guy, "Why haven't you done anything?"

He also replies, "The chinese guy didn't give me a shovel."

So he goes to look for the chinese guy, but he couldn't find him. Finally he walks over to the pile of dirt and the chinese guy hopped out suddenly and said, "Supplies!"

_____________________________________________________

John invited his mother over for dinner. During the meal, his mother couldn't help noticing how attractive and shapely the housekeeper was. Over the course of the evening, she started to wonder if there was more between John and the housekeeper than met the eye.

Reading his mom's thoughts, John volunteered, "I know what you must be thinking, but I assure you, my relationship with my housekeeper is purely professional."

About a week later, the housekeeper came to John and said, "Ever since your mother came to dinner, I've been unable to find the beautiful silver gravy ladle. You don't suppose she took it, do you?"

John said, "Well, I doubt it, but I'll write her a letter just to be sure."

So he sat down and wrote:

"Dear Mother, I'm not saying you 'did' take a gravy ladle from my house, and I'm not saying you 'did not' take a gravy ladle. But the fact remains that one has been missing ever since you were here for dinner."

Several days later, John received a letter back from his mother:

"Dear Son, I'm not saying that you 'do' sleep with your housekeeper, and I'm not saying that you 'do not' sleep with your housekeeper. But the fact remains that if you were sleeping in your own bed, you would have found the gravy ladle by now.

Love, Mom."

_____________________________________________________

Q: I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true?

A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?

A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass. And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable slop.

Q: Is beer or wine bad for me?

A: Look, it goes to the earlier point about fruits and vegetables. As we all know, scientists divide everything in the world into three categories: animal, mineral, and vegetable. We all know that beer and wine are not animal, and they are not on the periodic table of elements, so that only leaves one thing, right? My advice: Have a burger and a beer and enjoy your liquid vegetables.

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?

A: Well, if you have a body, and you have body fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc.

Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?

A: You're not listening. Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they're permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

Q: What's the secret to healthy eating?

A: Thicker gravy.

I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.

Have a cookie... flour is a veggie!

Survivor Fiji

2007-05-19T05:31:00.000-07:00

I couldn't have asked for a more exciting season finale.

The two tribal councils before the final one were exciting.

The final tribal council which saw Cassandra and that loser Dreamz receive so much stick from the panel of council members was even more exciting.

And the most exciting, are probably these comments about Dreamz I found on a forum.

Enjoy.

"Dreamz is a dirty, lying sack of shit. Yau-man should have won it ALL. I don't even want to watch the rest."

"There is a reason you were a worthless homeless person, Dreamz - because you deserved to be one."

"What a lying mealy-mouthed sack of shit. If he had any idea what the repercussions of reneging on his promise to Yau would have been, he would have realized that keeping his promise was the only option he had. Because winning $1 million was not in the cards for his betrayal, and showing integrity would have been the second best reward."

"Dreamz really can only be described as a p***e of s**t. Couldn't stop lying to the very end. Earl didn't betray Yau. Yau's trust in Dreamz forced Earl's hand. He does have a family to think about too. It was honorable. Dreamz should die in that truck."

"His son truly knows who he is now, and will grow up to be a fucking thug and rob some white kid for drugs, then punch the police and claim he was arrested because of "racism". I hope that truck brings him nothing but bad luck and heartache. I hope his son steals it from him one night and gets drunk, then crashes it and ends up in the hospital, and some old asian guy who watched this season of survivor is the doctor."

Tale Of The Two Cabbies

2007-05-08T21:32:00.000-07:00

Two cabbies. Two taxi rides. Two stories.

And such contrasting experiences they were!

The first ride took place this morning when I had to take a cab to work. Upon reaching the destination, I requested that the cabbie turn into the parking lot located below my office. I didn't want to stop by the main road, because there were several buses behind us and I didn't want to hold up the traffic.

Which he did. But as he turned in, he said in Chinese "Ehh.. go into carpark need to pay leh".

"No", I protested, "you do not need to."

Then in a typical Chinaman fashion he insisted that he would need to pay for entering the parking lot, and added that he didn't see any other cabs entering the carpark.

So I said, "No you DO NOT need to. I've entered this parking lot many times and you do not need to pay to get in."

I was already immensely irritated by this stubborn retard when he decided to irritate me further by putting this question to me - "Then why I don't see other cabs coming in?"

He had barely finished his sentence when another cab turned into the parking lot. And so I threw the gauntlet back at him. "See? Isn't that another cab?"

Then, I decided to pay by nets and expected him to know how to use the NETS machine. Instead, that idiot basically stared at my ATM card as if it were some device from Mars, then proceeded to take an incredibly long time to process the NETS transaction, swiping my card numerous times without any success. That was, until I had to take over and do it myself.

What a spastic.

The second ride came in the evening, when we shared a cab to attend my company's dinner function.

This cabbie was different. English speaking, refined, rational and resourceful, one could always tell the difference. Although we were caught in rush hour, he suggested the best route to take to avoid the traffic jams as best as possible.

And these are the type of cabbies that Singapore needs more of, I believe.

Random Thoughts

2007-05-03T22:56:00.001-07:00

Some random thoughts.

1. The favourite phrase of a typical Singaporean who will never give others the benefit of the doubt is "Are you sure or not?"

2. Animals are a lot more adorable than humans.

3. "Deny" sounds bad - it seems to suggest the person is not speaking the truth, and is hiding something. It makes the person seem guilty until proven innocent. Is there a better word??

Quit Whining, Jose

2007-04-28T18:05:00.001-07:00

Jose, Jose...

When your beloved Chelsea lost in the past, you blamed the referees for picking on your all so pickable players.

When they lost again, you blamed the FA for fixture congestion. As if Chelsea was the only club which had to play several matches in a week.

Not so long ago, you complained again, this time about how some teams playing against Chelsea don't play to win.

And now, you're complaining about how the Liverpool players tried to force Drogba into conceding a yellow card in the Champions League semi-final.

Oh for heaven's sake stop whining already. Offer no more excuses.

Just admit it. You SUCK.

You've had all of your Russian boss' riches at your disposal, but all you could manage is assemble a team of expensive misfits that are only as capable as to get into a 1-0 lead and then defend with 11 men behind the ball thereafter half of the time.

I wouldn't be surprised if you argued the rationale behind such tactics is that the size of your testicles is just about as big as the grapes of Portugal.

Great managers don't just produce results, they are also men of integrity and dignity. That means they don't rant uncontrollably and talk cack like you do, Jose.

Little wonder you'll never be remembered as a great manager despite your exploits, much less receive the honour to be "Sir Jose Mourinho". Oh gosh.. Sir? Don't put the word to shame please.

Although I'm a Man Utd fan, I'd seriously rather Liverpool win the Champions League at your expense.

Now that you've just gotten five points adrift of Man Utd in the Premiership, who are you going to blame next? The ball-pickers? Or your mother for having a son so stupid he couldn't get his team to defend a 2-1 lead properly?

In any case, have fun against Arsenal next weekend.

Snowy @ 1 Year 2 Months

2007-04-22T06:26:00.001-07:00

For once she doesn't fidget when facing the camera!

Bought a new toy for her

She's protective about it

And she fiddles with it all day

Well... Til she's wrestled off it

Foreign Talents

2007-04-20T18:24:00.001-07:00

You've heard the words "foreign talents" many times. But what are foreign talents, and how can we define them?

Actually, I think they're hard to define. Some call them "asian talents". Others call them "talents from developing countries". A good number don't even consider them talents.

With the differing opinions, it's hard to provide a 100% accurate assessment. Nevertheless, I'll try and figure out what these talents are really talented at.

After all, there are 10 unmistakable qualities about these foreign talents we should not fail to notice...

1. They are actively involved in intimate after-hours activities at Geylang.

2. They talk loudly on buses in their native languages. Uhhh.. Did I say primitive?

3. They get into relationships with unsuspecting locals, and after pledging their love and commitment, run away with swindled money.

4. You walk into a grocery store and ask them in English if a certain item was in stock, and they stare blankly at you, all lost and confused, as if you were an alien who spoke Martian.

5. You order some fries at a fast food outlet, and after deliberating for a while, they walk behind to the kitchen area and reappear seconds later with some ice. After all, the two words sounded so similar!!

6. They help our crime rate look more realistic on paper, compared to other countries. Without them, the rate would be too unbelievably low!

7. You're in campus working on a project, and you overhear some err, how do I phrase this?.. talented foreign students? boasting about the countries they came from, about how the university students there were so much smarter, and how life was so much more interesting and better off back home. In that case, why didn't they just stay at home?

8. O Level results.. Mother Tongue - A1, English - F9.

9. Supposedly talented and plays an important part in our country's growth. Or at least that's what is being propagandised. Yet, before coming to Singapore, high chance they had planted more crops than they had written essays.

10. Last but not least, they are into the habit of demonstrating outside their national embassies when unhappy with certain aspects of life here.

There you go, the 10 unmistakable qualities for you.

With so many things already established as uniquely Singaporean, I think it's high time we decided what's uniquely foreign talent too.

Pet Shop In Joo Chiat?

2007-04-16T05:51:00.001-07:00

Received a message from Char yesterday.

"There's a pet shop in Joo Chiat closing down tomorrow. They're giving away two huskies, one black labrador, one shih tzu and one huskie-terrier. If not they will be put down. Please call Mariam at 9***2064 to find out more."

And then, while I was having dinner with my family, I received another similar message from Rachel.

Well the fact is that I had informed many of my friends of this after I received Char's message, because I really really didn't want to see those dogs put down. But every of my friend who tried to reach this Mariam found her uncontactable.

I tried calling her as well, only to be greeted by the message "The Singtel mobile customer is unavailable. Please try again later."

I mean, who would make herself uncontactable from prospective adopters if she really wanted to help the dogs out?

I'm starting to consider the possibilities. Maybe this was one collaborative attempt to raise awareness for some pet shop in Joo Chiat on the part of the owners, because their "thriving" business was so hopeless and in need of help they decided to resort to such desperate measures.

Or maybe it was some chain spam sparked off by some sick individual, who decided it was about time he got some much sought after attention because he wasn't getting any from his family and friends due to him having none.

And to think I really thought the dogs were in need of some help at first!

Man Utd 7 Roma 1

2007-04-11T22:07:00.000-07:00

Such a scintillating performance.

Such a fantastic result.

What a magical night.

A night that will be remembered for many years to come.

Curse Of The Black Pier

2007-04-09T02:53:00.001-07:00

My friend and I were having lunch at Pizza Hut earlier when his phone rang.

"Hullo.. err.. you siowling the per... pearl?"

My friend looked bewildered. What pearl? So my friend said no and hung up.

After a while, we figured the caller could have been referring to the Pier, a property my agent friend listed on the papers a few days ago. But that's just a guess on our part.

In any case, unfortunately, the Pier had already been sold. While my friend does not have another Pier up for sale, and certainly not the Pearl, he wishes to recommend one of his acquaintance, Captain Jack Sparrow, to that potential buyer. We believe Captain Sparrow would be able to shed some light regarding the Pearl.

Unfortunately, Captain Sparrow is not in town currently and interested parties would have to go to World's End to carry out transactions with him.

The Truth About 6.5

2007-04-07T02:40:00.000-07:00

Packed buses, packed trains, packed shopping malls, packed food courts are all you can see and you find yourself squeezing your way through the thousands that surround you.

I thought the overpopulation problem in Singapore was becoming quite real, so I went to gather some population statistics. And they were rather disturbing.

As of 2006, Singapore's population stands at 4.48 million. Although our most identical city in Hong Kong boasts a significantly higher population (7.04 million), their land area is larger too. Hong Kong has a land area of 1099 square kilometers but Singapore only has a land area of 699.4 square kilometers.

Therefore, although Hong Kong has a significantly higher population compared to Singapore, their population density (6407 persons per square km) is only slightly higher than ours (6208 persons per square km). This means we are almost as cramped as Hong Kong is, and your friends who have been to Hong Kong will tell you how bad the overpopulation problem there is.

So what's with the plans to increase our population to 6.5 million?

We want to be up there with the likes of Tokyo, New York, London and Hong Kong as one of the world's biggest cities, but we often forget or simply ignore the fact our land area is much smaller than theirs!

If we had a 6.5 million population, our population density would increase to 9293 persons per square km, far overtaking Hong Kong at 6407 persons per square km. This means we will be 45% more crowded than Hong Kong already is now!!!

And with the population boom will go our quality of life too.

Another Quarter's End

2007-03-29T09:55:00.001-07:00

It's March 29. Two more days to go before the quarter end pandemonium stops.

I'm talking about work. The fiscal year end is approaching, the sales team is putting through more orders than usual to meet their sales target, hence the additional hours.

The past two weeks have been quite a ride. I go home around 10pm, if I'm lucky enough. Otherwise it's past midnight by the time I catch that taxi ride back home. Good thing quarter ends occur only once every three months.

Ah well. Not that I should be complaining anyway. I've been given good renumeration for the overtime I've been clocking. You've probably heard of the benefits of working for American companies, but there's no free lunch out there. Working in an American firm, I still find myself having to work hard when I have to, but at least I receive generous compensation for it. Had I been working for some traditional local company with bosses who had the mentality of a 1960 China-man, I would still find myself working hard, but with nothing to show for it.

Perceptions, they call it. But it's more like reality to me. Unless those traditional ching-chung companies prove otherwise, why fix the perception when it ain't broke?

Snowy @ East Coast

2007-03-23T22:25:00.001-07:00

"Wanna go to the beach?" and she immediately offers her paw

So off we went to East Coast

Enjoying the sun, the breeze and the sand

Time to swim...

C'mon! You can do it!

"Take those hands off me! I can swim and I'll show you!"

Some water's much welcome after that tiring swim!

Dinner & Dance

2007-03-21T07:07:00.000-07:00

OK, first of all this post and its pictures are long overdue.

Went for my company's annual dinner & dance on 10 March. The theme for the night was retro, and many who came dressed retro... but of course I didn't. Imagine how I'd look in those outfits.

*faint*

There was entertainment, music, food, stage performances, lucky draws, and not forgetting free flow house pours. Host for the night was the Flying Dutchman. Those of you who listen to Class 95 should know. Anyway.. I wonder how much the whole event must have cost.

Here are some pictures.

Four Rude Whores

2007-03-16T18:13:00.000-07:00

I am in an irritable mood this morning. Made foul by four rude whores.

Went to the market for breakfast with my family earlier. My father and I were buying food so mum and sis were the only ones at the table. When we returned, I saw that both our seats had been occupied by four old, stupid, ugly, filthy bitches.

I asked mum why they had taken our seats. Mum said she had told them that the seats were reserved for us but they didn't believe her. They were so incorrigibly, so hopelessly, so utterly indignant, ignorant and thick-skinned they insisted on occupying the seats we had reserved because there was "no evidence" someone else was occupying them. They had looked at mum menacingly but mum didn't want to pick up a fight so she left them alone.

As a result, dad had to go elsewhere to have his meal.

Bloody uncivilised bitches.

Told mum she shouldn't have been intimidated by those four whores. Those seats were OURS. Should have just asked my dad or myself to fuck them, since a good fucking was what they wanted.

While I was eating, I noticed there was a fan overhead, blowing in the direction of those four whores. And it so happened the food i had bought was served on a paper plate and had a good amount of sauce on it. What wondrous luck! A ploy came to mind.

You know, there's no need to resort to violence, dealing with such morons. Intelligence, for them, is in scarce supply. All you've got to do is outsmart them.

Before I left, I purposely left the empty paper plate with whatever sauce there was remaining on it, with nothing holding it down, and knowing that the next gush from the overhead fan would send the disposable plate flying their way. Those whores were so engrossed talking to one another I bet they hadn't noticed! And so I left feeling the tinge of sweetness in my mouth.

Awww, some shirts' gonna be stained real bad this time.

Sand & Earthquakes

2007-03-09T21:42:00.001-08:00

Just a few days ago, Indonesia was hit by two earthquakes. And I have been wondering why.

The only logical conclusion I could come to is that they had too much sand. The amount of sand they possess must have been increasing ever since they placed a countrywide ban on sand exports to Singapore. My gut feeling tells me that must have caused the earthquakes.

However, I am rather perplexed. They've said they banned all exports of sand to Singapore due to environmental concerns. But since having too much sand causes earthquakes, how would banning all exports of sand to Singapore ease their environmental concerns? I really don't get it.

Besides, if they were so concerned about their environment, I wonder why they are so slow in curbing practices that cause those forest fires which plague their land every year.

Whatever it is, they can ban all sand exports to Singapore for all I care. Having too much sand wouldn't help anyway, because I think it causes earthquakes. So if they want more earthquakes, I'd say let them have it!

Indonesia has also asked us to be resourceful about finding alternative sand sources. You know, I think that is an exceptionally good piece of advice. Because our good neighbours have been telling us directly and indirectly to be resourceful ever since we became the first country in our region to turn first-world, this particular message has got etched in our brains and it seems we have been very resourceful ever since. I mean, just a few years ago, another country threatened to stop selling us water, so we came up with NEWater. Now this gives us an opportunity to probably come up with NEWsand or something.

May I also appeal to all Singaporeans, if Indonesia should come begging us for help in future, to throw the gauntlet back at them and ask them to be resourceful about finding alternative means to handle their misfortune.

Now, they're talking about a proposed granite ban to Singapore. Hmm, I wonder what will happen in future. Probably their buildings will start collapsing too due to having too much surplus granite.

And as good neighbours, we can only hope their wishes come true!

Song Of The Month (Mar 07)

2007-03-03T16:55:00.001-08:00

1. BEYONCE - LISTEN (DREAMGIRLS OST)

Listen to the song here in my heart
A melody I've start but can't complete
Listen to the sound from deep within
It's only beginning to find release

Oh the time has come for my dreams to be heard
They will not be pushed aside and turned
Into your own all cause you won't listen

Listen, I am alone at a crossroads
I'm not at home in my own home
And I tried and tried
To say what's on my mind
You should have known
Oh now I'm done believin you
You don't know what I'm feelin
I'm more than what you made of me
I followed the voice you gave to me
But now I gotta find my own

You should have listened
There is someone here inside
Someone I'd thought had died sooo long ago

Ohh I'm free now and my dreams to be heard
They will not be pushed aside on words
Into your own all cause you won't listen

Listen, I am alone at a crossroads
I'm not at home in my own home
And I tried and tried
To say what's on my mind
You should have known
Oh now I'm done believin you
You don't know what I'm feelin
I'm more than what you made of me
I followed the voice you gave to me
But now I gotta find my own

I don't know where I belong
But I'll be movin on
If you don't
If you won't
LISTEN!!!
To the song here in my heart
A melody I've start but I will complete
Oh now I'm done believin you
You dont know what I'm feelin
I'm more than what you made of me
I followed the voice you think you gave to me
But now I gotta find my own
My own

2. NICKELBACK - FAR AWAY

This time, this place
Misused, mistakes
Too long, too late
Who was I to make you wait

Just one chance, just one breath
Just in case there's just one left
'Cause you know, you know, you know

That I love you
I have loved you all along
And I miss you
Been far away for far too long
I keep dreaming you'll be with me
And you'll never go
Stop breathing if I don't see you anymore

On my knees, I'll ask
Last chance for one last dance
'Cause with you, I'd withstand
All of hell to hold your hand

I'd give it all, I'd give for us
Give anything but I won't give up
'Cause you know, you know, you know

That I love you
I have loved you all along
And I miss you
Been far away for far too long
I keep dreaming you'll be with me
And you'll never go
Stop breathing if I don't see you anymore

So far away, so far away
Been far away for far too long
So far away, so far away
Been far away for far too long
But you know, you know, you know

I wanted, I wanted you to stay
'Cause I needed
I need to hear you say

That I love you
I have loved you all along
And I forgive you
For being away for far too long

So keep breathing
'Cause I'm not leaving you anymore
Believe and hold on to me
And never let me go

Keep breathing
'Cause I'm not leaving you anymore
Believe and hold on to me
And never let me go

Exclusive Channel 5 Movie Marathon 2007

2007-02-25T02:53:00.001-08:00

Last friday, I received unbelivable news. Mediacorp had sent me an email to inform me that I was one of 42 lucky people chosen to attend the exclusive Channel 5 movie marathon on 24 Feb 2007. How flattering, especially considering the fact that so many people took part in the contest. Yet, they shortlisted me!!!

The invitation via email

The winners were each entitled to bring one guest along with them. My cousin wanted to go, so I asked her along.

Anyway, so the day came and we went to the Cathay for the exclusive movie marathon. Ahh you know, I really like the word "exclusive". There were a total of five movies to be screened, including Babel, The Queen, Letters From Iwo Jima, Notes On A Scandal & Dreamgirls. All of which were Oscar-nominated movies.

Babel's plot was very good, but the camerawork was too "shaky" for my liking. At times, the camerawork got so bad I felt dizzy. The Queen was fairly good, and the directors managed to inject moments of humour into the story even though the story was meant to be serious. Great performance by Helen Mirren, if you ask me. It's never easy trying to act as the Queen of England, but I thought she pulled it off very well.

Letters From Iwo Jima - that's my favourite! I've always loved war movies and it's even better when the story is told from an unusual POV, this time from the Japanese's. There's a magic about the movie I can't quite explain... maybe you should watch it for yourselves to see what I mean!

Then it just went downhill from there. Notes On A Scandal and Dreamgirls were not exactly movies I'd say I've enjoyed. Don't get me wrong. I think they're great movies, just that their genres did not really appeal to me. These movies would definitely appeal to moviegoers who enjoy movies with a lot of drama, music and information-drenched conversations. Notes On A Scandal had a complicated plot. It was very heavy-going and had lots of talking without much action. Dreamgirls... err well, let's just say musicals aren't my type of movie.

By the time the movie marathon ended, it was already past 9pm. Well, at least everyone who stayed had something to cheer about - a bag of movie premiums for each and every movie maniac!

The bag of movie premiums

Overall, I thought it was a great experience. Thank you for the invitation Channel 5! Your ESP are so much better than those LCCSP. What's that? Now, you figure it out yourselves!

Chinese New Year '07

2007-02-20T06:12:00.001-08:00

The last time I wrote, the 4 day break had finally arrived.

Today, the 4 day break is almost over. Time seems to fly by when you're enjoying yourself, doesn't it?

On Saturday night, I went to my paternal aunt's place with my family for reunion dinner, as we usually do every year. We enjoyed a steamboat dinner... no no no, let me correct myself. They enjoyed the steamboat dinner. Not me. Steamboat dinners are bland, tasteless and utterly revolting. Luckily for me, they made curry and other yummies too so I was not too turned off by the steamboat dinner. :p

After dinner, I met up with Jason and Sherlyn at East Coast's Coffee Bean. To say we went there to chill-out is an understatement. It was crazy. We spent what, some forty bucks on drinks and pastries? Heck, and when I got home, I realized it was already around 2am and that meant I had missed the live telecast of the FA cup matches! Nothing else up so off to bed!

Sunday 18 Feb 2007. First day of the first month in the lunar calendar. I woke up quite late today actually, at 11am or so. Made my way to my maternal grandmother's home. This was where I collected the majority of my ang pows. While there, my grandmother prepared food for everyone, the adults played mahjong, and a bunch of us watched the "Step Up" DVD my cousin had brought from home. Good movie I'd say. Will definitely appeal to dance fans.

After dinner, some of us decided to go visit my 3rd aunt's new home, which is kinda far away from where we live. Hadn't had the opportunity to visit her new 6 room flat before today. My aunt bought it at quite a steal I thought, at around $330k. A 4 room flat in the prime areas easily cost that much these days, so what a deal for a 6 room flat!

Then, just like a rush of blood to the head, my cousins decided that they wanted to catch a midnight movie. I wasn't too confident about being able to get tickets though, on a night where you'd expect many people to hang out late because they didn't have to work the following day. Fortunately, however, one of my cousins had a credit card and we therefore were able to pre-book the tickets online.

The movie we decided to catch was Protege, a Hongkong film about heroin. Heroin abusers, heroin traffickers, heroin whatever. And it was so-so. My cousin drove me back to my maternal grandmother's home after the movie, and I spent the night over there.

The next day was the 2nd day of CNY. Despite being extremely tired, I managed a fitful sleep at best and woke up around 9am. Went to MacDonald's for breakfast with some relatives. When we got back, we played cards until late evening. After dinner, it was time to go home. 2 days had passed just like that - so quickly, so swiftly.

Today, I'll be going for a BEC gathering at John's home. After which, I'll be visiting my paternal relatives. A long day ahead, if you ask me!

A Small Celebration

2007-02-17T16:16:00.000-08:00

Let me say it for myself. And let me say it for everyone.

....... The 4 day break is finally here!!

And the fever didn't just start today. Though we had to work on Friday, I could see that nobody was really in the working mood. I think it will be worse when we get back to office next Wednesday. Oh well, why talk about it now.

Had a CNY lunch celebration with my colleagues on Friday at Sushi Tei. Sorry, no pictures though. Didn't bring my camera along!

We ordered the usual stuff plus 2 plates of 'yu sang' (don't know how to translate this into English!). Thought the 'yu sang' was kinda costly at almost 30 bucks per plate including service charge and taxes. A bunch of us played some silly but funny game while waiting for the food and the losers had to eat a portion of the wasabi.. woah!!

Anyway, we left the office before 12 for our celebration at Raffles City and only came back around 3. That's a good THREE hours for lunch! And that's because we spent two good hours cracking jokes. Was supposed to go dutch but our supervisor paid for everything eventually.

So thank you boss and a very happy new year to everyone out there!

Snowy's ONE Year Old

2007-02-16T12:12:00.001-08:00

Snowy turned ONE year old on Wednesday. And guess what day that was? Valentine's Day!!! Yes, this sweetie was born one year ago on February 14. And I'm not kidding - it's stated on her cert.

So although many people celebrated Valentine's Day with their spouses or spouses-to-be, we celebrated Valentine's Day with Snowy. She loves eating apples so I bought some apples and bananas for her. My sis also bought some pet food for her. Bet she was having the meal of her life!

Sore Losers!!!

2007-02-08T16:13:00.000-08:00

PATTAYA, Thailand, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Thailand have escaped disciplinary action following their walkoff protest in the first leg of last week's ASEAN championship final against Singapore, the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) said on Wednesday.

The AFF have reprimanded the Thais, however, after the entire team stormed off the pitch to protest a dubious late penalty.

The furious Thais sat on the sidelines for 15 minutes before eventually returning to the field, only for Singapore to convert the spot kick to take a 2-1 aggregate lead.

Singapore secured a 1-1 draw in Sunday's highly charged return leg to win 3-2 on aggregate and take their third ASEAN championship title.

'There was a lengthy deliberation on the facts of the case and the Committee decided that there was evidence of dissent on the part of the Thailand team and this resulted in the delay of the restart of the match,' the AFF said in a statement.

'Having regard to the facts produced at the inquiry, we are of the opinion that reprimand would be fitting punishment in the circumstances.'

Worawi Makudi, secretary-general of Thailand's soccer association (FAT), said Thailand respected the AFF's decision.

'The tournament is our tournament, as part of the ASEAN family, and we want to make it better and to be without any problems,' Worawi told Reuters.

The penalty incident caused outrage in soccer-mad Thailand, prompting thousands of Singaporeans to cancel plans to attend the return leg for fear of reprisals.

Thai newspapers had launched scathing attacks on the Singapore team, dubbing them 'cheats' and 'robbers'.

The incident came amid growing bad blood between the two countries following last year's $3.8 billion takeover by Singapore's Temasek of telecoms giant Shin Corp, which belonged to the family of ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Thailand's coup-installed government recently suspended a nine-year exchange programme with the city state and tore up an invitation to its foreign minister after Thaksin was the guest of a Singapore cabinet minister.

_____________________________________________________

Someone tell me why these kids escaped punishment. If it had been a match in some professional European league, they would have been called up for a disciplinary hearing, fined heavily or have league points deducted from them. We see so many controversial decisions being made week in week out in professional competitions such as the World Cup, Premiership etc but you don't see many people behaving the way these kids did, do you?

Thai newspapers had launched scathing attacks on the Singapore team, dubbing them 'cheats' and 'robbers'.
What cheats? Our player didn't even dive. He got pushed and the referee pointed to the spot. Such accurate reporting! Third world standard! If there's someone you need to blame, blame the referee. Besides, I do not think Singapore's robbery rate is very high. In fact, it seems yours is much higher. And you do not just have robbers of money, mind you, but robbers of parliamentary power as well. So you tell me now, who's the real cheats?

'The tournament is our tournament, as part of the ASEAN family, and we want to make it better and to be without any problems,' Worawi told Reuters.
Don't give me that bullshit about wanting to make it better and without any problems. Fact is, your team already created a big hoo-ha, a big problem by walking off the pitch the way they did.

Song Of The Month (Jan 07)

2007-01-21T16:22:00.000-08:00

1. TAKE THAT - PATIENCE

Just have a little patience
I'm still hurting from a love I lost
I'm feeling your frustration
Then maybe all the pain will stop

Just don't be close inside your arms tonight
Don't be too hard on my emotions

Cause I need time
My heart is numb has no feeling
So while I'm still healing
Just try and have a little patience

I really wanna start over again
I know you wanna be my salvation
The one that I can always depend
I'll try to be strong believe me
I'm trying to move on
It's complicated but understand me

Cause I need time
My heart is numb has no feeling
So while I'm still healing
Just try and have a little patience

Yeah, have a little patience yeah
Cause this scar runs so deep
It's been hard
But I have to believe me
Have a little patience
Have a little patience

Cause I, I just need time
My heart is numb has no feeling
So while I'm still healing
Just try and have a little patience
Have a little patience
My heart is numb has no feeling
So while I'm still healing
Just try and have a little... patience

World Of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade

2007-01-09T04:13:00.000-08:00

If you do not play WoW, then obviously you will not understand. But if you do, then you know this is the big thing.

One week more to go before The Burning Crusade is released worldwide. I have already pre-ordered a copy for myself, and I can't wait to collect it next week. New flying mounts. Reduced training prices for riding. Awesome new weapons and gears. Better gold drop rates. New races and professions. Wow.

I doubt I will be spending too much time on it though. Work has been keeping me busy. When I get home after work, I don't have much energy left to play the game. That's life.

I have spent a lot of time on online games in the past, and people have said that I spend too much time on online games. This has not been the case for the past year however, and especially so after I started working. I just cannot afford to.

Therefore, I'm just going to take it easy and level my characters at a pace which I am comfortable with! Happy grinding folks!

When The Numb Takes Over

2006-12-28T16:50:00.000-08:00

I feel numb. I feel like I have no life.

Had to work throughout the 3 day Christmas break because the number of orders that was coming through was incredible.

Plus, I have been working past midnight in these last few days of the quarter.

Sad case? Yeah, tell me about it.

But yesterday was different. I left office at 4pm yesterday because I couldn't do any work. The massive earthquake that occurred in Taiwan on Tuesday had damaged many vital cable lines, causing our office's Internet connection to be down for the better part of the day.

Which has led me to wonder why the 26th of December is so cursed something "bad" always happens on that day. We've had the two big tsunamis which both occurred on the 26th of December, albeit different years. Then this year we have the massive earthquake in Taiwan. Okay, that's besides the fact the massive earthquake turned out to be a blessing in disguise for us.

Anyhow, I have to be in office by 6am tomorrow morning to make up for lost time. So seeya, I'll need to catch up on some sleep for now.

Humour Mail 5

2006-12-19T03:47:00.000-08:00

A man wants to celebrate his wife's birthday by throwing a party. So he goes to order a birthday cake. The salesman asks him what message he wants to put on the cake.

He thinks for a while and says let's put, "you are not getting older you are getting better".

The salesman asks, "How do you want me to put it?"

The man says, "Well put 'you are not getting older'", at the top and 'you are getting better' at the bottom.

The real fun didn't start until the cake was opened and the entire party watched the message decorated on the cake - "You are not getting older at the top, you are getting better at the bottom".

_____________________________________________________

There was this guy at a bar, just looking at his drink. He stays like that for half of an hour. Then, this big trouble-making truck driver steps next to him, takes the drink from the guy, and just drinks it all down.

The poor man starts crying. The truck driver says, "Come on man, I was just joking. Here, I'll buy you another drink. I just can't stand to see a man cry."

"No, it's not that. This day is the worst of my life. First, I fall asleep, and I go late to my office. My boss, outrageous, fires me. When I leave the building, to my car, I found out it was stolen. The police said that they can do nothing. I get a cab to return home, and when I leave it, I remember I left my wallet and credit cards there. The cab driver just drives away."

"I go home, and when I get there, I find my wife in bed with the gardener. I leave home, and come to this bar. And just when I was thinking about putting an end to my life, you show up and drink my poison."

_____________________________________________________

A driver is pulled over by a policeman. The police man approaches the driver's door. "Is there a problem Officer?"

The policeman says, "Sir, you were speeding. Can I see your licence please?"

The driver responds, "I'd give it to you but I don't have one."

"You don't have one?"

The man responds, "I lost it four times for drink driving."

The policeman is shocked. "I see. Can I see your vehicle registration papers please?"

"I'm sorry, I can't do that."

The policeman says, "Why not?"

"I stole this car."

The officer says, "Stole it?"

The man says, "Yes, and I killed the owner."

At this point the officer is getting irate. "You what!?"

"She's in the boot if you want to see."

The Officer looks at the man and slowly backs away to his car and calls for back up. Within minutes, five police cars show up, surrounding the car. A senior officer slowly approaches the car, clasping his half drawn gun.

The senior officer says "Sir, could you step out of your vehicle please!"

The man steps out of his vehicle. "Is there a problem sir?"

"One of my officers told me that you have stolen this car and murdered the owner."

"Murdered the owner?"

The officer responds, "Yes, could you please open the boot of your car please?"

The man opens the boot, revealing nothing but an empty boot.

The officer says, "Is this your car sir?"

The man says "Yes," and hands over the registration papers.

The officer, understandably, is quite stunned. "One of my officers claims that you do not have a driving licence."

The man digs in his pocket revealing a wallet and hands it to the officer. The officer opens the wallet and examines the licence. He looks quite puzzled. "Thank you sir, one of my officers told me you didn't have a licence, stole this car, and murdered the owner."

The man replies, "I bet you the lying bastard told you I was speeding, too!"

_____________________________________________________

The kindergartners were now in the first grade. Their teacher wanted them to be more grown up since they were no longer in kindergarten. She told them to use grown up words instead of baby words. She then asked them to tell her what they did during the summer.

The first little one said he went to see his Nana. The teacher said, "No, No, you went to see your grandmother. Use the grown up word."

The next little one said she went for a trip on a choo-choo. The teacher again said, "No, No, you went on a trip on a train. That's the grown up word."

Then the teacher asked the third little one what he did during the summer. He proudly stated that he read a book. The teacher asked what book he had read.

He puffed out his chest and in a very adult way replied, "Winnie the Shit."

_____________________________________________________

The Pentagon recently found it had too many generals and offered an early retirement bonus. They promised any general who retired straight away his full annual benefits plus $10,000 for every inch measured in a straight line between any two parts of the general's body, with the general getting to select any pair of points he wished.

The first man, an Air Force general, accepted. He asked the pension man to measure from the top of his head to the tip of his toes. Six feet. He walked out with a check of $720,000.

The second man, an Army general, asked them to measure from the tip of his outstretched hands to his toes. Eight feet. He walked out with a check for $960,000.

When the third general, a grizzled old Marine, was asked where to measure, he told the pension man, "From the tip of my penis to the bottom of my testicles."

The pension man suggested that perhaps the Marine general might like to reconsider, pointing out the nice checks the previous two generals had received.

The Marine insisted and the pension expert said that would be fine, but that he'd better get the medical officer to do the measuring. The medical officer attended and asked the general to drop the pants.

The medical officer placed the tape on the tip of the general's penis and began to work back. "My God!" he said. "Where are your testicles?"

The general replied, "In Vietnam."

Snowy @ 10 Months

2006-12-15T04:31:00.000-08:00

This is Snowy at 10 months old. Two more months to go before I start scratching my head, and start thinking of what to give her for her birthday.

The last few pics are of her bathing. View them if you're that desperate :p

Bad Grammar Hurt The Eyes

2006-12-05T21:24:00.000-08:00

Completed a subbing exercise several hours ago. Ever since then, I have been suffering from the Grammar Perfection Syndrome.

Grammatical errors have suddenly become more prominent. Now I spot errors on leaflets handed out by salespeople. I spot errors on food vendors' menus. I spot errors everywhere.

And they cause sore eyes. Because I know the words / sentences need to be corrected, yet I realize that I am in no position to correct them. The faulty words / sentences just keep appearing in my mind over and over again!

Someone help me please!!

"Amazing Race" @ Sentosa

2006-12-04T08:27:00.000-08:00

How's this for a weekend plan - picnicking and "treasure hunting" at Sentosa on a Saturday with your friends and celebrating your birthday on Sunday over a buffet with your loved ones?

That's exactly what I did over the weekend, and let's have the pictures do the talking.

Mum's 51st Birthday

2006-11-21T09:27:00.000-08:00

Well, the exact date is 24 November, but we decided to celebrate Mum's birthday a couple of days earlier. Got the entire family together and went out for dinner. That's the way it should be, shouldn't it - spending time together and cherishing one another while we're alive instead of crying our hearts out and "paying respects" when someone's dead. More like crying over spilt milk.

Anyway, Dad suggested that we go to a mushroom steamboat restaurant near the Singapore Indoor Stadium. So we did and believe me when I say this, but I'd NEVER seen such a variety of mushrooms my entire life prior to this meal!

The restaurant wasn't too crowded, which made the experience an even more pleasant one. It's hard to find dining places that are not too crowded these days. I HATE to dine at crowded eateries - it's irritating to queue up for your table and the standard of the food served deproves too.

All in all, I'm glad everyone managed to set aside some time from their busy schedules for this celebration. Really cherish these moments. And here are the photos :)

Congratulations Boon Hua & Janice!!

2006-11-15T15:55:00.000-08:00

Many congrats to my maternal cousin Boon Hua and his newly wedded wife Janice!

Even as 10 November 2006 remains an insignificant day for many other people, it will surely bring back fond memories for the newly wedded couple.

The family is getting bigger and BIGGER!!

They were asking me, when will it be my turn.

Haha. Well, I don't know.

If something happens, it happens. If it doesn't, then it doesn't.

Singlehood has its own benefits too :p

As for now, I just want to be successful in my career, earn lots of money so I can provide for my parents when they're old, and do some travelling while I still can! :)

And here are the photos...

What's love about? A champagne, couple of roses and kisses

And like I said, the family IS getting bigger

Hey sisters, what are you looking at?!

Ahh, that's much better (Looks like your dad wants in too!)

All single and very much available.. err.. not quite..

Inspired by the newly wedded couple...

They've decided they want to be next in line

And have a baby too, perhaps...

And not forgetting them of course
(LOL. Of course not. Simply cousins.)

Snowy @ 8.5 Months

2006-11-10T21:01:00.000-08:00

How time flies!!

That's how Snowy looked 7 months ago..

And now, 7 months later..

Humour Mail 4

2006-10-30T15:15:00.000-08:00

A man suspected his wife of seeing another man. So, he hired a famous chinese detective, Mr. Sui Tansow Pok, to watch and report any activities that might develop.

A few days later, he recieved this report:

Most honorable sir:

You leave house.

He come house.

I watch.

He and she leave house.

I follow.

He and she get on train.

I follow.

He and she go in hotel.

I climb tree-look in window.

He kiss she.

She kiss he.

He strip she.

She strip he.

He play with she.

She play with he.

I play with me. Fall out of tree, not see.

_____________________________________________________

Kung Chow called his boss and said: "Hey, boss I not come work today, I really sick. I got headache, stomach ache, leg hurt, I not come work."

The boss says: "Kung Chow I really need you today. When I feel sick like this I go to my wife and tell her to give me sex. That makes me feel better and I can go to work. You should try that."

Two hours later Kung Chow calls again: "Boss, I do what you say and I feel great, I be at work soon. You got nice house."

_____________________________________________________

An African ambassador visited Russia and was entertained by his opposite number, the Russian ambassador. For three days, the African ambassador was wined, dined, and generally treated to the best hospitality that Russia had to offer.

On the last day of his visit, the Russian ambassador said, "As your stay is coming to an end, it's time for you to play our traditional game, Russian roulette. One of the six chambers of this gun is loaded - you spin the cylinder, point the gun at your head, and pull the trigger."

This phased the African slightly, but he was a proud man of a warrior people, and to show fear would be unthinkable. Both men took their guns, spun, and pulled the triggers.

Both chambers were empty, and both ambassadors breathed a sigh of relief.

The African ambassador was impressed with the couragous game, and thought hard about the subject before the Russian Ambassador was due to visit his country the next year.

When the visit came, the African ambassador treated the Russian with all hospitality, until the final day of his stay.

Leading him to a private room in the palace, the African ambassador spoke, "Now, time for you to sample our game, African roulette". He then led the Russian into the room, the only occupants of which were six stunning and naked women.

The African ambassador said, "These women are the most beautiful members of one of our tribes. Any one of them will give you a oral sex take your pick".

The Russian was not entirely averse to this idea, but he couldn't see the connection with Russian Roulette. He said, "Well, ok, great, but where's the roulette part? Where's the danger?"

With a big grin on his face, the African ambassador answered: "One of them's a cannibal."

_____________________________________________________

These are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts, and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters.

Q: Are you sexually active?
A: No, I just lie there.

Q: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
A: Yes.
Q: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
A: I forget.
Q: You forget? Can you give us an example of something that you've forgotten?

Q: How old is your son, the one living with you?
A: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which.
Q: How long has he lived with you?
A: Forty-five years.

Q: The youngest son, the twenty-year-old, how old is he?

Q: Were you present when your picture was taken?

Q: So the date of conception of your baby was August 8th?
A: Yes.
Q: And what were you doing at that time?

Q: She had three children, right?
A: Yes.
Q: How many were boys?
A: None.
Q: Were there any girls?

Q: How was your first marriage terminated?
A: By death.
Q: And by whose death was it terminated?

Q: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
A: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
Q: And Mr. Dennington was dead at the time?
A: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy.

Q: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
A: No.
Q: Did you check for blood pressure?
A: No.
Q: Did you check for breathing?
A: No.
Q: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
A: No.
Q: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
A: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
Q: But could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
A: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere.

Song Of The Month (Oct 06)

2006-10-28T17:05:00.000-07:00

The second song isn't a fresh track but its another song from Snow Patrol which I really like so I'd include it as well. It has got this "solo" part near the end of the song which is simply superb.

1. SNOW PATROL - CHASING CARS

We'll do it all
Everything on our own
We don't need anything or anyone

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

I don't quite know
How to say how I feel
Those three words
Are said too much
They're not enough

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?
Forget what we're told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden that's bursting into life

Let's waste time chasing cars
Around our heads
I need your grace to remind me
To find my own

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?
Forget what we're told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden that's bursting into life

All that I am
All that I ever was
Is here in your perfect eyes
They're all I can see

I don't know where
Confused about how as well
Just know that these things will never change for us at all

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

2. SNOW PATROL - RUN

I'll sing it one last time for you
Then we really have to go
You've been the only thing that's right
In all I've done

And I can barely look at you
But every single time I do
I know we'll make it anywhere
Away from here

Light up, light up
As if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I'll be right beside you dear

Louder louder
And we'll run for our lives
I can hardly speak I understand
Why you can't raise your voice to say

To think I might not see those eyes
Makes it so hard not to cry
And as we say our long goodbye
I nearly do

Light up, light up
As if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I'll be right beside you dear

Louder louder
And we'll run for our lives
I can hardly speak I understand
Why you can't raise your voice to say

Slower slower
We don't have time for that
All I want is to find an easier way
To get out of our little heads

Have heart my dear
We're bound to be afraid
Even if it's just for a few days
Making up for all this mess

Light up, light up
As if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I'll be right beside you dear

Louder louder
And we'll run for our lives
I can hardly speak I understand
Why you can't raise your voice to say

Sunday Night Out

2006-10-20T16:13:00.000-07:00

Met up with some of my army mates on sunday. Decided to meet up 'coz Naz just returned from Sydney (not for long, just a semester break - and not that he would want to stay any longer anyway) and Fabian's got an overseas posting.

Went to Starbucks for a drink. Discussion regarding the good old days was inevitable, as you would expect. Got updated on the hilarious events that took place in 63SIB after Naz and I ORD-ed.

We were off to Seoul Garden next. Well, food wasn't so fantastic, just the usual stuff. Getting bored already. But I guess the gathering was more important. :p

Then to end it all, we went for a drink. Man, it was the first time I drank a whole bottle of Baron's by myself. My friends were convinced I was drunk because my face was like so red. But I was really sober okay! I mean, if I was, I'd go swaying from side to side and do the funny things people do when they're drunk. Then again, they wouldn't believe me. :(

And here are the pictures.

A Passion For Truth Part 7

2006-10-12T21:57:00.000-07:00

Last week I was lectured for going for "cheap" fun.

So, going out with friends instead of witnessing your miserable messages is equivalent to going for "cheap" fun.

First of all, let me clarify. Going for "cheap" fun? Don't make it sound like I do that for a living. I work on weekdays just like any other normal person and I go out with friends on weekends. I think it is a balanced lifestyle and I am very happy with that.

"Cheap" fun is cheap to you because you don't have a life. You do not want to go out and enjoy yourself, that is your choice. But do not impose your choice on others. How would you like it if we criticised or manipulated what you did during your free time? And if you would not like it, what makes you think you have the right to dictate what others do during weekends?

But of course you're self-righteous and you'll say humans have a tendency to only listen to people who say what they like to hear. You imply that people do not listen to you because you often say things others do not like to hear. Well that's not true. The reason people do not listen to you is because what you require and expect from others is ridiculous, really.

When we have to work on weekends, you say we should not choose jobs that require us to work on weekends, and that we should tell our bosses that we are unable to work on weekends.

When we go out with friends occasionally on weekends at the expense of attending your miserable programmes, you say we are going for "cheap" fun.

When we study for our exams at the expense of attending your miserable programmes, we say we lack faith.

When we fall sick and are unable to attend your miserable programmes, you say we should not be so "soft".

Then what, just what on earth is an acceptable reason for not attending your miserable programmes? You expect 100% attendance, 100% commitment. Even if we are there 99% of the time, you'd rather fuss about the 1% absence than say good things about how we are so regular 99% of the time. What is it on earth that you want? Do you think you're older and wiser and therefore are unable to respect the decisions of others?

Know the BIG difference between you and many other people in BEC whom i respect very much? That is that they are able to respect the decisions of others while you don't! But I tell you, only people who knows how to respect the decisions of others deserve respect in return.

And then there's also the magic phrase - whatever you're telling us is for our own good. Yeah right, for our own good! Having to come without fail on weekends at the expense of health, work, study or that occasional outing with friends... for our own good? Having to follow that inflexible, rigid system of yours... for our own good?

If you tell me that I should slim down, I will accept. Because that is for my own good, no questions about that. But this, for my own good?

For our own good my foot! It is a bloody oppression, and oppression breeds anger! People attend programmes because they feel compelled to, and not because they want to.

I mean, let's face it. People have left because they didn't like your oppressive, inflexible, dictatorial style of leadership, and people will continue to leave because of this. Don't expect a change in the situation if you do not first correct your attitude.

And as for your remarks about me going for "cheap" fun and not putting my talents to good use in BEC, thank you very much but I think you can save them for yourself. Even if I wanted to achieve 100% attendance and commitment, it would not be at your pathetic programmes. And even if I wanted to put my talents to good use, I would not choose to work under such an unreasonable person like you.

:)

Nature

2006-10-03T06:17:00.000-07:00

Went to New Zealand a few years ago, and still can't forget it's beauty. Well I didn't take these pictures - I am not such a good photographer. Just happened to stumble upon these pictures on the Web, and thought I'd share them with you. Enjoy the beauty and majesty of nature.

Snowy @ 7 Months

2006-09-30T23:56:00.000-07:00

When she's awake she plays

And plays...

And when she's tired... (Yawn...)

She dozes...

...off

Don't Thrash It Out On Parents

2006-09-25T07:41:00.000-07:00

They say, bad upbringing and parenting results in bad behaviour or attitude. And that the values we hold dear reflects on what values our parents hold dear.

Our parents must have taught us a lot, so if our parents have good values, they will surely impart the good values to us and we too will have good values. On the other hand, if our parents have bad values, we too will have bad values.

I cannot disagree more. These statements are not entirely accurate.

First of all, think about the word "bad". How long ago was it that everyone around you agreed in unison about something you thought was "bad"? I'm not talking about the clear-cut issues like murder or rape here, because even the idiots will know they are bad. I'm talking about the issues people debate about everyday, like whether Westernisation is beneficial, and whether the death penalty should be abolished in the country - the grey areas.

If I thought Westernisation to be detrimental, should I then go ahead to say that everyone who embrace Westernisation has bad values, and therefore their parents must also have bad values? If I did, wouldn't I be looking at things from a very subjective point of view?

Sadly, this is the case with the self-righteous. They are somehow unable to see things objectively, not to say they even try to anyway. Whatever they think is bad must be bad. Therefore, if they thought exposure to violence on television is bad, then people who watch too many violent movies surely have bad values and their parents also surely have bad values.

Grey areas can only become black in the eyes of the self-righteous. To others they remain grey areas. Thus, if nobody can be a perfect judge for debatable issues which ultimately forms part of the values we hold dear, how can they be considered to be bad values, and what more, how can parents who inculcate such values in their children be bad as well?

Secondly, I believe that values are not inculcated in children solely by their parents.

My parents never taught me anything about the freedom of expression, but boy do I love it! My parents never educated me on the importance of democracy or the oppressiveness of communism but I learnt about them when I studied History in school.

Besides, if having "good" values is a result of "good parenting", then why are some parents of several children, using similar and consistent methods of upbringing, only successful in imparting so-called "good" values in some? That's because some children may be intrinsically rebellious, or may have been led astray by their peers.

But don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that parenting has nothing to do with behavioural problems. I am only reinforcing the fact that "good" values do not necessarily stem from effective parenting, and that likewise, "bad" values do not necessarily stem from bad parenting. Other factors such as peer influence and self-learning do come into place as well.

So, bad values as a result of bad parenting? That's for typical Singaporean losers who seek to find scapegoats for everything that has gone wrong in their lives; in their subjective, make-belief world where everyone conforms to their mindset.

C'mon people! Speak up against this oppression! How long more will you allow the self-righteous to criticise you for practising your rights, or to criticise your parents for not imparting good values to you, whenever you do not conform to the practices in the self-centered, imaginary world of theirs!! Don't let people blame your parents for everything you do! Because sometimes you feel that special way for things your parents never did.

You have a life! Live it!

I Remember 63SIB

2006-09-19T08:50:00.000-07:00

It has been more than a year since I ORD-ed so I thought I'd say I remember.

I remember the fun.

I remember the pains.

I remember how we would fall so strangely ill whenever we were required to attend life runs, but then "recover" strangely fast whenever we were given permission to play soccer.

I remember how we had to stop whatever we were doing to search for the brigade madman who had run away to hide somewhere in the building.

I remember how we were asked to assist in investigations when a brigade mate was "sentenced" to 40 days in the detention barracks for malingering.

I remember the brigade jersey and how we all wore it on the same day as a sign of unity. Except a few of course - those who didn't deserve to be part of us.

I remember making the calls. You know, the ones that landed you in hot soup, Rama? Oh yeah, bite me, now that you know who did it.

I remember taking those one hour naps inside our bunks during lunchtime and extending them whenever no officers were around.

I remember going for roti prata at Upper Thomson or KFC at Sembawang Plaza with my mates during lunchtime.

I remember how we ordered pizza on duty days, and consumed them while watching television or DVDs.

I remember how inefficient the army system was, and how it would take at least 8 months to complete a procedure which would have easily taken less than a month in the real working world.

I remember how we visited and posted on forums during office hours.

I remember how the downgrade to C9L3 landed me in 63SIB.

I remember the things worth remembering. Like these.

Humour Mail 3

2006-09-12T07:20:00.000-07:00

Jimmy received a parrot for his birthday.

The parrot was fully grown, with a very bad attitude and worse vocabulary. Every other word was an expletive; those that weren't expletives were, to say the least, rude. Jimmy tried to change the bird's attitude by constantly saying polite words, playing soft music... anything he could think of.

Nothing worked. He yelled at the bird, and the bird got worse. He shook the bird, and the bird got madder and more rude. Finally, in a moment of desperation, Jimmy put the parrot in the freezer.

For a few moments he heard the bird swearing, squawking, kicking and screaming and then, suddenly, there was absolute quiet. Jimmy was frightened that he might have actually hurt the bird, and quickly opened the freezer door.

The parrot calmly stepped out onto Jimmy's extended arm and said, "I'm sorry that I offended you with my language and my actions, and I ask your forgiveness. I will endeavor to correct my behavior".

Jimmy was astounded at the changes in the bird's attitude and was about to ask what had changed him, when the parrot continued, "May I ask what the Chicken did?"

_____________________________________________________

A little old lady answered a knock on the door one day, only to be confronted by a well-dressed young man carrying a vacuum cleaner.

"Good morning," said the young man. "If I could take a couple minutes of your time, I would like to demonstrate the very latest in high-powered vacuum cleaners."

"Go away!" said the old lady. "I haven't got any money" and she tried to close the door.

Quick as a flash, the young man wedged his foot in the door and pushed it wide open. "Don't be too hasty!" he said. "Not until you have at least seen my demonstration." And with that, he emptied a bucket of horse shit all over her hallway carpet. "If this vacuum cleaner does not remove all traces of this horse shit from your carpet, Madam, I will personally eat the remainder."

"Well," she said, "I hope you've got a good appetite, because the electricity was cut off this morning."

_____________________________________________________

An old man was driving down the Interstate at 22 miles per hour, never going faster or slower. A police officer noticed and followed him for a while, then pulled him over.

Before the officer could even get to the car, the man was saying, 'I was not speeding, the speed limit is 22 miles per hour and that is exactly what I was doing, I was not speeding.'

The police officer said, 'I didn't pull you over for speeding, I pulled you over for going too slow.'

'But the sign says 22.'

The officer explained that he was on Interstate 22. As the man shook his head, the officer noticed that there were three older ladies in the back of the car. All of them were sitting with their mouths hanging open and spit drooling down the side. Their faces were very white and their hair was completely messy. The police officer leaned toward the man and asked, 'What's wrong with them?'

'Well, we just came off Interstate 134.'

_____________________________________________________

Peter decided to go skiing with his buddy, Bob. They loaded up Peter's station wagon and headed north. After driving for a few hours, they got caught in a terrible blizzard. They pulled into a nearby farm house and asked the attractive lady of the house if they could spend the night.

"I'm recently widowed," she explained, "and I'm afraid the neighbors will talk if I let you stay in my house."

"Not to worry," Peter said, "we'll be happy to sleep in the barn."

Nine months later, Peter got a letter from the widow's attorney. He then went up to visit his friend Bob and said, "Bob, do you remember that good-looking widow at the farm we stayed at?"

"Yes, I do."

"Did you happen to get up in the middle of the night, go up to the house and have sex with her?"

"Yes, I have to admit that I did."

"Did you happen to use my name instead of telling her your name?"

Bob's face turned red and he said, "Yeah, I'm afraid I did."

"Well, thanks! She just died and left me everything!"

The Senseless Results

2006-08-31T17:57:00.000-07:00

It happened two years ago, and is happening all over again now.

Senseless Singapore Idol results.

This is what happens when you allow rich, underaged kids who go "look he's so cute!!" to vote when what the organisers are looking for is a truly talented singer.

Although I am not a big fan of the local singing competition because the so-called local talents just cannot match up to their American Idol counterparts and the good ones do not end up winning anyway, I cant turn a blind eye to the results and pretend nothing is happening. I still think the results should be fair. The best singer should win. Period.

I especially cannot tolerate participants who use act-cute tactics to gain popularity. Clowns belong in the circus and charismatic individuals belong to a different competition - the eligible bachelor one.

SINGAPORE IDOL is a SINGING competition, and therefore it has no place for charismatic individuals and good-looking dickheads who cant sing. Less need to said about clowns who act cute to win votes.

That said, we can take heart in knowing that at least the recent spate of results have begun to make sense. Let's just hope it remains this way.

Moving On

2006-08-24T16:05:00.000-07:00

Ahh... what an eventful few weeks it has been.

Completed my internship with the museum about two weeks ago, then spent the whole of last week preparing my internship report. Completing the attachment and moving on feels great. Now I can look for a job proper.

I went to the job agency last Monday. They arranged for me to go for a job interview yesterday and within hours of the interview, informed me that I got the job! Smiles :)

So I'll be starting work next Monday.

After two weeks of rest, maybe it'll be hard to adjust. But I'll live with it.

Foiled Bomb Plot

2006-08-10T10:40:00.000-07:00

British authorities said 24 people were arrested in raids on Thursday to break up a plot to commit mass murder on an unimaginable scale by blowing up airliners in mid-flight from Britain to the United States.

The aim of the plot was to smuggle bombs in hand luggage and then detonate them aboard the aircraft.

The destination of the targeted flights included cities that were primary tourist attractions, including New York, Washington DC, and Los Angeles.

Airport security was tightened as the national alert level was raised to "critical" from "severe," where it had been since security was relaxed in the weeks after the terrorist bombings in London on July 7 last year.

...

What a good job! Now skin those bastards alive. That is nothing more than what those scumbags deserve.

These are ordinary, harmless civilians and tourists they are plotting to kill. Imagine one of our loved ones killed in such a fashion. I'd go to the US, volunteer myself in the army, get posted to Afghanistan or some other screwed Middle Eastern country and kill some of those pigs myself, I tell you.

The absolute eradication of terrorists will be good for all of humanity.

Snowy @ 6 Months

2006-08-08T16:25:00.000-07:00

More pictures of my Siberian husky. She's turning 6 months old in a couple of days. :)

76 Points About Me

2006-08-07T05:46:00.000-07:00

Personal Information

1. Full name: Darren Lau

2. Sex: Male

3. Birthday: 4 December 1981

4. Sign: Saggitarius

5. Address: Not giving anything away :)

6. Height: 175 cm

7. Righty or lefty?: Righty

8. Eyes: Black

9. Hair: Black

10. Siblings: Yup, my mum's daughter

Personal Questions

11. What do you want in a relationship most?
Sincerity & Commitment

12. Have you ever cheated on someone?
Am I that pathetic?

13. Martial status?
Single

14. Do you have a car?
I will have one if you buy one for me

15. What kinda car do you have/want?
Dunno..

16. Favourite Movie?
Lord of the Rings, Jurassic Park, Forrest Gump, Titanic, Armageddon, Saving Private Ryan, The Last Samurai

17. Favourite Song?
Plenty

18. Favourite TV Show?
Plenty

19. Favourite Actor/Actress?
None

20. Favourite Singer?
None

21. Favourite Food?
A dish called "spoilt for choice"

22. Favourite Number?
1, 4, 5 & 7

23. Favourite Cartoon?
I think I'm too old for that

24. Favourite Disney Character?
I believe I just answered this a moment ago

25. Favourite Colour?
Bright colours

26. Do you plan on having children?
Uhm...

27. Do you want to get married?
Who doesn't?

28. How old do u wanna be when you have your first child?
As old as it takes

29. How old do u wanna be when your married?
Now you're REALLY getting on my nerves!!

30. Would you have kids before marriage?
Would you swallow shit? If not, then...

Either-Or Questions

31. Music/TV: Music

32. Guys/Girls: No preference

33. Green/Blue: Blue

34. Pink/Purple: Purple

35. Summer/Winter: Winter.. I love everything cold

36. Night/Day: Night

37. Hangin Out/Chillin: Chillin

38. Love or lust: Love

39. Silver or gold: Silver

40. Diamond or pearl: Diamond

41. Sunset or sunrise: Sunsets are beautiful..

OTHERS

42. Weird saying I have?
"Meryl is an argilalutz pongchiparangpang"

43. What skool do u go to?
You mean DID? St. Andrews Primary, St. Andrew's Secondary & Ngee Ann Polytechnic

44. Have you ever taken drugs?
Only when my doctor gives them to me

45. The best people I know?
My paternal grandmother and mother

46. The funniest people I know?
My friends?

47. The happiest people I know?
You can never quite tell

48. The strangest people I know?
YOU, for asking so many weird questions

49. The tallest people I know?
Xia & Siong

50. Is it right to flirt if you have a bf/gf?
I said I treasured sincerity

51. What was the last thing you cried over or got teary about?
My grandma's death

52. What's something about girls you don't get?
Mood swings.. worse than the weather

53. Are you happy?
Why should I not be?

54. Have you ever gone skinny-dipping (to swim in the nude)?
Onlookers would faint if I did

55. Do you sleep with stuffed animals?
My bolster?

56. Do you have any piercing?
Not interested

57. What colour underpants are you wearing?
Are you really that desperate?

58. What song are you listening to right now?
Ain't listening to anything

59. What are the last four digits of your phone number?
4767

60. Where would you want to go on your honeymoon?
New Zealand or Canada!!!

61. What's your favourite sport?
Swimming, soccer, badminton, bowling & pool

62. What makes you happy?
Vacations

63. Do u wear contacts or glasses?
I'm a 6/6 lah!!

64. What's the best advice given to you?
"Go and jog", but I just don't do it

65. Have you ever won any special awards?
Those chapalang study awards lor...

66. Worst sickness u ever had?
Bird flu & SARS.. haha.. no lar..

67. Do you like funny or scary movies better?
Scary movies

68. What song seems to reflect you the most?
Dunno

69. If you die tmr who would you leave everything to?
My mum

70. What is your greatest fear?
a) The passing on of loved ones
b) Flying insects.. they are disgusting

71. Would you rather be rich or famous?
Rich.. who cares about being famous.. I rather live a quiet, peaceful life with lots of money to spend so I can do all the things I've always wanted to do

72. What time is it in Albania now?
Somewhere between 0000hrs to 2359hrs

73. Have u met santa?
Ya everytime I look in the mirror I see one

74. Have E.T. knocked on your door holding up a peace sign asking to use your phone?
...............

75. Do u have any pets?
A siberian husky

76. Are you an alcoholic?
Nope

Post Classification System

2006-08-07T02:50:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

Few things are better than a blog well organised. So here's the new post classification system that will come into effect as of today (7 August 2006).

NAME OF SERIES - NATURE / GENRE

WASTEPAPER ARTICLE SERIES (WSP) - SATIRE

TAKE A STAND! (TSS) - CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES

BLOG SPECIALS (SPL) - SPECIAL STORIES

SONG OF THE MONTH - MUSIC

HUMOUR MAIL - JOKES

Sidebar will now include links to past WSP & Humour Mail articles. In addition, selected TSS & SPL articles will be featured under the "Classics" section on the sidebar.

Posts which are not classified under one of these series are simply, general posts.

Thank you for your kind attention.

Humour Mail 2

2006-08-02T08:01:00.000-07:00

A man escapes from a prison where he had been kept for 15 years.

As he runs away, he finds a house and breaks into it, looking for money and guns, but only finds a young couple in bed.

He orders the guy out of bed and ties him up in a chair. While tying the girl up to the bed, he gets on top of her, kisses heron the neck, then gets up, and goes to the bathroom.

While he's in there, the husband tells his wife, "Listen, this guy is an escaped prisoner, look at his clothes! He probably spent lots of time in jail, and hasn't seen a woman in years. I saw how he kissed your neck. If he wants sex, don't resist, don't complain, just do what he tells you, just give him satisfaction. This guy must be dangerous. If he gets angry, he'll kill us. Be strong, honey. I love you."

To which the wife responds, "He was not kissing my neck. He was whispering in my ear. He told me he was gay, thought you were cute, and asked if we kept any Vaseline in the bathroom. Be strong, honey, I love you, too."

_____________________________________________________

A lawyer married a woman who had previously divorced ten husbands. On their wedding night, she told her new husband, "Please be gentle; I'm still a virgin."

"What?", said the puzzled groom. "How can that be if you've been married ten times?"

"Well, husband #1 was a Sales Representative; he kept telling me how great it was going to be.

Husband #2 was in Software Services; he was never really sure how it was supposed to function, but he said he'd look into it and get back to me.

Husband #3 was from Field Services; he said everything checked out diagnostically but he just couldn't get the system up.

Husband #4 was in Telemarketing; even though he knew he had the order, didn't know when he would be able to deliver.

Husband #5 was an Engineer; he understood the basic process but wanted three years to research, implement, and design a new state-of-the-art method.

Husband #6 was from Finance and Administration; he thought he knew how, but he wasn't sure whether it was his job or not.

Husband #7 was in Marketing; although he had a product, he was never sure how to position it.

Husband #8 was a psychiatrist; all he ever did was talk about it.

Husband #9 was a gynecologist; all he did was look at it.

Husband #10 was a stamp collector; all he ever did was ... God, I miss him! But now that I've married you, I'm really excited!"

"Good," said the husband, "but, why?"

"Duh! You're a LAWYER. This time I KNOW I'm gonna get screwed!", replied his wife.

_____________________________________________________

Two high school sweethearts who went out together for four years in high school were both virgins; they enjoyed losing their virginity with each other in 10th grade. When they graduated, they wanted to both go to the same college but the girl was accepted to a college on the east coast, and the guy went to the west coast.

They agreed to be faithful to each other and spend anytime they could together. As time went on, the guy would call the girl and she would never be home, and when he wrote, she would take weeks to return the letters. Even when he emailed her, she took days to return his messages.

Finally, she confessed to him she wanted to date around. He didn't take this very well and increased his calls, letters, and emails trying to win back her love.

Because she became annoyed, and now had a new boyfriend, she wanted to get him off her back. So, what she did is this: she took a picture of her sucking her new boyfriend's unmentionables and sent it to her old boyfriend with a note reading, "I found a new boyfriend, leave me alone."

Well, needless to say, this guy was heartbroken but, even more so, was pissed. So, what he did next was awesome.

He wrote on the back of the photo the following, "Dear Mom and Dad, having a great time at college, please send more money!" and mailed the picture to HER parents.

_____________________________________________________

Jim and Edna were both patients in a mental hospital.

One day while they were walking past the hospital swimming pool Jim suddenly jumped into the deep end. He sank to the bottom of the pool and stayed there.

Edna promptly jumped in to save him. She swam to the bottom and pulled Jim out.

When the hospital director became aware of Edna's heroic act, she immediately ordered that Edna be discharged from the hospital because she now is considered to be mentally stable.

The director went to Edna and said, "I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that you're being discharged because you responded so rationally to a crisis by jumping in the pool to save the life of another patient. Your action displays soundness of the mind.

The bad news is that Jim, the patient you saved, hung himself in the bathroom with his bathrobe belt right after you saved him. I am so sorry, but he's dead."

Edna replied, "He didn't hang himself. I put him there to dry. When can I go home?"

_____________________________________________________

Toward the end of the service, the Minister asked, "How many of you have forgiven your enemies?" 80% held up their hands.

The Minister then repeated his question.

All responded this time, except one small elderly lady.

"Mrs. Jones? Are you not willing to forgive your enemies?"

"I don't have any," she replied, smiling sweetly.

"Mrs. Jones, that is very unusual. How old are you?"

"Ninety-eight," she replied.

"Oh, Mrs. Jones, would you please come down in front and tell us all how a person can live ninety-eight years and not have an enemy in the world?"

The little sweetheart of a lady tottered down the aisle, faced the congregation, and said: "I outlived the bitches."

Technical Support

2006-07-30T08:52:00.000-07:00

Having trouble with your computer software?

Read this complaint letter. Hope it helps. :)

Complaint

Dear Technical Support,

Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a slowdown in the overall performance, particularly in the flower and jewelry applications that had operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0. In addition, Husband 1.0 un-installed many other valuable programs such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5, but installed undesirable programs such as EPL 5.0 and NBA 3.0. And now Conversation 8.0 no longer runs and House Cleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system. I've tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail. What can I do?

Signed,
DESPERATE
_____________________________________________________

Reply

Dear Desperate,

First keep in mind; Boyfriend 5.0 is an entertainment package, while Husband 1.0 is an operating system. Try entering the command C:\I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME and download Tears 6.2 to install Guilt 3.0. If all works as designed, Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewelry 2.0 and Flowers 3.5. But remember, overuse can cause Husband 1.0 to default to Grumpy Silence 2.5, Happy Hour 7.0 or Beer 6.1. Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will create SnoringLoudly.wav files. Whatever you do, DO NOT install Mother-in-Law 1.0 or reinstall another Boyfriend program. These are not supported applications and will crash Husband 1.0. In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have a limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly. You might consider additional software to improve memory and performance. I personally recommend Hot Food 3.0 and Lingerie 6.9.

Good Luck,
TECHNICAL SUPPORT

Stress With Capital S

2006-07-28T03:15:00.000-07:00

I've restrained myself from talking about these things for too long. But enough is enough. There is a limit to my patience. If I were your colleague, I would have hit back at you. Unfortunately I am only an intern, and so I cannot confront you. I would have jeopardised my internship had I done so. Therefore, the only way to vent my frustration is to blog about it.

Initially, I didn't know what your colleagues meant when they said you were hard to work with. But now I see, and I know. Also, a previous intern said something about you being weird, and I think he hit the nail on the spot. Have no doubts about it. You ARE weird.

I feel very stressed out whenever you ask me to take pictures. You should know that all shots has their upsides and downsides. Wide shots capture more things, but smaller. Close ups make subjects appear big, but shows no inkling of whatever else is going on. But you don't seem to understand that. You want the best of both worlds. You want the shots to look natural. You want everything. But you see, as much as I would also love to take such good photos for you, it is not always possible, especially when everything is moving so quickly. All I can do is to take random shots. If I am lucky, I get good shots. If not, then too bad.

If you need good photos, then please hire a professional photographer to do the job for you. If you don't have the funds, then too bad. Quit whining about the photos.

Maybe I don't have a good eye for photography. But please be fair. I don't hold a Diploma in Photography. Neither have I attended any photography courses before. I am a Mass Communication student, for goodness sake. I am not trained in photography.

Ah, but then you said that you expected Mass Communication interns to be good in photography, and that your previous intern, a non-mass communication student managed to take some really great shots for you. If a non-mass communication student can take good shots, what excuse has a mass communication intern got not to take good shots?

Okay, fair enough. Maybe she's a good photographer and I'm not. But surely you musn't judge people solely by their ability to take good photos?

I'm sure there are things that she can deliver better than I can, and there are also things that I can deliver better than she can. Everyone has got their own talents - I hope you can appreciate that. I also hope that you can appreciate the fact that I've tried my very best to take photos for you on every occasion, whenever I was tasked to do so. I take pride in doing a good job, and I cannot be more pleased if I am able to take pictures that match your high standards. In this aspect, I don't think I have let myself down because I had always given my best shot when it came to phototaking. But like I said, it isn't easy because everything happens so quickly. One moment something happens, and the next moment something else takes place.

And I don't even want to go into your double-standards. The very faults you have been picking on some of the photos I'd taken - head slightly cut off, body of another person sticking out of nowhere, pictures that do not capture everything etc. have been part of pictures used in past posters, newsletter articles and so on. Some of those pictures were just as bad as those I had taken, if not worse. Yet you used them. If you could use them, then why not mine?

I also pointed out the fact that some of the photos you had given me to include in my designing of posters were just as bad, but you said you expected me to know how to distinguish the good photos from the bad ones, and not include the bad ones in posters I was designing for you. What bullshit. If you didn't want me to use those photos, why save them in the thumbdrive for me? You saved them in the thumbdrive because you thought they were good enough to be used. I caught you red-handed, and you'd nothing else to say but wanted to save your pride anyway, right?

By the way, if your previous intern was really good in phototaking, then why don't you hire her to take pictures for you whenever you need to? Or are you unable to due to the lack of funds?

But hey wait, I've got an idea. If you really don't have the funds, why don't you suck up to some photographers? I thought you were very adept at sucking up to journalists, columnists and contributors for free publicity in newspapers and magazines? Why don't you employ the sucking up tactics on professional photographers as well? You can get some really good photos that way, you know!

You also mentioned you were irritated whenever I informed you I was going out for lunch, or whenever I informed you that I was going downstairs to do something. Like why do I always tell you these things?! But you see, the reason I inform you is purely out of courtesy. So that you know of my whereabouts. So you would know where to go if you needed to find me. But since you do not appreciate my good intentions, I guess I can save my breath and live without them.

And as for you, I guess you can just go to hell.

A+ Maths

2006-07-24T09:02:00.000-07:00

No I am not a male chauvinist.

Neither is this one of my famous essays.

Would just like to share some brilliant equations which have changed the world with you!
(Yea right...)

Humour Mail

2006-07-21T16:18:00.000-07:00

Dr. Quek made a routine house call to Mr. Lim, one of his elderly patients.

He asks, "And how are you doing today, Mr. Lim?"

Mr. Lim replies, "I feel just fine, doc. But you know, it's the strangest thing. Every night when I get up to pang jio, the bathroom light goes on for me automatically when I open the door!"

The doctor is worried that the old man is getting senile, so he phones the man's son, and the son's wife answers. The doctor tells her, "Mrs. Lim, I'm a little concerned about your father-in-law. It seems that when he gets up to urinate at night and opens the bathroom door, the light somehow goes on..."

At which point, Mrs. Lim yells, "Ah Seng! Ah Pa pang jio in the fridge again!"

_____________________________________________________

The children had all been photographed, and the teacher was trying to persuade them each to buy a copy of the group picture.

"Just think how nice it will be to look at it when you are all grown up and say, 'There's Jennifer, she's a lawyer,' or 'That's Michael, He's a doctor.'

A small voice at the back of the room rang out, "And there's the teacher. She's dead."

_____________________________________________________

Four Catholic ladies are having coffee together.

The first one tells her friends, "My son is a priest. When he walks into a room, everyone calls him 'Father'.

The second Catholic woman chirps, "My son is a bishop. Whenever he walks into a room, people say, 'Your Grace'."

The third Catholic woman says smugly, "My son is a cardinal. Whenever he walks into a room, people say, 'Your Eminence'."

The fourth Catholic woman sips her coffee in silence. The first three women give her this subtle "Well...?"

She replies, "My son is a gorgeous, 6'2", hard-bodied stripper... Whenever he walks into a room, people say, 'Oh my God...'."

_____________________________________________________

A little girl was talking to her teacher about whales.

The teacher said it was physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human because even though it was a very large mammal its throat was very small.

The little girl stated that Jonah was swallowed by a whale.

Irritated, the teacher reiterated that a whale could not swallow a human; it was physically impossible.

The little girl said, "When I get to heaven I will ask Jonah".

The teacher asked, "What if Jonah went to hell?"

The little girl replied, "Then you ask him".

_____________________________________________________

A Panda Bear walks into a café and orders a sandwich and a drink. After he is finished eating, the waiter comes over to bring him the check.

When the waiter arrives at the table, he just starts to ask 'Would you like any des...' Then the Panda Bear reaches into his fur, pulls out a gun, and shoots the waiter dead. The Panda Bear then wipes off his chin with his napkin, gets up, and starts to walk out.

Just as he is about to go through the door, the manager grabs him. 'Wait a minute!' he yells, 'You just killed my best waiter! Besides that, you didn't even pay for your sandwich!'

The Panda Bear grasps the manager by the throat, jacks him up, and growls, 'Hey man! I'm a PANDA! Do you know what that means? Why don't you look it up!'

At this the Panda walks out the door and ambles down the street.

The manager, shaken, returns to his office and consults a dictionary. He reads: 'panda - a large mammal of the Asian mountain forests related to raccoons and true bears and characterized by bold black and white markings. EATS SHOOTS AND LEAVES.'

A Passion For Truth Part 6

2006-07-16T07:52:00.000-07:00

Oh yes, I have new stuff. Hail you independent thinkers.

Heard that he once chided some parents for not going on Wednesday because their child was ill. According to him, because the child was ill, all the more the parents should have turned up to pray for him/her.

Oh. I feel enlightened.

Parents, next time your child is ill, you should just go on Wednesdays anyway.
If your child is warded in hospital, then you should really go.
And if your child is critically ill, then you better go. Fast.

*roll eyes*

He is an unmarried man. So he expects you to see things from the unmarried man's angle. Unfortunately, not everyone in BEC is unmarried and not everyone in BEC has no family commitments. It easy to talk when you're single, but when you're married it's a different thing altogether.

He should really learn how to see things from the married man's angle. But he has found that quite difficult so far, hasn't he? He doesn't quite care if you have family commitments or work commitments. He just wants you to turn up. Period. If you do not turn up, then you will be accused of being lacking in faith, or not praying hard enough. You know, the usual stuff.

Afterall, he thinks he's always right because he's probably older, richer, more experienced and more successful than you are.

And before I forget, please do not say 'No' when he requests that you do something, like writing your daily reflections for example. Please spare yourself from the very agonizing and highly antagonizing post-rejection lecture. You do not deserve that for practising your freedom of choice.

Saying 'Yes' does not help either. Because then he expects you to deliver what you had promised. Performing the task surely hasn't been part of your contemplation. You just agreed because you were pressurized into doing so.

But hell no, he doesn't see it that way. He doesn't see that he had pressurized you into agreeing to something against your wishes. To him, when you do not deliver something you had "promised", (note the inverted commas in bold) you are not a man / woman of your words.

And since saying 'No' doesn't help and saying 'Yes' doesn't help either, remaining silent and ignoring him would be the most effective method. You know, it's just like the way you brush off those old wives' tale when you hear about 'em.

Einstein once said, blind belief in authority is the single greatest enemy of truth.

Remember that. Analyse things yourself and think independently. The fault doesn't neccessarily lie with the "leavers", as much as he may hint at that.

This case of chiding the parents for not turning up because their child was ill is another classic example of why many left and why many others continue to think about leaving.

If the parents had left because they were pissed with what he said, is it their fault? Or should we, on the other hand, attribute it to a total tactlessness, self-righteousness and inflexibility on his part?

You decide.

Enjoyable Times

2006-07-15T04:21:00.000-07:00

I received a SMS two days ago.

"Hello! Are you free this Sat from 9am - 2pm? Cuz there is this carnival at my sch, Hai Sing. And it would be really great if you will come? Pls say you will come?"

Therefore, Joel, Eunice and I decided to go and pay R. T a visit.

I couldn't make it in the morning because I had promised my mum that I'd go grocery shopping with her. So we made our way there in the afternoon instead, under the torturous sun.

We initially had a hard time contacting R. T. after arrival because she had switched off her phone, and we kept getting those "the Singtel mobile customer is unavailable bla bla bla" voice messages when we tried to call her. Irritating. Especially so on a hot day. However after some persistence, we managed to lure the "ghost" out of her "haunted dungeon". :)

Well it was only a brief meeting though, because the "ghost" had many victims waiting to be "haunted", apparently. Apart from consuming some curry chicken and drinks, we didn't do much else at the carnival.

Next stop - Tampines Mall. The three of us decided to go there for lunch. And what's better than having some cool ice cream and yummy snacks at Swensens on this scorching day?

Spooking Joel with ghost stories while we had lunch was also on the agenda, as usual. Sorry dude! The next time you run out of things to say while you're with him, you know what to do! =p

Then it was time for them to leave for JY, and me for home. It had been a great outing, and I wish we'll have more of these in future. Remember our movie marathon after your 'O's!!

Last but not least, I'd like to leave you with some pictures I took of Snowy after I came home. My baby is 5 months old now!!

My Crappy Poem

2006-07-13T09:02:00.000-07:00

Just helped my sister write a lil poem. Her teacher had asked her to write a poem about the ocean, and she didn't know what to write. So here comes the scapegoat once again.

Here goes:

Beautiful is the ocean
So deep and so wide
With waves always in motion
And the gentle breeze's wonderful sensation
Destination's never a notion.

Sounds weird / lame right?

Haha. I guess I tried.

Little Saturday Fun

2006-07-08T18:12:00.000-07:00

Met up with Joel, Kelvin, Rufus and Eunice today. Went shopping at Parkway, and then had lunch at Han's with the first three honourable names before returning home. The fourth honourable person joined us at my house after her tuition.

And a wild goose chase took place when they were at my house. Joel was afraid of my doggy 'coz he said it was so big. Strangely enough, there were 7 of us there including my mother and sister but my doggy just wouldn't follow anyone else but him. Wherever Joel went, so did my dog. Needless to say, Joel was so freaked out. LOL.

Was glad to meet up with them. It had been a long time since we last did. Hmm, the last time we met was during the night tour? Unfortunately we were all in different groups then, so we didn't have much opportunity to catch up with one another. If we had been in the same group, methinks we'd have been talking about movies all night.

I wish I could have taken more photos, but due to violent objections this is some of what I can share. Not all. The rest are XXX-rated. :)

Lunch at Han's

If you cant have 'em, you stare at 'em

Don't blame him - he'd just seen something obscene

How Is Darren Able To Afford?!

2006-07-04T06:03:00.000-07:00

Some may wonder how Darren is able to afford to go on holidays once every few years, or have the money to buy expensive dogs.

Some may even be red eyed.

Darren is still studying, doesn't have a steady income, and he's been taking so many taxi rides, and spending so much on food. How is Darren still able to afford to go overseas so often and what more, buy a dog!?

And so they assume that his mother must have lent or given him money to do these things. Then the rumour spreads like wild fire, and soon everyone thinks it must have been his mother who funded his overseas trips and such. Do you really think Darren needs to rely so much on his mother for some such enjoyment?

Sorry, as much as it may be the case for you, it is not the case for me.

As much as I would like to keep my financial status a secret, it might interest the rumour starters to know that not only was I able to afford to go overseas and buy pets; I was also able to pay my endowment premiums totalling about $1,200 each year for seven years in a row already. Yes, and without any help from my mother.

I can't stand it when people start baseless rumours on their assumptions, not facts.

Well, I tell you. Darren is able to afford to do these things because he compensates for the high expenditure on food and transport by not splashing too much money on designer goods, by not dining too often at expensive restaurants, or by changing his handphone frequently. He saves a decent sum by playing online games with his friends, something ignorant people will consider detrimental, instead of going out on weekends.

Detrimental as it is to your poor hapless soul, it saves a deal lot for me.

Besides, Darren saves what he earns. For example, when he worked at DFS for eight months the other time, he saved at least 60% of the salary he received, after giving money to his mother and spending the rest on daily expenses and outings on his off days. Darren doesn't just empty his account overnight after receiving his salaries! Also, Darren saves up the Chinese New Year collections he receives every year instead of spending them all in a flash.

If you don't have the discipline to save, then I guess you shouldn't look on me with too much jealousy when I go on overseas trips or enjoy life with the money I'd saved.

So here I would like to confirm once again that my mother has not lent me any money for, or sponsored my recent China trip, or for the buying of my pet husky, lest any loose mouths go away spouting nonsense again.

It's about inculcating the habit, the discipline to save.

It's about me having it, while you don't.

Activities On A Friday

2006-07-01T19:14:00.000-07:00

Went to Mcpherson Secondary School Arts Nite on Friday evening with Siong to support Emily. But this Emily, didn't look like Emily at all. Unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera along so there goes the photos :(

Throughout the performance, Siong and I were like,

"I don't see Emily leh!"

"Where is Emily ar?"

Thanks to the heavy makeup. Haha.

After the "concert", Siong and I went to meet Xia and Cheng for supper. Then it was time to go home to catch the World Cup matches of Germany v Argentina and Italy v Ukraine.

The concert left me thinking, what's up with having so many Idol contests? Schools are having them. Polys are having them. JCs are having them. Universities are having them. Some companies also have them. Then there's always Singapore Idol. American Idol.

Whatever Idol. It's just copy and repeat.

Can people start using some word other than 'Idol'?

If not, it won't be too long before the word 'Idol' becomes a cliche, I think...

Who Said Dogs Won't Swim?

2006-06-23T18:58:00.000-07:00

WHO SAID DOGS WON'T SWIM?

AND...

WHO SAID DOGS ARE AFRAID OF THE WATER?

Mine's got her goggles on already! :p

Condemned: Pet Movers

2006-06-22T04:44:00.000-07:00

AVA has reportedly received 7 complaints in 4 months this year about puppies dying within days or falling very ill after being purchased at Pet Movers, a pet farm situated along Pasir Ris Farmway.

Click on this link to see what some victims say.

I feel very enraged whenever I read about pet shops or pet farms selling sick animals to their customers. Even if their customers are greenhorns, they should not exploit them in such a manner. Where's their business ethics?

I totally emphatize with these buyers. Imagine ourselves in their shoes - spending thousand of dollars to buy a pet after being assured that it's healthy, only to have it fall dead days later. How would we feel?

I hope a swift curse descends on all unethical salespeople / businessmen who intentionally sell sick pets to their customers. They are beasts in their own rights, no better than the animals they breed. May these bastards fail in every aspect of their business endeavours and may they suffer and fall like the very animals they have inflicted damage upon.

Please, do not ever patronise Pet Movers or other unethical pet shops / pet farms which sell sick pets to their customers. Not only will you be wasting your money, you will also be endangering the lives of the very pets you buy because you are unaware that they require medical attention.

A Long Time Since Then

2006-06-16T03:09:00.000-07:00

Wow I realized it has been such a long time since I last blogged.

Busy or lazy?

Well, pretty much both.

I haven't had a break from work until today! I had to work overtime last weekend directly following the night tour, so that's about at least 40 consecutive hours without sleep.

Happy to go for the night tour and catch up with peeps. Thought we had a lot of fun though we were very tired in the end. My group ended writing nonsensical answers for the treasure hunt because we couldn't get them correct.

Also had to stay over to help out at my workplace yesterday due to them having some school holidays overnight programme.

Then during leisure time, there's always the newly released game Heroes V to keep me busy. As well as the World Cup matches.

So that sums up my long week. And my inexcusable excuses for not blogging.

Cute?

2006-06-04T16:00:00.000-07:00

CUTE?

Look at those eyes!

Snowy lying lazily on my sis

Well yeah, cute. A 4 month old cutey.

But her defecating everywhere is not cute at all!! At least she knows how to go to the toilet sometimes now, but that's just sometimes. And we also have to wash the toilet often otherwise it will start to smell as if it hasn't been washed for years.

Indeed, having a pet can be quite tedious. It's just like having children.

But does that make Snowy un-cute? Well I don't think so.

I choose to look at the bright side of things, and be thankful for her good characteristics. At least she doesn't drool like some other dogs do. At least she doesn't bark as much as some other dogs do. At least she isn't picky about her food.

I totally enjoy her company. And I won't give her up just because it's tedious, no matter what people may say.

Because she's my little darling.

A Passion For Truth Part 5

2006-05-31T06:45:00.000-07:00

He wrote a letter to my mother's company, telling them to grant her leave for the duration of the June camp, because they had initially rejected my mother's application for leave. And he wants the letter handed over to her employers.

Thank you very much, but please save the letter.

Now my mother is in a dilemma - she thinks she might offend her employers if she hands the letter to them.

But actually, letter or not, my mother doesn't feel like going anyway. The camp fee for adults doesn't come cheap, even though he claims its "heavily subsidized". Every year it costs our family $1000 to go for the June camp. That's like one month of pay.

I don't want to draw comparisons, and I think it's unfair to draw comparisons. But you know, in the past I only had to spend $40 for joining my aunt's camp.

If my mother wants to go, she will sign up naturally. If she doesn't, I hope people don't get pushy. She has the right to either say "Yes" or "No". It's very easy for you to say "Go" but ultimately you are not the one bearing the cost.

We are.

Three Big Things

2006-05-26T21:33:00.000-07:00

The first big thing - the impending World Cup 2006.

What more can be said about this if all the hype surrounding it isn't already enough? It happens only once every four years and I'm eagerly awaiting for the kickoff!

For more details (but of course only if you're a soccer fan like me), do visit the World Cup 2006 website.

The second big thing - the American Idol Season 5 finale!

I didn't go to work on Thursday morning because I had muscle cramps so I managed to catch the LIVE telecast of the finale from the U.S. at 8am. Kinda neutral towards who I wanted to win, especially since Chris had already been eliminated. But it seemed, from online polls that Taylor had more supporters than Katherine. And the actual results went his way as well.

Anyway, I was surprised to see so many unexpected guest artistes at the finale. It was a really 'happening' finale. For more details, you can visit the American Idol website.

And last but not least, the third big thing...

Must really be all the controversy surrounding the recently released movie the Da Vinci Code. I've had many friends asking me to watch it but I refuse to. I cannot emphasize how much I was tempted to watch it because of all the controversy, to find out for myself what the show is actually all about. But I had decided, even before the movie was released, to give it a miss.

There are differing opinions on it, and some are misled into thinking whatever depicted in the movie is for real. Visit the following websites and decide for yourself what is real!

Website 1
Website 2
Website 3

Song Of The Month (May)

2006-05-23T07:01:00.000-07:00

1. CARRIE UNDERWOOD -
DON'T FORGET TO REMEMBER ME

18 years have come and gone
For momma they flew by
But for me they just drug on
We were loading up that chevy
Both tryin' not to cry
Momma kept on talking
Putting off good-bye
Then she took my hand and said
Baby don't forget

Before you hit the highway you better stop for gas
There's a 50 in ashtray in case you run short on cash
Here's a map and here's a bible if you ever lose your way
Just one more thing before you leave
Don't forget to remember me

This downtown apartment sure makes me miss home
And those bills there on the counter
Remind me I'm on my own
And just like every sunday I called momma up last night
And even when it's not
I tell her everything's alright before we hung up I said
Hey momma don't forget to tell my baby sister
I'll see her in the fall
And tell mee-mal that I miss her
Yeah I should give her a call
And make sure you tell daddy that I'm still his little girl
Yeah I still feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be
Don't forget to remember me

Tonight I find myself kneeling by the bed to pray
I haven't done this in a while so I don't know what to say but
Lord I feel so small some times in this big ol' place
I know there are more important things
But don't forget to remember me
Don't forget to remember me

2. SHAKIRA - HIPS DON'T LIE

Ladies up in here tonight
No fighting, no fighting
We got the refugees up in here
No fighting, no fighting
Shakira, shakira

I never really knew that she could dance like this
She makes a man wants to speak Spanish
Como se llama, bonita, mi casa, su casa
Shakira, shakira

Oh baby when you talk like that
You make a woman go mad
So be wise and keep on
Reading the signs of my body

And I'm on tonight
You know my hips don't lie
And I'm starting to feel it's right
All the attraction, the tension
Don't you see baby, this is perfection

Hey girl, I can see your body moving
And it's driving me crazy
And I didn't have the slightest idea
Until I saw you dancing

And when you walk up on the dance floor
Nobody cannot ignore the way you move your body, girl
And everything so unexpected - the way you right and left it
So you can keep on shaking it

I never really knew that she could dance like thisShe makes a man wants to speak SpanishComo se llama, bonita, mi casa, su casaShakira, shakira Oh baby when you talk like thatYou make a woman go madSo be wise and keep onReading the signs of my body

And I'm on tonight
You know my hips don't lie
And I am starting to feel you boy
Come on lets go, real slow
Don't you see baby asi es perfecto

Oh I know I am on tonight
My hips don't lie
And I am starting to feel it's right
All the attraction, the tension
Don't you see baby, this is perfection
Shakira, shakira

Oh boy I can see your body moving
Half animal, half man
I don't, don't really know what I'm doing
But you seem to have a plan
My will and self restraint have come to fail now, fail now
See I am doing what I can but I can't so you know
That's a bit too hard to explain

Baila en la calle de noche
Baila en la calle de día

I never really knew that she could dance like this
She makes a man wants to speak Spanish
Como se llama, bonita, mi casa, su casa
Shakira, shakira

Oh baby when you talk like that
You know you got me hypnotized
So be wise and keep on
Reading the signs of my body

Senorita, feel the conga
Let me see you move like you come from Colombia
Mira en barranquilla se baila así, say it
Mira en barranquilla se baila así

Yeah she's so sexy
Every man's fantasy a refugee like me
Back with the fugees from a 3rd world country
I go back like when 'pac carried crates for humpty humpty
I need a whole club dizzy
Why the CIA wanna watch us
Colombians and Haitians
I ain't guilty, it's a musical transaction
No more do we snatch ropes
Refugees run the seas 'cause we own our own boats

Busy Week

2006-05-22T07:56:00.000-07:00

What a busy week! As you might have known already, I'm working at the Singapore Philatelic Museum. Well, let's see. We had the official opening of our permanent new galleries as well as the museum open house take place in the same week. Two big events in just over three days. And I was required to work overtime on Sunday because of the museum open house, in conjunction with the International Museum Day programmes.

That excludes all the media kits we had to prepare for the media for the official opening, the behind-the-scenes work, blah blah blah. So yes, I'm tired.

But anyway, here are some pictures of the official opening.

Singapore Philatelic Museum

Zooming in...

The crowd...

The cocktail reception...

The stage...

The words...

The Guest of Honour...

Who said you can't have a romantic time at museums?

Also realized that there are two types of Singaporeans after the museum open house.

One's polite, courteous and well mannered. When I greeted them, they smiled and responded in a cheerful manner. These people insisted their children say "thank you", even though the gifts for the fun quiz were small. What a pleasant experience it was, serving such customers!

Then there's the other type. Typical, kiasu, greedy, cheapskate. When you greet them, they look at you as if they've seen a ghost. These people take the free gifts only to return later for more. Fill in dozens of forms just to get more free gifts. And when they drew a prize they did not want, they kept bugging me to change the gifts for them. Hello, if everybody can choose, then it's not called a lucky draw already. This is not your great grandfather's museum. It's free and yet you want to be so choosy. Stupid idiots. Typical losers.

Victim Of Food Poisoning

2006-05-18T08:53:00.000-07:00

First of all, LOOK HERE o_O

SERVES YOU RIGHT!

Now we can all laugh about how the greedy fat pig landed in hospital because of greed. Sounds familiar? LOL.

So how come so many others ate the same thing but only YOU, the PIG got sick?

And now that you need money, because you have your hospital bills to pay, you demand that someone pay you something he doesn't owe you at all!

Why are you demanding that he pay you? You should be paying him instead for giving his second hand parts to you for fear that you will behave like a crybaby if he took too long to purchase new parts. And for his service unto you as well.

But of course you weren't thankful, were you? He helped you fix your thing so you could go online, buy more food and hopefully get poisoned more often. And now you're saying that he should pay you?

HELLO?!

NO WONDER YOU LANDED UP IN HOSPITAL!

You want everything. Food. Money. But watch out, some things are poisonous. Will land you in a hospital! Maybe you want some excrement instead? At least then you won't need to pay to get poisoned.

You have already caused many to leave. Will causing another to leave make you any happier?

Your skin is this thick. Your enemies are plentiful. Just get lost and make everyone's lives better, will you?

Last but not least,

ENJOY THE HOSPITAL FOOD.

Living Love

2006-05-13T19:39:00.000-07:00

Here's a sweet read for animal lovers.. About the three days you should remember..

Living Love
by Martin Scott Kosins

If you ever love an animal, there are three days in your life you will always remember..

The first day is a day, blessed with happiness, when you bring home your young new friend. You may have spent weeks deciding on a breed. You may have asked numerous opinions of many vets, or done long research in finding a breeder.

Or, perhaps in a fleeting moment, you may have just chosen that silly looking mutt in a shelter - simple because something in it's eyes reached your heart.

But when you bring that chosen pet home, and watch it explore, and claim it's special place in your hall or front room - and when you feel it brush against you for the first time - it instills a feeling of pure love you will carry with you through the many years to come.

The second day will occur eight or nine or ten years later. It will be a day like any other. Routine and unexceptional. But, for a surprising instant, you will look at your longtime friend and see age where you once saw youth.

You will see slow deliberate steps where you once saw activity. So you will begin to adjust your friend's diet - and you may add a pill or two to her food. And you may feel a growing deep fear within yourself, which bodes of a coming emptiness. And you will feel this uneasy feeling, on and off, until the third day finally arrives.

And on this day - if your friend and God have not decided for you, then you will be faced with making a decision of your own - on behalf of your lifelong friend, and with the guidance of your own deepest Spirit.

But whichever way your friend eventually leaves you - you will feel as lone as a single star in the dark night. If you are wise, you will let the tears flow as freely and as often as they must. And if you are typical, you will find that not many in your circle of family or friends will be able to understand your grief, or comfort you.

But if you are true to the love of the pet you cherished through the many joy-filled years, you may find that a soul - a bit smaller in size than your own - seems to walk with you, at times, during the lonely days to come.

And at moments when you least expect anything out of the ordinary to happen, you may feel something brush against your leg - very, very lightly. And looking down at the place where your dear, perhaps dearest friend used to lay - you will remember those three significant days.

The memory will most likely to be painful, and leave an ache in your heart - As time passes the ache will come and go as if it has a life of it's own. You will both reject it and embrace it, and it may confuse you. If you reject it, it will depress you. If you embrace it, it will deepen you. Either way, it will still be an ache.

But there will be, I assure you, a fourth day, when - along with the memory of your pet - and piercing through the heaviness on your heart - there will come a realization that belongs only to you.

It will be as unique and strong as our relationship with each animal we have loved, and lost. This realization takes the form of a Living Love - like the heavenly scent of a rose that remains after the petals have wilted, this Love will remain and grow - and be there for us to remember.

It is a love we have earned. It is the legacy our pets leave us when they go. And it is a gift we may keep with us as long as we live.

It is a Love which is ours alone.

And until we ourselves leave, perhaps to join our Beloved Pets – it is a Love we will always possess.

Been There, Done That

2006-05-10T05:57:00.000-07:00

Heard some people complaining about you-know-who again at Kelvin's birthday party last Saturday.

All I have to say is,
Been there, done that.

Someone got ticked off for DYE-ing his hair. Oh please, when will this stupid conservative society ever wake up to the calls of fashion, technology and advancement?

You don't want to dye your hair, fine. That's your choice. We respect your choice. But don't expect others to not dye their hair just because you're not a fan of hair dyes. We respect your choice, but you can't respect ours 'coz you're older and 'wiser'? Oh come on. It's our perogative. Grow up and get a life.

Singapore is a democracy. People have choices. DYE-ing of hair is not a crime.

Enjoy having a say in what others say or do (in other words, a dictator)? Then go live in Vietnam or China or one of the communist countries. There, you can dictate many things.

Also heard that someone got ticked off for being "bold". Well, boldness is good. Gutlessness won't get you anywhere in life. Sometimes, there is no need to answer certain questions because talking or explaining your position to you-know-who would be a waste of time anyway.

Someone also got very worried because he was not supposed to be at Kelvin's party. He had told you-know-who that he needed to study. Actually, whatever. As long as your parents have granted you permission to come, I think he is in NO position to question their decision. So just say hi to him in his face if you see him.

Seriously, the only reason people gives him empty promises is, he pressurizes people into saying YES when people have no intention of saying YES. In the end, people don't deliver their promises and he chides them. But isn't he the one who pressurizes people into agreement against their wishes in the first place?

Heard that they are considering whether or not to renew Pastor Peter's contract too. Even if they do not renew Pastor Peter's contract, I'm sure there's a better place for him. Somewhere that doesn't treat him as second-class. Somewhere that gives him due respect. It's just not quite happening here, is it?

Come on, injustice, bring it to my ears and I will clarify matters to your face.

Singapore Votes 2006

2006-05-06T17:32:00.000-07:00

Voted for the first time in my life this morning. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm talking about the Singapore General Elections 2006.

Planned to go with my parents to our designated polling centre early in the morning around 8am, but could not step out of the house due to the heavy rain! So we were forced to go after the downpour was reduced to a drizzle at around 11am.

I must say the whole setup was very efficient. I expected a long queue but there was none of that. From the checking of identity card to the filling in of the voting card, it took only 1-2 mins for me to cast my vote. Impressive.

It feels good to cast votes. Appreciate the fact that I have a say, insignificant as it might be, in choosing the leaders for Singapore.

As planned, I also stayed up late into the night to watch the results whilst updating my friend in Australia on the results as they were announced. Elections are something that happens once every four or five years - so everyone's in the mood huh!

In case you are one of the country bumpkins who don't know the results yet, here's a link you should check out.

Singapore General Election 2006 - Results

Two Very Important Things

2006-05-05T10:44:00.000-07:00

Just discovered two very important things today.

First is that I'm a raffriff.

The opposition candidates for the May 6 elections consist of professionals, doctors, lawyers, managers and lecturers but MM Lee described them as riffraff. Since I'm neither a professional nor doctor nor lawyer nor manager nor lecturer, I surely can't be a riffraff. Therefore I think I must be a raffriff.

The second thing is that I realized I had received my share of the Progress Package earlier this week. A lot of money, you know.

NINE HUNDRED BUCKS. I'm so thankful.

Because I've received this nine hundred dollars, I think will be more mentally prepared to lose NINE THOUSAND DOLLARS without even knowing where it went to in the near future.

I had already accepted my fate of having to lose NINE THOUSAND AND NINE HUNDRED DOLLARS over the next four or five years until the next election comes by before they announced the handing out of the Progress Package.

Now that I have received my share of the Progress Package, I will only be losing NINE THOUSAND DOLLARS instead of NINE THOUSAND AND NINE HUNDRED!! HOORAY!!

A Passion For Truth Part 4

2006-05-01T07:12:00.000-07:00

Heard that more people are thinking of leaving BEC.

Come on now. What's new? More adults would have already left if not for their commitments to BEC. And the youths.. how many do you think would remain there on their own accord if their parents weren't serving as leaders?

Leaving is not an easy decision for us "leavers" to make. Not when we're already so accustomed to the people, the environment, the practices in BEC. Why would we want to leave and start all over in a totally new environment when we're already so accustomed to BEC, if there's nothing seriously wrong with it? Has anybody considered that?

The whole rationale behind leaving is because certain things have been rotting for a prolonged period of time and yet people have allowed them to CONTINUE rotting. Being able to spot and correct your mistakes is wise; being ignorant and refusing to address your shortcomings is foolish.

Therefore I don't give two hoots about how people might think about us "leavers". They are entitled to their own views. If they want to maintain that good teachings can be brought across in an inappropriate and tactless manner, so be it. But I definitely beg to differ. I think it's one of the main reasons behind many leaving, and many wanting to leave.

May I impress on you that loyalty does not constitute BLIND loyalty. You cannot remain loyal to your business partner if he absconds with the company funds, or to your favourite employee after he's committed some blatant mistakes repeatedly, for example. I know we're taught to obey and admonish our leaders, and I'm not drawing comparisons here, but if Hitler was our leader, should we or should we not remain loyal?

I think your guess is as good as mine. I salute everyone who decided to leave. They are brave people. Go ahead and have a mind of your own. Don't just follow blindly. :)

At 2.5 Months

2006-04-27T16:16:00.000-07:00

These pics were taken at night, so some have the red eye effect. The previous owner named my husky CoCo... we haven't decided what new name to give her anyway, so I guess we'll just stick with her old name.

CoCo playing with her "toys"

Here she tries to leap onto my mirror in search of her own image

Maybe she really thinks she can play with it?!

Some other pics

I will be posting photos of CoCo monthly to track her growth. Then we can all see how she grew up when she's an adult in a few years' time! She's cute. :)