KNNOngQW

a dream fulfilled and lost

2010-09-24T23:35:00.002+08:00

I've not written in ages... i guess the great stop is due to the helluva emotional and experiential ride of a life I've had since may 16th till up to this moment....

From my ORD and freedom on 11th June, to the various orientation camps between July and Aug, including the LTO BBQs and the carrier factory work I did inbetween... I must say that like the army, I would'nt have given it up for anything in the world !

Anyways, todays post is supposed to be a sad one... I finally got my Leica M8 in August just before school officially started lessons. I had 2 lenses shipped to singapore, and they just arrived last week. Sadly, my M8 decided to die on me on monday evening.. I sent it down to camerahospital and the guy behind the counter told me that it was highly possible that the powerboard was gone, in short, i would have to pay 3000 for repairs, which is more or less the same price as a 2nd hand M8... making my M8 the most expensive display item I ever owned...

what are the implications ???

1. I do not have enough $s to pay for a brand new or 2nd hand M8..

2. I vested all my $s on this M8 when I got it (4yrs worth of buying, selling, saving like cock on all my camera stuffs was inside this M8)

3. even if it can be fixed for a lower price, I probably can't cough it out immediately

4. the EARLIEST time i can foresee myself with a decent camera will be mid next year... which means I go NY with little more than a lousy HP camera or at best a pns .... ( i got this M8 for street photog in NY ... like thanks for fucking me over by getting spoilt !)

What do I tell myself ???? - FUCK MY LIFE ! and even as I type this, I have a test to START studying for which is on next friday, a project to carry out which requires me to go down to sembwawang for 3 days next week (rmemeber the test on friday !) AND a retarded 700 word essay tts due on friday too.... just fucking kill me already... i'm literally single, broke and desperate .... so I say agian , FML...

2010-05-16T02:45:00.006+08:00

Ok ! So I met DS on one of my 2 OFFs last week, we decided to get some at Paragon (my initial plan was Da Paolo Gastronomia), but that was a flop cause it turned out to be a bakery/take out cafe. We nearly gave into Thai Express (was working on a below $15 budget). But decided to walk around to look for more food.

One of the worst things I honestly HATE about meet ups is finding for food places .... Granted, I've eaten at many places which are commendable, but at that PRECISE moment, I just cannot remember which places to go for off hand (especially if there are parameters set in like budget, a/c, good service required etc.) I decided to go for the "cannot fail" option, which is ION Orchard basement food court, but that failed too .... (sometimes I think that perhaps I'm over reading into peoples body language. I could not tell exactly what he liked, every suggestion was replied with a - "ok, no problem"). Anyways, I was also on OFF on that day, and I did not wanna "risk wasting it" eating expensive food court stuff.

Just as I was about to think of another place to head down to, this Go!Go! Curry ! popped into mind. Had walked past it several times, but never had the chance to get in.

The curry was thick, rice was solid and the pork was tender (some places [like the NP canteen tonkatsu] serves like SUPER thin pork which has been fried till its tough as hell !), luckily for us, this was not the case. The restaurant has 3 different serving sizes available (which I am told is basically more or less rice, no change in meat quantity). There is a selection of Pork, Chicken or just plain curry - not much of a choice, but I guess its better to specialise in somethign and be good at it, then be jack of all traits, master of none. I wouldn't say this restaurant has MASTERED curry katsu, but for the price and friendly staff, I'd say give it a shot ! Besides, in the whole time I was there, 3 of the 4 sets of customers that came and went were Japanese - that pretty much sums up what I have to say !

After a delightful meal at Go!Go!Curry!, we walked and talked for abit before heading down the basement of "HMV" building for some dessert. Its called "Sweet Spoon" or SOMETHING along that line, located opposite the Macdonalds, and Subway. I ordered Orh Nee (Yam Paste), DS ordered Almond paste. Now, I've tasted some pretty nasty Orh Nee before, this one just FAILS ! Flat on its face ! Why did it fail ? Taste was average (maybe cause I opted not to add in coconut milk), but the thing that really eerked me was the layer of oil (LITERALLY oil) on the surface of the dessert.... I tipped the bowl (like in the picture), and it did not take long before the oil flowed and collected at the tip of the bowl.... Guess the only saving grace for this stall is the SUPER friendly old ladies working there. They asked me how was the dessert, made some recommendations and all. They gave A+ service.

2010-05-08T02:57:00.003+08:00

very "sad" this week
...

I signed up for this mentoring programme with MCYC, went through the selection interview, but like 3days from then I've not received any calls... ...

Emailed UNI-Y orientation camp organisers TWICE but no reply either.

Emailed the RedCross camp organisers as well, guess what ? - NO REPLY...

I'm beginning to think ... is charity really SOOOO hard to do ... getting frustrated cause I seem to be leading towards nowhere (in my efforts to join the Orientation Camps).

Attended RCIA yesterday, I actually had a SUPERB time ! I thoroughly enjoyed it. To think that only 5 hours before, I was complaining and ranting (bitching if you will) to BS about how I dread RCIA.. the 2.5hour sessions, the care group sessions with their "overly friendly" people (YES ! I'm not exaggerating. I felt they were just overly friendly... its me .. not them ... I'm just not THAT easily trusting.) I like know BS for 13+ going 14years now, and I only began sharing REAL personal stuff with him in recent years (like maybe the last 2 ???)

I read somewhere that I needa build "a strong social support structure" like a "HQ with high ranking generals I can confide in", on my way to achieving a more "WHOLESOME and well rounded lifestyle". Sometimes, reading too many self help books (I've just been reading 1 actually...) can become a scary thing, cause I began to learn alot about myself (some of which I've tried very hard over the years to bury, under lies, ego, "fantasy believes", and even religion !) It's like they say - The Truth Hurts ! But unlike the accompanying line and I quote "You can't handle the truth !" , I believe I can AND will. With the help of God, self and the "HQ general staff members" !

damn man ... its like 3am now and I cannot sleepzzzz.... Was watching "Step Brothers" with JK in the bunk like 7hours ago ? That was when I fell asleep for about 2hours in the most peculiar manner on the office sofa ! If there's anything I've taken home from the army, it's the ability to sleep in nearly any location and at any time. It's never a matter of if I'll sleep or not, it's a matter how comfortably and when. AND I kid you not - there was once when I was supporting some kind of live firing exercise (like I could here rifles, GPMGs, grenades) going on around me. All I had was the cabin of my 5TON, and I still managed to sleep soundly ! It would have been perfect if I could have left the A/C on, cause then I would not have to deal with mosquitoes.

Today I caught up on sleep at the medical centre while on standby duty. (the weird thing about this place, is that I kept having the "conscious sleeping" or "paralysis sleep" episodes !) I awoke 3 times, thinking that JK had returned with NL and was calling me to wake up, only to realise I could not cause i could not even move my body (its like being trapped in your head ! ) THREE TIMES ! The 4th time, JK was really by my side and nudging me to wake ! He actually told me that he had same experiences ..... and that all the drivers who had slept at where I slept had had that experience - which they attributed to the place being haunted (like thanks for telling me that only after my 1000000th time being in there....) I on the other hand don't really believe in that lar... it's probably the sleeping posture or the room temperature or something.

2010-05-04T17:12:00.002+08:00

As I near the end of my NSF journey, I'm thinking "what would I have done different".

1 - I would have made it more clear that I wanted a combat posting (apparently telling my PS and PC was USELESS. ... ) Obviously, now that I've enjoyed the good life, I would not say the same thing again.

2 - I would have worked harder for IPPT (at that time I was just content with getting Silver for running, losing weight and failing all other stations . SBJ and Chinups are a bitch)

3 - I would not have f*** NL (the ITMS room, thats the only clue) over when we first met in LTO.

4 - I would have tried to treat Cheeks and Koh better (Cheeks was a btich after C3 course though)

5 - BMT ... 2nd BMT was unjoyful for me, I guess I could have been nicer to the people.

6 - A few more I cannot think off hand

When all's said and done, I would not have given up this experience (with Clem, JK, Nick and the bunch) for anything in the world ! [YES, not even a Leica M9 .... 13,000 can be earned. The exp, the interest vested in running, the friendships and the Polar watch (or rather the circumstances in which I got it) cannot be bought]

SMU starts in August, July will be pretty busy for me - packed with orientation(s).

I signed up to be a mentor with MCYC. I hope I passed the initial interview.
Sadly, I just realised (actually I had this inclination for a long time now) that I'm a "baby" in comparison to my other friends, interms of maturity and life experiences. In this aspect, I hope that I can gain back on some lost time through this mentorship program and through being more in touch with God and people. I need to find wholesomeness !

The interviewer actually asked me "think of someone who is a role model in your life" - sadly, I could not. (in this respect of ROLE MODEL, I mean someone I can really confide in and would like to become/ follow) I got "parts" of people whom I would like to mould after [like a jigsaw puzzle], just that noone I know whom I would like to COMPLETELY follow after.

I could get into deeper details, but then I would began to sound gay ... so tts that for now !

2010-04-01T00:51:00.002+08:00

o...k. Its been a LOOOOOOONG time since the last piece, what to do? Been a busy Feb/ March. Pretty much, March was spent in preparation for the army audit on our unit. Discovered numerous "skeletons and bombs" left behind by the previous TPT Sup and management, mostly due to years/ months of neglect/ bad practices, and in many cases also because we did not know the directives well.

We actually did a good job clearing all the decay and dust, and polished up quite well, eventually accumulating a "B" grading (which is like SUPERB, compared the the "D" the previous management had [ partly because it was our first assessment also ], in terms of GPA/ CAP, its like a 3.75/4.00 or a 4.00/5.00 ), NOT to mention we actually committed a major error, which is usually tentamount to an immediate failure or D grade ! )

Had an AWESOME time playing my first matches of Battlefield 2 today, though I still personally prefer MW2. Well, atleast now that I've tried both games, I can confidently say MW2 is my sh*t !

Also, for the past month, there's this cat which we have come to know as Rex (i named him that cause of his constant hunger, like the T-Rex in my fav show), and the guys pretty much stuck to that name. He's actually a white with black patches stray cat which comes every day for breakfast, occasionally lunch and dinner ! Like clockwork, he will show up at the entrance of the office and meow at passerby's in uniforms ! To thank us for our generosity, Rex killed a mouse on Sunday and left it at our corridor as "breakfast" for monday ! Quite a gruesome sight to behold, as Rex had actually torn away the upper cranium of the mouse, leaving bhind it's exposed jaw and incisors ! But I guess its the thought that counts (much like the regurgitated fish in "How to train your Dragon" )

Sis spilled the beans (either that or my dad) on my plans to take Class 2B .... now mum is like discouraging me every now and then ...

OH and MOST importantly ! I clocked my 7000KM to qualify for my Class 3 ! Although, because of my accident, there is a possibility that I will not be able to drive to camp as I have to wait till May to submit .... (need to wait for the points to reset) This dang accident is beginning to haunt me again ... haiz guess I need to be thankful that atleast I will still get the licence eventually. Actually, mostly, I'm just glad I got through NS with a buddy by my side :) Which meant I more or less skimmed through this supposedly "hellish" part of my life ! (and I am once again beginning to ask myself, is this luck ?? or is it devine intervention .. ) Ontop of that, my batch was not scummy like the previouse batches !

Anyways, with 2 more months to ORD, I am just looking forward to the "ORD trip" (which is like the first time I'm gonna be overseas, farther than MSia with friends) and the start of school IN TOWN X-P

2010-02-15T00:25:00.003+08:00

DAMN CNY/ VDay fever !!!! arghh ...

something plagues my heart ! i liken it to somekind of a virus - it disconnects my thoughts from my feelings (am i making sense here ???)

i went for the usual run today, and i made it only like 1/2 before i had to walk/ jog/ sprint etc. etc. ... even just 20 meters from my house, i felt my heart up to my throat - SERIOUS (hope i make sense here )

the usual 3 step remedy (my own remedy for recovery from loss of stamina)

1. change the music on my ipod to something upbeat (like say from "little superhero girl" to "watcha say" or the one that always gets me going "not gonna get us" by tatu)

2. imagine im a photographer/ soldier running across an open field of MG fire (obviously I "died" to MG fire today ...zzz)

3. recite the 7 SAF core values [loyalty to country, leadership, discipline, professionalism, fighting spirit, ethics, care for soldiers !] normally, I stop at fighting spirit or even loyalty to country before i regain the burst of adrenaline and stamina

next point -> (if i needa do this, im more or less dying already ... this is like some LAST STAND/ FINAL STAND thing [when a badly wounded soldier pulls out his side arm in defiance... like even though he knows he will no longer make it out alive] ) only used this like 3 times at most out of countless runs [since the great "failure" at the standard chart :( ]

4. picture SOMEONE in my head !

BUT ! ALL 4 methods FAILED !!!!!

now when something or some virus comes between me and my ability to run, it becomes personal ! guess i shouldn't have watched that emo show grand torismo before the activity ... something i learnt ...

2010-02-13T00:20:00.003+08:00

I actually went for the Quest For Immortality display @ the National Museum. Really enjoyed it lots. That said, if you are a fan of the museum, you should not miss this !

I was actually looking through the year books (cause I was looking for someone on fb and needed to get the name via one of the fmss yr books ... all in vain as there is no such person listed zzz). Anyways, as is common with myself, I began drifting throughout the yr book and looking through other people which may or may not have made a difference in my life. Somehow, these people came to mind.

One thing's for sure (keeping in mind that the picture was taken like WAYYYYY before NP days, and even way before JJC and MI first 3 months...) I guess the transition from Sec to MI and JC followed by Poly somewhat "drained" me a little. I more or less forgot about anyone else who did not "make an effort" to interact with me or whom I did not make an effort to interact with. Looking through the years, I actually saw some who grew fantastically and bloomed (actually alot of them did).

As for myself, I hope I did the same.

That's enough of my muddle headed BS for one night ... outs ! and Happy CNY to all who have been following this blog for *** knows how long ! appreciate the comments and time you take !

2010-01-07T00:10:00.002+08:00

First work week of the year and I kicked it off with and overseas leave on Monday followed by one more come this Friday, thanks the Kiwi gang (malaysia) !

Processing the spain photos IS A PAIN, cause the main com is fried, which leaves me with this crummy laptop which lags like every 5 - 10seconds..... even ALT+Tabbing between pages takes up to 6seconds.... and sometimes it hangs for a minute or so before working .... in gamer terms, I am experiencing the WORST POSSIBLE LAG SPIKES I've ever had....

Just rotating a photo takes up to 6seconds. Opening the photo in MSPaint takes another 10seconds or so... Don't even get me started on Photoshop which I do not intend to use here.... the other com is always open, but is like in the other room .... (the study in library or in my own room syndrome, both has its benefits, but ultimately my own room trumps everything else. What to do, I've been in it for 20years LITERALLY)

Hope to get a gfxcard tomorrow from "the cool malay" then I can get some real work started. And damn the camera... I just discovered dust in the sensor.... which means I'm gonna have to take it down for CLA soon liao .... arghhh !

BAD MEMORY ! NO ! FAIL memory. ..

2009-12-21T21:44:00.002+08:00

I've always known that I have bad memory (given that I freaking bothered to copy/ attempt to memorize the stupid chemistry notes 3 times over in JC but yet still FAIL or like 50/50, I learnt then that understanding is better than just blindly memorizing . . . I mean, I can have the book in my head but what's the use if I do not know which page to flip to)

Then there are occasions when friends come up to me and tell me "hey, last year etc. etc. etc. we talked about this at which place", my friend could even tell me where he was when I called, what we talked about and more !

When does it really get bad ? This morning, my OC asked me something with regards to work and I couldn't remember jack sh*t ! I couldn't even remember vital information which would save my ass from embarrassment/ trouble . .. . so all I could do was to tell him honestly, I cannot remember and that I would take the rap (which is just verbal warning) on behalf of my "accuser". Later in the day, evidence surfaced which suggests a possibility that I was actually innocent .. . . . arghhhh . ..

Sometimes I wonder, is it my memory poor, or is it just because I don't give a flying f*ck . . . . . but then again, how could I have been so ignorant and negligent ?? Like 60- 70% of the time/ memories !! I'm actually beginning to believe that this is the case ....

I'll keep my friends and myself in prayer ....

P.S. Mass @ BSC was like awesome lar .... as in I've been wanting to attend mass for sometime now, then I got invited RANDOMLY . . . guess its one of God's wonders . .. . read my mind then make the thing happen . .. .

2009-12-20T16:50:00.002+08:00

Like the room filled with toys and a crib created by heart broken parent's for a child that never came .. . . my room is filled with Tiger's collar, food, litter and happy memories . . .

2009-12-19T02:51:00.003+08:00

The week was busy, BUT all the work kept me from thinking of other stuffs, so - it's cool X3 ! Just can't wait for my remaining 2 working days before I head off to SPAINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN (where Vicky Barcelona used the Leica M6 hehehe)

Last night we had teh TB22 gathering, apparently RG doesn't believe in out friendship anymore cause he MISSED it for the 2nd time despite all the warnings, and his reason was because my place was TOO far ... zzz

SJH's bike was like TOTALLY OVERLY Ah Ah Sia !

same feeling same month different year...the NP yr1 thingy is here again "-_-

2009-12-12T06:56:00.005+08:00

The last 2 days in office was like freaking HEAVEN . .. . cause - NO GAHMEN haha...
FSM OC SSG all on leave or not in camp sia ...
The whole place was run by NSFs .. ..

Did my duty on Thursday,slept @ 3am [I was like talking on the phone for SUPER long] and woke up @ 6am to send the BOS to Joo Koon MRT for his usual shuttle bus service management, which I then sped back to camp and tucked myself in nicely ... only to be awaken like EVERY HOUR ... . . I actually cannot exactly remember who woke me up, but they were asking the usual questions (what vehicle to use, this guy take off etc. etc. etc.) and including once to take the "precious" breakfast ration into the bunk , cause leaving it in the office will lead to comsuption by other colleagues.

My day began at 10+am (like damn heng OC did not come in today lar ... cause he seems quite particular about having someone at the detailing desk at all times). I finished the detail sheet by 12pm and sent the necessary daily updates to the usual people (whom I honestly believe mostly don't look at them in any great detail), and waited for TDS n*gger's (one of our "loyal customers" aka ALWAYS give us work to do ...) to give us more details on one of their details (haha i like the sound of that). Like freaking you want to indent our vehicles then you don't give clear instructions.

At about 2pm, the highlight of my day began - AhLoy's pickup broke down IN THE MIDDLE of a yellow box on Gul Road hahaha !!!! I sent down a mechanic with a powerpack to jump start the vehicle, but it was in vain and in the end we left AhLoy with his broken down vehicle to the tow services. The road was like jammed up pretty good (estimate up to 10 vehicle incl. trailer length !!!) I remembered texting "HAHAHA You're Stuck !!" before heading out.

I'm off to duty again in an hour ... this time without any sleep, whoever falls sick and needs to visit the MO, BECAREFUL hehehehe... The freaking guy whom I sent to PLC last week at freaking 10/11PM saw me at the canteen this afternoon and he gave me the weakest smile ever ... (I can still vividly remember him justifying his "Im on leave tomorrow, I report sick but never ask for MC" .....) Then again, I was at JP last week and I saw a "customer" from camp who had ORDed . .. . nice to know that once in awhile, we are considered as "friends" and not just "another driver". If all goes well, I'm gonna sleep in all day and watch my Youtube videos . .. hoping that time will pass me by quickly !!!!! Atleast tomorrow there's carrot and another random driver staying over with me till 5pm :D

still so excited to go back to school but like DAMN LONG more lar...

2009-12-08T18:33:00.003+08:00

After a humiliating defeat of 68mins at the 10km Standchart Marathon, I still had the nerves to collect the FINISHING medal (aka medal of participation .... ). Apparently clem didn't do as well either though his standard of "I was disappointed at the results" may actually be my "I'm doing fine", given his track record (literally and metaphorically). Like Seetoh says, neh mind neh mind up to you(me) [whilst doing the freaking corny actions], I'll most likely take part in the next one.

I forgot his name, but the haunting words of the NSMen which I spoke to is coming back to me, something regarding not being over confident (which I am), as he was trying to warn me against commiting the same mistake as he did (epic fail in the previous marathon, then next year try to make a come back).... should have followed the words of this "lao jiao bing" and trained with him. (he did hint me several times "I always run past your house but never see you, when you gonna come out). But of those several times he ran past, something else such as MW2 or hanging with friends or sleeping or etc etc etc PROCRASTINATING (even blaming the rain) got the better of me. hahaha.. ok I shall stop beating myself .

Was at Shi Tu Wei Xiong's place yesterday and we played board games from like 2+3pm till 7 (started @ 10am actually but I decided to go back office to see my comrades in steering wheels), taking a 2hour break for dinner. Actually it was quite short cause I only managed to play one roudn of battleship and Cashflow. At 845pm, I was about to return back from dinner, when I was confronted with this question "the thing ends at 10, so is it worth my while returning, cause ill probably reach back at 9+". But I decided to go back, which I in accordance to one of my personal doctrines which I picked up from SAF. I goes something along this line (dun be lazy lar, just go and try out, you never know what awaits you).

I've actually followed this a couple of times, and it has always brought me satisfaction, like the time when I went to meet Khaw Clem and Ed at Bugis for coffee, even though I knew I would probably only be able to meet them for like 1hour or so then leave. Then there is the Thai Disco with the STOs, and when I purposely signed up for the Standchart (clem as some convincing effect though, like when he "convinced" khaw to go for the bike race). And more recently, yesterday, when I actually realised it was worth it, because there was actually a surprise BDae celebration for 3 people from 2E !!! Imagine all the fun and cake I would have missed :P

Also, got a friend leaving for thailand to build houses and teach children etc. I'm actually really excited for my turn, as this is probably going to be the closest I get to doing "humanitarian work with UNICEF". I mean its NOT with UNICEF, but UNICEF has kind of been one of my "try out everything" goals in life, I'd love to set up a camp somewhere in Africa giving HIV jabs and treating kids/ people. But then again, that ofcourse takes up a whole lot of commitment which I do not believe I'm prepared for. In which case, I'm gonna stick to the OCIP trips offered by SMU :)

AHHHHH tomorrow got to go back to work .... .zzz I'm sad but yet happy too . .. . cannot explain the mixed emos ... lucky I got friends over there, can't believe what it would be like if I had to go through the whole remaining time living like BMT EVERY FREAKING DAY. . . (and I dun mean staying in, I mean the feeling of sianness and not having REAL friends in camp, accompanied by the occasional backstabbing here and there to compete for slots in command school..... which is like a waste of time. Now thinking about it ... why slog and torment, stay in 24/6 just for the rank ... when you can relac one corner, book out EVERYDAY and enjoy life with CIVILIAN friends. Peanut and Crabs advice was really true, glad I got into the unit I got into ....

2009-12-05T00:28:00.003+08:00

The week started off with a DUTY on Sunday 29th November. Came into camp at 9am, was activated to send a patient to the medical centre at 1115am . .. . for - STOMACHACHE . . . I was like thinking to myself (lucky he got rank . . . cannot scold him) but I made his life a "miserable" as possible by making him wait till the medics begin to call me on the office phone while I read the New Paper article on Ms Lo and the Mumbai shootings while drinking the free red packet SAF 3 in 1 coffee. Afterward's, I made them wait in the AIRCONLESS minibus while I chatted up with my TDS friend on the pretence of looking for someone to sign my log book. (you may think that I'm just wasting my own time in the end, but anything to make their journey to the medical centre as painfully boring as possible, I will do).

I think the army should actually thank me, cause I am discouraging people from malingering. This was accompanied by my "modified" style of driving, and my "f" face expression throughout the entire trip. Ofcourse I made it a point to ask his buddy (LTA) to come out of the vehicle and guide me while I reverse (though I dun bother to look at him when I do so) and I dropped them at the back entrance carpark rather then the main entrance (I don't know the place ah sir ... never come here before ... standard act blur live longer sh*t).

How did I come to the conclusion that he was malingering ? Most of them generally are, cause if its really serious, the ambulance in camp would have been activated (and it would me my colleague and not me who would drive). Then ofcourse, there was also the "stomachache" reason, which is crap lar... even I have had stomachaches incamp before, but what did I do ? Just suck it up and stay in the toilet more often and drink more water lar ... on my previous duty, last tuesday, the patient was even worse. . . I dunno if he was a chao recruit or private. Got the balls to tell me summore (I never keng lar, I even told the doc not to gimme MC, cause tomorrow I on leave). i'm thinking "f'ing hell, if you on leave tomorrow, your stomachache cannot freaking wait till tomorrow ah ?! must activate me at 11pm to send you out... "

Anyways, its been a great week, cause there was no duty other then the sunday one, and clem decided not to take off on wed and thurs (though he should lar . . so i belief). Migraine plagued me again on my sunday duty (I vomited 4 times in camp... but did I activate the ambulance driver ? NO!) On thursday too, I got migraine again, but this time I was prepared with panadol extra. I was actually supposed to drive to the petrol station (about 7km away) to top up, but clem saw me poppin' pills and told me not to. Initially I was all cool about it, saying I can do it (AND I CAN), but when I was vcomming prawns to the station, I was actually glad that I was not driving (nodoubt I would not crash the vehicle and all, but it would not be an enjoyable drive lar. . . no sense in making myself suffer for no reason).

I went to CHOMP CHOMP! on thursday night too !!! I dunno if the others knew it, but it was freaking enjoyable for me lar, cause it was like something different in a long time.. . . it broke the "west area" routine (particularly JP) .

I can't wait for the 10KM run on sunday sia . . . hope it will be as enjoyable as AHM :)

2009-11-08T01:51:00.004+08:00

EVERY stinkin' minute that I'm sitting in the office and not at home, walking to the cookhouse and not to my kitchen/some restaurant OUTSIDE OF CAMP.

makes me wanna clamp my fingers around the neck of my indo maid and squeeze AHAP (as hard as possible).. . ..

See, I've been dished out 3 extras now cause I left some pretty important documents in my breast pocket which were subsequently destroyed when she placed them in the washer.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming her for the destroyed documents. Its just that every free minute I have in CONFINEMENT (I can consider solitary too, cause "they" took off again, promising to come back like 10 hours ago ...) I think of the day when I actually trusted that bitch indo maid and she let me down... I asked my mum to ask her NICELY whether she had checked my pockets before downing the uniform into the washer, and she said she did, and even put her hands in the pockets for feel.

My mum actually asked me why I wanted to ask such a question, and I told her not to ask too much, just go ask the maid. We actually argued over that later on, and I stood up for that maid saying that my mum should not have assumed that the maid was a liar (mum told me she scolded the maid for lying, and threatened to produce evidence which had yet to surface at that time). I told my mum off for scolding her maid in light of "missing evidence", stating that if the maid lied it would probably be because she was always scolded whether or not she told the truth.

I tried to be civil with the class A liar . . . I even told my mum off for her .. I asked her personally when I got home. It was along the lines of "did you check my pockets before washing them, it's important as I need to know atleast that I'm not searching for something that has already been destroyed. " I actually went on to assure her with "just be honest with me, it doesnt matter now, I just need to know the truth" Even with all that, this lady cunt still had the fucking nerves to say "yes, I always check".

AFTER calling up all my superiors, less OC and FSM, PLUS all the other guys which I could have passed to documents too (from mechanics department), I begin to have my doubts. I checked the breasts pockets, and I found the destroyed documents ...

From this day on, I learned an invaluable lesson . . . some assholes will just remain assholes, no matter how much fucking graciousness you throw at them. As always, old sayings and advice always hold some water - in this case, a leopard never changes its spots ! Ultimately, selfish ambition, fear, temptation and cowardice will reveal the wolf under the sheep's skin.

Oh, and you know what's the best of it all - After I exposed the bitch, she still had the nerves to tell me that she checked, but she did not put her fingers in to feel, citing that I did not ask her that earlier .... what a conniving little bitch she was right. Really hate it when people try to twist the story IN LIGHT OF indisputable evidence ... ... from the whole even up to now, I did not even hear a word of sorry from that piss smelly mouth of hers (and its not just the mouth ... its the BO that I have to/ been putting up with). I think I'm gonna be more vocal about my concerns over that from today onwards. Sometimes, it takes life to be a living hell before someone wake up their idea and realize what a nice guy I've been to her as compared to all the previous maids.

2009-10-26T22:27:00.001+08:00

Think further ahead before I speak

Temper control

knowledge is dangerous

2009-10-20T21:24:00.003+08:00

Was packing up my camera stuffs today when I stumbled upon remnants from the past. Old rolls of film, 100s of prints and most memorable of them all - my "homemade lens". It was actually a pinhole "lens" without any glass elements. Just an old Nikon camera body cap drilled with a hole and covered by a small piece of copper which had a smaller hole. (It even included written instructions on how to meter the light).

This contraption was infact the work of an inquisitive mind, back then still filled with creativity and passion for photography. An old "shell" of myself, which I see slowly molting away ... ...

My interest in photography laid dorment in me as far as I can remember , since secondary school day. It was only in NP when I met someone who inspired me to really get into it. With this "catalyst", I set out on my journey. I got my first real SLR from cash converters for $380 if i remember correctly, including lens. It was a Nikon F65 with the 28-60 kit lens. Back then, I did not even know wtf was IS, VR, Aspherical, ISO, Crop factor etc. etc. I was not even sure of the complete meaning of the Aperture, and even explained it slightly wrongly to my friend SJH. All I knew was this - the lower the "f" value, the more blurred the background would become (this I did not know was termed bokeh till abit later).

Of all the technicalities of photography which I did not comprehend, I did know THIS - I had geniune passion for the art. To me, having the latest or best equipment didn't matter, all it took was a killer composure (or as some would say, "the photographers eye").

Reviewing my photos and playing with this "pinhole lens" via my 400D, it brought me back to the very moment when I first started out. I was willing to try everything, pinhole, double image (hoax ghost), IR etc. In the past year, I have been completely different. Consumed by consumerism (I did not take econs, hope I used this correctly) and greed for the better lens, the more higher pixel DSLR etc etc etc. I somehow got off the trail which I had intended to pursue.

Indeed, knowledge is power, but it is also dangerous power. . . with the increased knowledge of technicalities, I began to become less "creative" if you will. My only hope is that I will be able to get back on the correct path and take great pictures again !

2009-09-13T21:20:00.005+08:00

Clem's been on leave/ MA from last thursday, thus I've been mostly in the office accept for 2 X 8Ton inbase loading which took about half the day each time. I seriously hope there are no activations tomorrow, so I can "administrate" office details at leisure and act all busy (though at times it really does get busy). Kiwi's theory was right - "in SAF, when you are free, you can be free like ****. Literally NOTHING to do at all (here's when this great invention called THE BOOK or the Playstation Portable comes in handy). Conversely, when there is work to b had, don't think of breathing.

There has been times when the phone calls and emails just pour in. I can be done with one thing, then JUST as my ass cheek touches and depresses the cusion sofa seat not more then a second or so and by a centimetre, the phone rings again.

The last month has been great, due to the sporadic lack of REGULARs in camp (I can safely say that my unit doesn't really require regulars. We have been putting up quite all right with NSFs for the past 2 weeks now. One thing I learnt though, is that if your too good to your juniors, they mostly will try to climb over you.... i recently started fucking this new guy around in the office, cause he began to get too "close" to me. . . . one afternoon he challenged me infront of a superior and another afternoon he handed his SK (saikang) over to me, which I promptly ignored and which also turned on the "kill switch" inside me. Why can'ts we all just live in peace and harmony ... .. . where I treat you nice, and you continue to do your job properly and treat me back with respect.... how did we end up in this degradative relationship. . . .

Anyways, I been channeling my leisure time between watching between watching movies, youtube, reading up on the year end holiday location and the m6 camera. I successfully touched up on the fading paint work and engravings on the camera. If only I had the flexi clamps to remove the top plate so I could blow out the dusts inside the view finder. .. .

Filled in the "1" and the "B" mode on the shutter dail as well as painted in the red dot on the lens mount catch !

2009-08-24T15:53:00.003+08:00

My friend told me yesterday that I sold my PS3 just in time, cause PS3 slim is coming out, and it is cheaper then previous PS launches (apparently SONY is deviating from their usual "keep the price high" marketing strategy) which means that PS3 prices have plunged !!!

SO why the sudden selling of my PS3 ? Actually it wasn't really sudden. I was contemplating it a long time ago... right about after I played finish/ was in the middle of playing Vegas 2. Then came out RE5, which gave me new interest in the console (much like MGS4, which was the reason for me buying the PS3). RE5 for me however, turned out to be less then what I expected . . . I guess I'm just not into horror survivor games (though I must admit Silent Hill Origins and Siren New Translation was a very good experience for me).

What eventually sealed the deal was the dream of getting an M6. (I did contemplate tutoring, but figured that I'd be too lazy to go all the way to some kids house and teach him/her, only to find out homework is not done .... I have friends including my own sister who told me the many horror stories of their tuitees AND those friends/sister are actually more patient then me ....

Anyways, I got my M6 online and I am just DYING waiting for it to arrive ... zzzz

Time only passes as fast as I want it to especially when the damn post office's trace and track service doesn't really update the status of my package often (the last update was like on the 18th of August). And on top of that, i'm alternating duties with another JK (JK commented today, he sees the CQ and ration boxes more often then he sees his own parents .... also, the roadside sweeper is actually more higher paid and has more of a life then us ... ) Just can't wait for more people to relieve us form the duties (which should be this week), then we can start doing our normal duty timings. One good thing about this alternating shit though, is that our mileage has shot up sky high ... we can clock like 320km in a week ! haha...

~ something's worth waiting for ~

2009-08-10T22:56:00.011+08:00

THIS (above) is the Leica M6 Panda. It is a "hybrid" version of the M6 Chrome and Black.
After 2 years of trial and error with my 2 different Bessa R2a's (both gone now), I took the plunge and got the M6.

Bought from Salzburg Austria on 17th August 2009, I received it via post on 18th August 2009 11 days and many Euro's later .... finally my 35 1.4 can be united with a body and made whole again !

Only regret now if any, is that at the POS, I got cheap and refused to pay like an extra $350 for the Panda (the picture above is of the actual camera I was contemplating on) , which was in better condition also. Both camera versions are .72 and non TTL.

If only time will pass faster now so that I can bring it on the year end family holiday.

The M6 in movies :P

OMG I'm so happy !!!

2009-08-06T22:05:00.002+08:00

We ordered this pizza on tuesday evening for our "DUTY RATION", my first time having Sarpino's .. .. its like omfg nice lar.... hands down, this kicks the butt of the other 2 ehem rival pizzeria's.

16 slices of Butcher and Pepperonni all the 4 of us needed, but we decided to add an order of calamari on the side :D

Was at this place called Hangari Galbi (or some s**t like that) at ION Orchard, which serves Korean BBQ. The food sort of failed (not too badly, just I cannot appreciate korean food and i may never). It is however an ideal place to bring someone who loves Korean food (BUT IS NOT KOREAN), as I think without my biased point of view (against this cuisine), I think its passable and very much edible. I sent this pic through a handphone onto flikr !!!

2009-08-02T23:05:00.009+08:00

Sitting in the cabin of the 5 TON truck, I was suddenly alerted to the drones of assault rifle fire and the occasional explosions of M203 rifle grenade, accompanied by the rattling of the SAW Ultimax machinegun. Yes, these were the sounds of the mock battle going on behind the trees and shrubs of the hilly rifle range in area X. I closed my eyes occasionally and tried to create a fictatious scenario of officers ordering the men with the SAW to lay down covering fire whilst the rest of the squad tried to flank the "enemy" from its sides, who duely returned fire and the occasional grenade.

As many if not all of us who have gone through the army's grenade assault course (GAC) will tell you, the blast of a grenade is fucking deafening. Even as I lay comfortably in within the cabin of my vehicle, the blasts pierced through my inear earphones and the sounds of the movie playing on my PSP. And if you thought that was loud, wait till you hear the sound produced by the explosive charges set by the EXPLOMO team to clear blind (unexploded) grenades. Even at distances of 100-200m, they still manage to produce an awefully loud boom accompanied by a shockwave which, unless you grew up in a place like Iraq or Beirut in the 20th/21st century, you will never forget.

Anyway, I was at KL with dkiwi and his dad like 3 weeks ago, these 2 are one of the more enjoyable moments of the trip ! (the place a KLCC was good too, but I was REGRETTABLY too embarrassed to take photos at the table in such a restaurant) Then there was the choot choot and the beer ... omg.. I actually enjoyed the trip very much, just that these were the only 2 food pictures taken :P
One thing interesting about KL is the KL Express line, which is one of their many rail systems. This particular line requires the user the press a button in order for the door to open. Being the tourists that we were, me and kiwi like stood at the entrance staring "blankly" at the other commuters who wanted to board the carriage whilst people at the other doors exited and entered (i guess its their unwritten custom that the passengers inside the carriage is supposed to press the button to open the carriage doors). Only after an awkward 20 or so seconds did the dude at the other side of the door press the button to open the carriage doors, which became our point of increased knowledge/ experience (nodoubt gained the embarrassing way !)

Also, I've started attending RCIA. Perhaps Catholicism is my calling ?

Also, the following be a new addition to the family ! Her name is Joey, and she still does not recognize it nor recognize a proper piss/ shit point ... :( Hope that with lots of continued love and tough love, she will eventually find her place in the Ong family (tough she can never replace that special place tiger holds in my heart) And so, I guess that is pretty much my highlight in the last month of June :) Can't wait to see what August have installed for me and the people I will be interacting with !

2009-07-14T21:36:00.002+08:00

quite stressed this morning, due to lack of sleep and CONTINUOUS ringing of the office phones.... was doing the food delivery duty for the base yesterday, last delivery was at 2045. After that, I went to watch a movie till about 2200+. Went to bathe, then hit the sack at about 2230 to 2300.

problem is, I could not sleep, and ended up chatting online for about an hour plus till 0030 or so. The next morning, at about 4 I woke up once, then at 520 my alarm clock rang and at 530 the quarter master called for ration delivery. All was cool by 630, and I went back to sleep till about 8 plus when I was called to send personnel about the base.

After sending effectively at about 845, I reached back to the office (the safety officer today was very kind though, although the previous officer on duty was supposed to sign my papers, he had left and the new duty officer offered to sign them for me [unlike the others who normally want me to BEG in some way for a fucking signature]).

The moment I reached to office the shit started startin', first beginning with the sight of THE CIVI CAR which totally puts me off ... then followed by CONTINUOUS phone calls. Like freaking put down on call another phone rings, then when I talking on my phone, the clerk hands me another call. That's all cool, but what really pissed me off was that whiney bitch ATY standing either infront of me or beside me ... and I'm not exaggerating when I say he stinks both in a metaphorical and literal manner ! First he asked me in a fucked up tone "who go lock the ITMS room ! " (as if its my fucking fault or I will know what the fuck or who the fuck locked the door). I brush him off and tell him "how I know sia ... dun disturb i on the phone busy liao" (and my facial expression also shows it - I know this cause the ex navy seal dude is quietly sitting beside me wanting to ask somehting but waiting for me to be free unlike ATY).

Later he tells me his vehicle is broke, first he calls me and says he needa jumpstart the vehicle, so I just tell him why not do it... then he tells me he dunno how to ... like wtf la, there is like fucking other drivers around who are FREE and not to mention the vehical MAINTENANCE guys walking about or lazing around in the office ... why the hell did you have to choose the guy who is on the fucking phone. He then comes infront of me and asks me what to do agian AFTER I have told him WHAT to do ... by now I'm really hot liao cause the asshole on the phone is accusing me of not sending the 8 ton driver down to his location. TO TOP THINGS OFF ATY being an idiot that he is begans drumming his fucking fingers on the table.

The repeating tempo, much like that of the noise produced by the hooves of a horse running only serves to tell me one thing "I am asking you a question, why you put me on hold. the whole fucking world revolves around me". And I interprete it as such. At this point I just snapped and showed him the finger. And yelled at him to go consult the staff sergeant. Only at such an extreme and crude gesture did he fuck off from my face and for the rest of the day till about 2pm after lunch hide away in some hole . That was a great relief as well as rest for me. At about 1130 closer to lunch, the phone calls died down and after lunch there was more or less peace at the desk.

Why I don't AWOL ?

Its not for honor,
its not for glory,
its not for fuck.

Its for all the people that care about me and that I care for
its for my dog (ofcourse, no doubt I would have rathered a cat :P)

and ofcourse its because I don't have the $ to run away to another country and take a degree elsewhere.

You know, yesterday I was talking to clem and all about stuff, and the topic somehow reached a point of "I keep thinking / worrying about work when I'm off work". For me and clem, we got over that phase realising that its just not worth giving two hoots about work when you're off work, cause you're just worrying yourself for no reason and cause you're not just not rewarded enough to do so. All's one of the better nsf's Ive seen around in my tour of duty. He actually took down notes (like HAND fucking written notes) for some crappy lecture which he needed to do inorder to get his clerk access card. Other people would either not bother or just skip the lecture then trial and error the answers (really it reflects upon his character, just like the time nick came back to pick me up form the office after he sent out the stupid civilian contractor).

Today I made a comment amongst all the flying "bullets" - "isn't this exciting, all these phone calls and stress. reminds you of your A'levels doesn't it " . his reply was "A'levels im accountable to myself, but in this office im accountable to 2WO xxx, 1WO XXX, Sir etc etc" Somehow, this reply struck a cord in me ... ... which I do not know how to explain, but it did teach me something.

2009-06-06T12:18:00.002+08:00

fuck -

The cop who praised my work infront of my superiors thinking he was doing me good

the people who call in just before I leave the office to indent vehicles

the person who picks up such calls and tell them I'm still in the office

the cat that scratched pops and got chased out of my home

the atm which displays the embarrassingly small numbers on its CRT screen

the cellulite forming on my tighs

the fats in food

the bad economy

myself

Family Day with friends

2009-05-30T00:56:00.004+08:00

First and foremost, thankyou for pulling me through this tough week.... I had the feeling that YOU would as YOU have done mostly, but somehow I actually am guilty of doubting that I could come out of this weeks situation intact, but somehow YOU worked your magic in yet another creative save !

Today is FAMILY DAY.

Or atleast that was what SAF told me lar. I was let off work at like freaking 4pm, which is TOTALLY rare, now that the new encik is here. Ended up wowing my time away at KFC chinese garden with carrot. By the time I headed back home was like 1930++ liao.

Reached home at 8+pm, then bathe change and play with Tiger for awhile before I chionged off to Commonwealth the meet 2E friends. Actually I feel kind of paiseh cause I have always been either late, smoke them or go off early... ... 1st time was sick, 2nd time (ord cum bdae) was leave early, today was LATE ... I know that I do not get along pretty well with you guys, but I thankyou all for being so accomodating anyways.

Anyways, I spent more time catching up with friends then with family... tomorrow morning another meet with NP buddy. Not to mention I'm working with my NP friend EVERYDAY haha !

(WTF... my EL chui liao ... I actually had a hard time putting the above passage into words.... and just now [plus throughout the week], I realised that I had a hard tiem expressing myself because at many times, I could not find the correct terms ....) bloody hell.... I guess EL like any other language, requires practice and regular usage... given that my current life requires me to use crappy EL nowadays, its not surprising....

big mistakie !

2009-05-19T22:41:00.004+08:00

Today I got into my first "incident". I drove into a parking lot for my duty. When I reported to the officer in charge, he told me to park my vehicle closer to where the activity was conducted. When I reached my vehicle, what had previously been an empty space behind me was taken up by a civilian car !

I honked the horn a few times but the driver did not appear. I waited for 5 minutes, before I decided to move off. I made the decision impaired by the fact that the officer was waiting for my vehicle as well as my impatience to move off asap (the sun at that time was fucking hot, the kind that gives you a headache if you stay under it for too long, and the kind that turns soft leather seats in the minibus into freaking hot grills).

I thought I could squeeze through the civilian car and exit smoothly ! I failed to notice the freaking uncovered drain hole nearer to the exit .... I reversed and subsequently drove the back left tire of the van into the drain hole. Engaging first gear and moving forward did nothing to help, and the wheel was left dangling in the ditch on its axle

The rush of fear with a combination of adrenaline was UNFATHOMABLE ! But surprisingly, I think partly due to army conditioning, I did not panic (I am damn sure I would have fucking panicked and called back to the office if it happened before NS).

My first thought was try to jack up the back wheel so that it would be out of the ditch and then drive off with the fucking jack still under the cabin ! Damn stupid I tell you ! I immediately ditched that idea and began thinking of new ones. My next would be the try to push the vehicle forward, and SOMEHOW manage to roll the back wheel over the covered drain slab and out of the ditch. This ofcourse would require someone to drive forward while I pushed.

Miraculously, the owner of the civilian car appeared at this very moment. His first move was to appologise to me and get the hell out of there. Just as he was reversing, I walked up to his car and asked him to help me. Luckily he agreed. His plan was more sound, he wanted to jack up the minibus and place a stone slab from another part of the drain under the wheel, following which I will continue to bridge my way backwards or forwards till I reached solid ground.

Just then, a group of his buddies (they looked like regulars) came by to see what was happening and to say hi to him. He managed to rope them in (at this point I was beginning to feel a great sense of relief and embarrassment, but LL suck thumb need their help). With 5 men, they lifted the van BY hand without the jack and another placed the slab under the wheel, at an angle, such that all I needed to do was to full lock right whilst moving forward and more the 3/4 of my wheel would be out, and I would be free form the bog WITHOUT needing to bridge :)

The whole episode lasted a good 20minutes but I was finally out of the ditch (both literally and metaphorically :D ). I reported the the officer and he said nothing of my late coming. Anyway, I definitely learnt a few important lessons today. I believe God was teaching me something and I can only be thankful to the uncle and his 6 friends (though if he did not freaking park there in the first place i would not have done what I did ...)

Random crap

2009-05-09T00:18:00.003+08:00

- I was fucking tired after BOC after lunch.

- I was damn happy about the 90KM I clocked for the BOC (though Nat had to tell me that the going rate was higher, which meant I could have tuang'd like atleast 10 more KM)

- The office radio played my fav Corrinne May track this after noon whilst I was on Ah Siao's desktop.

- I did not even remember "Desmond" Kwek calling me to wake up at 3.30pm for CAT C2 assessment

- I dreamt that I shouted at my dad

- I was generally pleased and thankful at how the day played out

- I THINK I made a friend on duty

- A car nearly slammed into my minibus (bastard was coming out of the side road at the T junction along the pier and his fucking head was looking the other way .... stoopid fck*) [ofcourse my driving at about 14kmph above the speed limit was also part to blame i guess]

- I missed Tiger damn much whilst I was on the shuttle to Lakeside

- I did not catch much at the talk at Holy Cross cept' for the part when Father Cary talked about the Indian lady who was baptised and St. Paul willing to speak out.

- Interestingly, History Channel made a reference to St Paul tonight, saying that he was one of the Christians who were excuted by some saddistic emperor named Nero (which is the same name as my CD Burner software)

- I enjoyed Brain's company ;)

- OH YEA ! and I was talking random shit with carrot on the MRT, this time about what is the most painless way to suicide, the old indian lady next to us wasn't too happy lol.. (I suggested jump from a damn high building and black out b4 I reach the floor, he suggested lethal injection + slping pills or air in the veins haha)

one of the more awesomer days in my career

2009-04-28T22:55:00.002+08:00

When I settle into my sheets tonight and spend sometime with the Almighty, I have alot to tell Him (no like he doesn't know ....) and thank Him for. For sure, today was one of the most f***king greater days in camp, cause absolutely NO commanders were in the office. The ones that did come in, like AL and Nil were very nice to us, which is what made the office so SERENE (lol..) and tranquil (and like OMG my spelling is going down the damn drain .... I actually had to go online to look up the word "tranquil" ... thought it was spelt as "tranquial"). This is like the way army should be lar haha . . . . ofcourse it be not long before the entire office falls into chaos if it be the case, but I don't give a shit.

Got to clock 120+ KM, as well as complete one of my night trainings (which means I need to stay back one night less FOR NOW). AL took me for the 106KM and BTat took me for the 14+KM, which is good, cause both of them are awesome VComms and mentors (AL is very good cause he teaches ALOT, gives tips and talks to the driver. He is also very caring for the welfare and safety of me/us.) Nat's "twin brother" was also very kind, dun see him got ang kong on his shoulder means ah beng, he offered to share his dinner with me cause I forgot to ask him pack food back for me.

BEST of all, Dr Liang called and told me that Tiger was alright, and that her testing showed that he had no fungal infections or bacterial growths. She seems quite caring for Tiger also, and asked if I had brought him to ultrascan, regarding his heart murmur. To her I say well done and keep up with the passionate work for them animals. Though the possibility of Tiger having some heart problems is something tht bugs and worries me.

2009-04-21T22:16:00.004+08:00

I got my camp pass made today ! FINALLY... ...

And Tiger has been wheezing lately ... which means its off to the vet soon . HAIZ... one problem fixed, another crops up ... just last week I fixed my leaky aquarium, then there was the spoilt internet modem ... then now this .

Oh and I got to drive the minibus today. Dang thing is REALLL slow. ... But I realised I have "forgotten" some basic safety procedures -> I actually negotiated a tight turn on gear 3 at 20+ 30km/h ... and I embarrassingly STALLED at the slope ... ... But everythings cool, though I'm still angry I din get my share of potato wedges at the cookhouse today cause everyone else cleared it and they did not refill :P haha... ...

Onto other stuffs . . . erm . . I actually intend to go Australia sometime soon ...Jetstar was actually offering like $360 to and from Taipei (WHICH if you know me long enough, has been THE cuntry I have always wanted to visit !) But upon further calculations, the lodging's gonna set me back an extra $400 ... which is free if I go to Australia :P therefore the choice is obvious -> go australia first, Taiwan can wait. I become increasingly regretful that I did not follow Tami to Taiwan last time .... Its one of those trips of a lifetime which I missed ... SWA lar !

2009-04-20T22:46:00.002+08:00

I FINALLY like went back to da unit today. Physical layout changed abit, but the people has not changed much. GOdzilla is still himself, Ah Siao same same, 1SG EU also. The other lao jiao most of them ORD liao lar.

I reported like 30mins late today cause I waited for Ben at guard house. Godzilla was like "eh how come u never fall in ?! " then I said I stomachache. Then he was like "how come YOU ALL (me and Ben) all stomachache one ah ?! "[ apparently ben uses tt excuse too]. Then I geisiao act blur (live longer) "eh no leh, i only know I got stomachache, dunno anyone else. Then he goes on to rant "aiyo dun play funny ok bla bla fucking bla" JUST at that moment, my previous "understudy" comes in and asks me to look after some log book for him while he go eat. Then at tt very moment, Godzilla changes 180deg, and starts to praise me "he very gilat one ah , you cannot bluff him, last time he do all this books one " (he tells my previous "understudy"). lol.... Its really times like this tt makes the day more memoriable :) - His character lar.. its just realy funny, serious but yet not serious.

Then there was the RSM appointment change parade, which I thought was a fucking draggy presentation. We spent like and hour plus waiting for the GOH to arrive... like wth lar.. the only good thing which came out of tt was the reception :P ... I also overheard some guys in the upper echelon's conspiring against Ah Siao and his slackiness. How this even unfolds will be spectacular haha.

2009-04-01T20:40:00.002+08:00

Been another longass time since I last posted... ... anyways, I have been at drivers course for the last 2 months. Chiong through the entire thing, everything on attempt one and got the "virgin" PDL (which basically is the PDL with no red marks denotting a failure), but in the end I will change it for a qualified licence... actually was supposed to do it yesterday, but I was "down with DIARRHOEA".

KC and I both used the same excuse at the same clinic, but he got his arse prodded not me :P lol... KC is a dude from the drivers course, just sux to know that our friendship "ends" after next or next next week when we complete the course, guess we will meet up together with CF and Myanmar again. Seeing that they are all stay in personnel, I feel really fortunate to have been posted to TNB as a stay out.

Nana's BF got posted into my unit, which I guess is SOMETHING worth looking forward to, in a sense that it will be quite interesting, given the COD's affiliation with him.

Oh and I adopted a cat last saturday, he will be known as Tiger, his previous owner called him Copperfield cause of his ability to "disappear" whenever people appeared. But to me, his stripes warrant him that name. Besides, it was also a suggestion by my parents.

Erm. then theres the cookie monster I've been seeing like 2 or 3 times a week who takes the same bus from Mandai to CCK and the same train to JE and then towards Joo Koon, can't deny that she has helped me through rough days when Boomer KK nags at me. (its amazing what an amazing lady, even a complete stranger can do to a man ... ) the wierdass but yet farmiliar meltsy effect on me heart when she smiled at me on the bus that day just before she alighted .. etc. etc. Im beginning to think too far... ok anyways, just sad I din get to see that hoe for a last time today cause I was dissmissed in the afternoon when shes still at work :( tomorrow I continue me course at sembawang.... which leaves her as a figment of my memories now ... perhaps things would have turned out different in another life time. (but then again, vice versa, she may not have existed in another lifetime... bla bla bla ill spare the philosophical psycobabelbullshit).

Ok ! So lifes alright I guess... just goto take anohter 500mins of Lee KK's bullshit then I'm out. like what they all said. Just tahan and fuck off after the course. Im just glad he wasn't my perm trainer for the main bulk of the course or I may have just drove the MAN Truck/ 3 ton or rover off the fucking cliffs of Kaki Bukit ....

FINALLY, the wait is OVER

2009-02-02T20:47:00.007+08:00

As of today, I fuck off from TNBase for 2 months or so, until I get my SAF driving licence and am ready for details. Will be spending my next 2 months at Sembawang. This post is specially dedicated to the few people who have made my life a living hell and the few who have given me hope to hang onto the light.

Living Hell

Person #1 -
"Godzilla", "He who does not velcro", "Viking Kong/ King of Monsters", "play your mother chee bye"and "Master Swearer)
Reason -
He is THE boss of the office, mainly because his boss the Officer Commanding is normally not in the office. He is actualy nice guy, but at times he can drive me so fucking mad, I wanna stuff a shotgun up his arse and pump it full of lead. Especially terrible, is his habit of calling people to do stuff like 30mins to an hour before work ends. Also, he likes to give people repeat work ... ... and he curses a hell lot, I mean like damn vulgar (tt's why we called him "Master Swearer" and other more vulgar names). Squeezing off from him is also goddamn hard .... even though he promises it, you may not neccessarily get it .... which brings me to the next point -> He is also quite forgetful .... .. (which is good when he calls me to sign confinement but forgets to endorse it later), but also irritating when I pass work to him then he forget/ looses the docs ... Other then that, he is actually an awesome commander. Loves to talk cock also, which is very good.

Person #2 -
Baikah 的黑人 (which also means crippled blackie)
Reason -
This SOB is one fucking prick, luckily I only had to deal with his slopy attitude in the last week, and not from day one. Talk cock bodoh, try to build reputation/ climb over people's heads ... On day #1 he claimed to be in Ah Siao's batch at BMTC, (what he fucking did not know was that Swee Swee was Ah Siao's church and School friend). Swee Swee subsequently placed this ladyboy cunt in his place when he tried to boast about ties with Ah Siao.
Asked me to help him with work, when it was his turn to do work today, he siam here siam there like a puki. Last week I asked if I could use his PC's microsoft words to type some sai kang, he told me his PC don't have. I went to Godzilla and was redirected to his PC, after which he lan lan let me use, I realised he was using MWords all this while ... (like fucking selfish right ...) Then just now I told Godzilla I need that cunt's help with some work cause I damn fucking busy. The crippled bitch had the audacity to say he also damn busy. I was dman pissed off I told him off infront of Godzilla and I quote "like real sial, I see you whole day read book only" that managed to put the twerp in his place again. goddamn asswipe is what he is ... fucking clerk fucker lazy like fuck wayang leg injured to get down pest .. unpatriotic fuck PUI ~! If it were up to me, I'd post him out of my unit to some low ass shit hole somewhere far away from his home.

Hang on the Hope

Person #1
Carrot - undoubtly the most hard working person around the room (even more than myself). Mr. Nice guy really goes out to make my day. I bought him a drink last week, which is definitely lesser than what he has done for me. He came in about 2 weeks after me and under studied under me. What I can say is that he is trustworthy enough to depend on as well as produce proper work, not half Fuck standards that alot of people produce (Even I have produced half fucks on certain days). I have yet to see him do that, though last week he finally got so pissed he cursed Godzilla's "Chee Bye".

Person #2
Swee Swee - Came to the office a few days after me, from week one we clicked well. He is one hilarious nigga, and also happy go lucky. I also learnt from him some "survival" skills like cover backside, convenient lying, pushing blame. None of which we should use in the normal world, but saved me many confinements in the office. Daring also, speaks in "our code" infront of Godzilla, not afraid to play around with fire and test the waters with Godzilla, which gives me the needed adrenaline rush once in a while and the laughs till stomachaches.

Person #3
The Sarge studying part time - Anohter nice guy, though I did not have much tiem to interact with him, he does come in sometimes to bookout vehicles and at the same time talk some cock/ teach us about the cultures/ survival skills. He also willing to share his experiences as a regular.

Person #4
Ah Siao - Newer and much younger then Godzilla, but much higher in rank. Ah Siao is a very nice guy, has covered our asses with the chocolate bars on his shoulders a few times as well as made life simpler. Once a while he also comes into our cubicle to talk cock and MouseHunt. Without him around, Me, Swee Swee and Carrot would never have been able to enjoy certain benefits as well as get out of sticky situations.

Luckily for me, the number of good guys out number the bad asses. But I can only say once more, office work is NOT THAT EASY. Also, I learnt another lesson today.... the most hard working guy in the office will nearly always kena taken advantage of, although he also does escape from trouble based on "good conduct" at times (hope Carrot don't learn it the hard way like I did ...) Main reason being, if you keep doing your work nice, people get more dependent on you, Godzilla gives you more and more to do and expects more from you. Eventually, when you fuck up, he will try to clobber you and tear you up like warm bread. For me, I was lucky to have protection from da Kit Kat bars of Ah Siao.

2009-01-25T22:33:00.002+08:00

Happy Chinese New Year to all of you :)

Been going out ALOT lately, bank reserves depleting to retardation levels liao. Though yesterday, some guy/company known only as "GC" deposited 100bux into my account.. . hmm I can only think of 2 possible sources - "AVIVA insurance" and the yearly government dividends thingy.

Weird note - I actually miss the office now ... as in working with "carrot" and Moorthi's "right and man". We talked alot of shit in our time haha ... (and watched a shit load of crazy movies, from Rambo to Ali G). Ah Siao is also another character to be missed (so much power in such a lesser experienced person) hahaha ...

Anyways, once again I wish all people out there a happy CNY. (especially em' chicks : if you want a no holes barred [ofcourse that includes no responsibilities] day date, me the one you lookin' for :P lesbians also OK, gays can fuck off. lol.... so despo liao ...)

the crazy incident

2009-01-20T15:47:00.002+08:00

Was at Mount E yesterday, and I left my wallet with mums (which conveniently includes my 11B, cash, bus cards and every other fuck shit important for the normal functions of my day to day activities).

I discovered this mishap only THIS MORNING at the bus stop just as 189 was about to dock .... I ended up going all the way to camp without my wallet, in hopes that I will still be allowed in. At the guard room, the chao private/recruit of a guard (i saw him booking in fresh from BMT a week after I booked in) refused to allow me to enter the compound ... ... I asked/ tried to reason but to no avail. He simply told me there was nothing that he could do or no solutions he could offer (not even if I called down an officer to verify my identification.)

Anyways, ah siao gave me the whole day to retrieve the 11B, so tomorrow I will report back to camp. "he who does not velcro" also called me later this afternoon, to "verbally reprimand" me for not bringing my 11B, and also to "INVITE" me over for CNY reunion dinner at camp should I forgot the 11B again :P (first time anyone not related to me at all has invited me to reunion dinner, guess I should be happy)

Happy New Year to all you folks out there, remember to eat em' ba kwa's in moderation :) Ignore all of the "enjoy your CNY, have a feast" along that lines bullshit adverts, cause they just wanna grab your $moolah and neglect your health ...

2009-01-13T21:58:00.002+08:00

the thing about lard is i never felt it coming
it kinda crept up into me by surprise
now theres a voice inside my stomach
got me wondering,
is this true I wanna ask doc one more time -

say it again to me
cause i hate the way it feels when I know that you're right
about the lard inside my tighs

say it again to me its like the whole worlds starts to crumble
when my arteries start to clooooogggggg !!!

(say it again, say it again ... dadadada)

Ok so I gained about slightly under 2 kilos in a month ...
Had one to many longan slurps (longan in iced syrup...)
and one to many plates of Mee Pok tah in my 6 meals a day routine...

8am BF
10am Tea time
12pm Lunch
3pm Snack
6pm dinner
9pm (supper, but not always, though it is still bad)

Just hope that my new tentative "DESK job/ clerk" (though I'm not one by vocation..) will make me eat less.

Today the warrant officer was in camp, so things were quite shitty, cause he began to do "audits" on all the files. Lo and behold, he dug up piles of bullshit which had been accumulated by the previous guy at my desk as well as by me in the past 2 weeks.

2LT's always around in the office, but though he is of higher rank, he is like a friend. Someone the same age and therefore we can click well. The other commanders are also mostly busy with their stuff, and they also can't really be bothered with petty day to day administrative work and red tapes crap.

Anyway, poor sergeant, as much as I tried to coverup, WO smelt foul play and decided to go through the registers himself, and the 3SG Regular ended up signing 2 EXTRASSsss (just for taking the car out for 30mins to send another 3SG somewhere WITHIN camp, without signing out the car keys.) My anus had its fair (or rather unfair, cause it was less compared to the others) share of screwing cause the log books were in a mess and the system which I had kept in place was crumbling as a result of endless hours on the PSP and my MP3.

Anyways, just wanna survive through this few weeks without incident, then I can happily get on with driving course. Guess what I experience is just a small portion of what SAF clerks go through on a regular basis.

That said, DO NOT look down on these people (even though some of these SOBs keng and wayang to get that post, which I most FUCKING detest... not out of jealousy, but I just hate ppl who keng, cause they most likely caused alot of trouble for someone else.... which is fucking selfish and fucked up attitude).

For the others who just got posted as clerks for proper reasons, due respects to you for having to put up with so much BS office work daily, even better if you do you work well. This "clerk" vocation, I believe I have experienced just a small nibble of the full thing, and what I can say is - its paradise at times, but when the shit does hit the fan, it turns to hell :)

2009-01-09T16:39:00.008+08:00

Pass VS Present - 1939 Argus C3 RF VS 2004 Voigtlander Bessa R2A

The new Bessa R2A FINALLY arrived on saturday 3rd Jan, which made it a pretty good new years day gift for me :D accompanied with the nokton 35/1.4, and its lower price compared to its summilux brethren by Leica, makes it an awesome RF to behold (one can say mai hiam buay pai or you get what you pay for), but i think this is a better deal anytime (unless ofcourse you do professional photog and/ or churn out the big greens like not many mother's son can do) then ofcourse by all means go for the lux. (not everyone can afford a lambo or ferrari)

For easy reference, this is a comparison of the nokton VS the lux.
Image quality not that good as its small and been resized (you needa click on the pic to enlarge for better viewing). Top left and bottom right are Leica shots on the M8. Done by someone and posted on one of the forums. These 2 pictures has the unique "leica glow" that the nokton lacks. (paired with superior glass quality and made in GERMANY), you will pay about 6X as compared to the nokton. Something a NSF simply CANNOT afford...

Anyways, hope to do a test run on the R2A over the weekend.

2008-10-27T11:35:00.010+08:00

POP Oh !!!!!!!! So ... the last post was like just before I entered BMTeeeeeee. Now I'm out (like FINALLLY) ... And got a GREAT posting too (but this may mean [TOUCH fucking wood] that there is a possibility of me GAINING WEIGHT !!!!!) Dad attended my parade, was supposed to be with my cous, but he bailed out LAST minute.... wasting away one tix .... The best part of the parade was, I would fly off to Shanghai the very next day :P haha. (my dad calls it "part 2 of the parade")

This was taken at Suzhou (some town near SH, known for its water villages) I'm wearing my "matrix trenchcoat" on top of 3 layers of clothing .... cause the temperature then was like freaking below 10degs. (having less body fat also means my resistance to cold has gone down. Seriously, I'm not joking, and I have realised this for a fact).

We originally booked a tour with Chan Brothers, but because I had to leave before the intended 10days was up (due to army...), we decided not to follow the tour till its end, so as not to waste time travelling and going to places which are not as scenic/ exciting as we would like it to be. Also, we already knew SH at the back of our hands which made me question my dad's move to book a tour to SH of all places haha.. He even commented that his friends would laugh upon hearing that he followed a tour group around SH. We did inform the tour guideS that we would be leaving after 2 days, but what really pissed my dad off was their constant referral back to the subject of payment which included the days we did not tour. They did not bother to ask for more details like what time or where we would leave ..... So on the morning of the 2nd day, we just packed up and left. Took a train down to SH from Hangzhou. Tour agents SMSed my dad about the outstanding payment, and he refused to reply to the msges, and we were officially listed as MIA !!! Chan Brothers contacted my mum and filed some police report stating we were lost in Shanghai.

We were eventually "found" (or more like my dad was) when he used the tour agent booked tickets to get back to singapore after 10days [by then I had returned to SG on my own]. Issues were resolved at the airport and happy ending.

XMas 2008
Anyways, this years XMas wasn't as "festive" as it was in previous years for me. (my friend says that I owe it to age and NS). Xmas also reminds me of a stupid/ sad incident in my life on this very evening 2 years ago. .... . which added on to the sianzation of this years celebrations. ..

XMas eve was spent with family and relatives at my relative's place for a gathering/ xmas party. The food was not too bad, I got to give them that. Ate some white coloured wrap which tasted like seafood, but did not look like one, although it was still awesome (my other cousin can vouch for that as he liked it too). Then there was turkey and wine and fried Rice etc. But the "problem" with these gatherings, is that after dinner, nothing much happens.

Adults go on with their talks on politics and finance (this year's was probably one of the most "exciting"for them due to the sudden and dramatic changes in world's financial status). The children (or young adults) will then cluster together and do their own stuff. There isn't really much bonding time in that sense, other then during dinner (which isn't also tt strong as we just sit around and eat). But I guess, from talks with friends that my family is not the only one with this "situation". Perhaps its just in the culture of asian families to gather over meals (like reunion dinner) and not do other stuff like participate in games/ activities together. Anyway enuf of that....

Xmas was spent with Kiwi and JX at JP2. We wanted to watch Australia, but bailed out when we checked that the show was 3hours long and the next available timing was at 9pm ..... cause transport home would be an issue, and I had to go to "work" the next day. We then decided to just eat a nice dinner, and I got them to eat NYNY (I've been like dying to go there for some time now, particularly after I saw people at WC Plaza eating NYNY whilst eating at SIAM Kitchen on the 2nd floor last month).

Another eatery I like is Xin Wang HONG KONG kitchen (now we all know that they(Hong Kong) don't just produce good girls haha....)

I ate this fish rice thingy, whilst my friend at the Mui Fan. Both good, though I thought the mui fan was better. Best of all however, was dessert.... OMG .... red bean ice ! took a pic amidst the eating, as you can see/ notice, they bother to layer the ice and the red bean, so that after you have eaten the outer layer, you do not end up with just tasteless ice shavings.

2008-09-29T09:50:00.002+08:00

Confinement week number 2 has FINALLY ended. ... .. . .

Let me see .. My new COY does not seem as strict as my previous, though this may not be the case ? As its only confinement week and the 3SGs are probably giving us a break ? On a better note, or maybe worse on somedays when I feel slack, it seems that whilst my previous COY HIGHLY emphasizes on regimentation (or maybe it was just because of a certain PSergeant), this COY emphasizes more on fitness level i.e. to say that I will be spending my saturday mornings and afternoons in camp till I can FINALLY clear my SBJ, Chinups and 2.4km ... I am happy though, as I have seen significant improvements from my previous IPPT. The new buggers got the new brown PT singlet, which makes my grey on like OVERLY outstanding ....

A certain SG thought that I would be his obedient bitch and forced me to buy the new brown singlets. I decided to get approval with regards to the wearing of my grey PT kit and I got it. A good thing I guess, or I would have to spend what little I have to buy new shirts. Moving on to bunk dynamics .. I could say that I am not getting along as well with the group of people from this new bunk as compared to the previous, in fact I have already identified like 2 so called buay gao gans/ blur fucks always trying to siam here siam there... could it be the result of having a more "slack" environment ? I don't know for sure, but I hope that as the shit picks up, we will all get along better.

Anyways, Selamat Hari Raya to all the muslims out there. Thanks to Hari raya, we spent 16 days confined but had a longer bookout.

Cover Me ! I'm going in !

2008-09-07T19:03:00.006+08:00

COMEX ! Has finally come to an end... Anyways, was at the COMEX on the last day, and it was crowded as ever.... On day 2 I was at Citylink, but did not go to the fair. Decided to snap a quick picture of the frenzy at Cityhall MRT ! Met Syd there, was glad to see him after like many months.. good to know he's gonna POP liao... whilst I'm going in THIS FRIDAY for round 2 :D My motivation is 9th Division, either that OR back to LARC V. Anywhere else like storeman or clerk and I'de be damn sian.

This WILL be another photo post :) Got my canon Extension Tube last week ! For those who do not know what it is, extension tubes basically allows the photographer to take Macro/ Closeup shots using normal lenses (which would otherwise be impossible). Its a much more economical way of doing macrophotography, given that it costs like 1/4 the price of a 1:1 macro lense.

My favourite food ! CKT !!!!!!!!!!!!! Kay Ham !

Ken's Finger on the dail of his EOS 5D ! could be much closer though :)
This is a picture of my shrimp tank, possibly one of the closest shot I can get with my 105mm (like TOTALLY not close... )
Insert the MACRO ! haha. My cherry shrimps are not face to face with me. Tried to get as close as possible, but this was the best I got :) dang shrimps moving about made it freaking hard to focus (plus their less then 1cm size).
I actually decided to set up another prawn aquarium in my room, this time bigger and planted. And will try the CRS after it is cycled. For now, its just cycling and breeding colonies of good bacteria. No doubt, it will be perfected after my confinement week in Tekong island, where I plan to release CRS into the tank. For now it just contains 2 otto's, 10 cherry's and a F*load of guppy fries I got from fishing at Punggol Park this morning ! Still got the "snail problem". Though these guys don't kill me shrimps or fries, they compete for algae (shrimp food) and release ammonia waste. . .

My otto. Got 2 of these in the tank. He basically eats up the shrimp shit and helps in the water cycling process.
Another fish obtained from punggol park was the Freshwater Marbled Goby aka Soon Hock. This guy I will keep in the garden pond. Allow him to grow big and in time steam him :D hehehehe
Very energetic fish, it actually jumped out of my holding tank twice.... the first time it did, I nearly rolled over it with the wheelers of my roller chair ....

Quebec is due to POP in 2 days time and I'm due to recourse in 4days time .... haiz... guess OOTing was not such a bad thing either, cause I got to see the army beyond BMT life. As a BMT trainee, I would not have seen nice friendly CPL's, SGT's that I can joke with etc. etc. Though I will definitely have "problems" adjusting back to the tough regimentations of BMT life, life will always find a way. This time I must not f* up my chance to get into a combat vocation.

the calm..... before the storm

2008-08-21T01:12:00.002+08:00

life ... ROX! I seriously dig this regimental lifestyle ! Signing on is ofcourse NOT an option for me at the moment, but no harm making the most out of my time now right ? (noone pointed a gun at my head while i wrote this post .... incase you were wondering)

Anyway, i guess this is the calm or the enjoyment period while I'm still in a unit, before the "storm" when I return to Casa De Tekong PROLY next month. That place isn't so bad actually, interms of infrastructure, safety measures etc etc. I mean sure, training can get tough, but its all part of TRAINING and part of teaching one to be DISCIPLINE and what nots which are all part of the SAF core value system, but after all, many have gone through this path, and besides, what I ABSOLUTELY love best about it is that I train beside other men, comrades in arms if you will - FRIENDS. The only REAL and BIG problem of that place I guess, is the fact that one is "CUT OFF" from the mainland, and therefore there is a possibility to loose touch with the outside world (may get depressing). But for those of you reading this and going in soon, TRUST me - just take it as it comes with a positive attitude (you have probably heard this line like a gazzzzzilion times) but its true, BMT is really one of the most fun time of NS life (fun does not mean "nua" or lax or slack etc. it means you make friends, do silly things, learn lots and best of all, get a shot at SAFTI for PES A/B candidates ... that boat for me has sailed though, and I guess I missed it .. haiz sadnessssss)

Also, not all the sergeants or commanders are a'holes out to gan your ass... look at it from their perspectives - they are just doing their jobs... being an out of coursee, I was given the opportunity to meet the commanders behind closed doors away from the prying eyes of trainees, and like 9 of 10 of them are very nice people, its just that they have to be tough to trainees ESPECIALLY those who buay gao gan (never tio fuck enough and therefore yearning to tio gan) in order to shape us up and toughen us up. Its not called MILLITARY training for nothing ...

Today one corporal volunteered to help another corporal UNCONDITIONALLY (no further details to be revealed about the nature), citing that "he was from my Tekong days". That statement made an IMPACT on me. As for myself, I embrace my 13 week recourse and I just hope that I get another bunch of CHAO recruits as tough and as superb as the ones from my first BMT encounter. Cross my fingers and pray to the Almighty :)

Tomorrow I go for FFI (fit for infantry) to certify that I'm 100% ready for BMT.

This weekend going to the UWA open house to apply for courses, I might just "CONVENIENTLY" turn down SMU therefore leaving me "NO CHOICE" but to go over to UWA :P haha [ofcourse i'm not that siao lar... just a thought though] nights nights

2008-08-14T23:41:00.002+08:00

BORING ! Is the word of the day. I'm BORED beyond imagination... nevermind that, in 3 days time I'll be back at COY line with a goal in life ... but RIGHT NOW I am so freaking bored.... Just don't know why. Hasn't felt like that in a long time ( the feeling you get when you have absolutely so much time on your hands but no plan or goals in life...)

I SERIOUSLY CANNOT come close to comprehending how come of my buddies from camp (not mentioning names here) can actually stay home all day and for like a few days at a time/ their entire leave... do they like have some cool hobby which I don't ? perhaps there is some cool activity going round singapore amongst the teens/ young adult populace which I am not aware of .... main thing is ... on weekdays, friends are at work, serving the country or studying which means there is like TOTALLY NOONE to meet (thanks to the start of uni this monday ...) from like 8 'a' freakin' 'm' till like dinner and on somedays LIKE TODAY, NOONE to meet at all....

Will be going back to Tekong HOPEFULLY next month, but then again, it only depends on the effeciancy of clerks and availability of spaces... Wonder if they treat recoursees any better/worse... guess I'll find out soon :)

2008-07-27T23:55:00.003+08:00

I just don't know any longer with any certainty what to do/ what I have been doing.

The past month and a halve has been really dramatic for myself. Certainly due to the many great changes in my life. Guess I can say I have changed of sorts, both physically and mentally.

Anyway, I don't really know if I'll ....

Ah fuck... I'll continue this post when I'm more prepared..

Enlist in Peace

2008-06-13T01:33:00.003+08:00

Today was a great day, met up with Kiwi 2JX KH and other new friends. Thankyou all for taking your times out this week to meet up.

IT show 2008 was alright for me, as I had no mood to buy anything cause I will be enlisting tomorrow at 9.30am. Later we all went down to Arab Street to try and find this Russian Restaurant, but apparently it had closed down... so we ate at this place called Chilli Code (Indian Restaurant). Freaking not enough sia... haha. One guy ordered the dishes cause we all did not know anything about indian cuisine, so we just left it up to the guy who picked the restaurant. We ended up eating appetizers which were not enuf, but very tastey nonetheless. We then headed down to Cineleisure to watch THE HAPPENING. Which I thought was a complete rip off, cause it did keep me in suspense, but the CLIMAX which I was looking forward to never arrived....

The night ended quite well though, and I can now Enlist with peace, cause I know that the phase of life after my army is more or less settled too :)

Oh yes, thankyou *Brain*, for CALLING me from Tokyo ! Just to wish me luck. and to peanut for calling and sjh as well as fel for their sms :)

Dirty Money

2008-06-04T09:35:00.002+08:00

OK, so this week will be my last week at Pick N Go 101.

SOOO, why is todays post called dirty money? I decided to write something upin honor of a regular customer who also happens to work in the Kopitiam. Anyway, he comes in to buy cigs, and twelve out of ten times, his dough will be freaking oily .... and thats not all, after ridding the oil off my fingers, I have to deal with the SMELL... so yea.. its good money, but dirty money ... cause I get about say 58+ bucks from him, but in the form of oily smelly notes and coins....

Guess my mum's notion about not putting money in your mouth of handling food after handling money was right huh... (i used to put dollar coins in my mouth when I was in kinder/primary school) Don't ask me why cause I don't know... I rest my case.

2008-05-14T14:30:00.004+08:00

As you all have no doubt by now heard, Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar on May 2nd and was at its peak about 200+km/h. Anyways, it is estimated to have destroyed over 20% of the country .... (overly lar) and ALTHOUGH the official report is about 30-40,000 deaths, on the ground rescue and aid workers put it at about 100k+ (Tsunami was about 230+k victims) .

Why then, did the millitary government take SOO long to allow aid workers in and UNTIL now, still refuses to allow in most of the outside help offered... AND EVEN worse, the news this morning over the radio reported that good food and aid from outside help was stored into a military warehouse and those supplies were exchanged for what the officials described as "tasteless and low-quality" biscuits produced by the Industry Ministry to be handed out to cyclone victims... Only after immense international pressure, has the Junta government began to allow in foreign aid.

What do I have to say to this ? I wish I was a photojournalist, then I would have a chance to get in there to do a cover OR to China, which is another great place (And I do pity them too, particularly given that the large death toll in China's Sichuan quake are children... like the FUTURE of this great nation..).

Not being a pessismist or what, but I do believe that this greenhouse effect thing is going to give us somemore pretty grim news in the months to come, just hope that the Beijing Olympics goes on well in August 8th. And most importantly/ selfishly, Singapore is not severely affected. Btw... life sux cause thnx to Nargis, we now have another lesser supplier of rice in the world.... which I DEFINITELY believe will increase the price of rice further :( And then there is the rise of oil prices.... from $120+, and it will only go up to $130 and in a worse case even to $150 a barrel !... Infact, experts have even forecast a possible hike to $200 a barrel in the next 2 years or so ....

Then ofcourse, with the rise of crude oil, everything else will rise... (cost of tractor fuel up + cost of electricity up + other costs up = higher production costs = higher cost to final consumers (You and Mua) ) ... haiz... Is this the beginning of the Lord's long awaited arrival ? If He comes today, am I worthy of His prescence ... Chong Mar desu...

2008-04-28T14:40:00.002+08:00

haizz... as the weeks go by, the only letter I got was a letter from the Army.... no varsity application letters from either U's .. :( depressing lar .. I know jealousy is a sin ( and i pray to God, take this away from my heart.), but I can't stand but feel that way everytime a friend tells me he/she has received an ACCEPTANCE letter .. haizz.. - OUT-

2008-04-20T22:32:00.002+08:00

Someone once asked me (actually a few people have) "what have u learnt from working at the convenience store?" My answer ofcourse is NOTHING. Absolutely NOTHING. I mean I can go along the "perfect/ model" answer and bullshit - oh yes, I have learnt alot, how to manage accounts, how to handle hard customers, chit chat with customers and bla fucking blah ! but when alls said and done, all that is just crap cause if I still have to "learn" how to keep accounts and talk to customers, I must as well blast myself back to primary or secondary school... (and I'm not saying that I'm perfect at any of this, just that I haven't LEARNT it as a new skill, but just improved on already innate skills.

I have worked there for a month now, and what can I say? I has been a loooong month (or quite short come to think about it.) I did not even realised till my dad told me.. and I guess if there is any lesson I've learnt is I guess the importance of money and hardness to MAKE money. I'm not saying I'm a spoilt bastard or what (and I can gladly say that my monthly expenses can be considered one of the lowest amongst friends, given that I don't buy branded clothes or eat out often. I only realised I had 2 G-Star Raw shirts in my closet cause I'm guessing my sis or mum stuffed them in there [as a 21st surprise????]. However, I will go on to say that I could better my spending habits.

In the past it was just like no money than ask and it shalt be given, hence i did not really bother much about the hardness of earning $ (and honestly, the 7-11 parttime job was just bullshit. at $4 an hour... my freaking monthly allowance pays me more than that crap, so i guess it was more of a sideline for fun job cause i was still gettting my allowance then.) In Beijing for 3months, though I got 100sing a month, I had my dads atm card, which meant much more then a 100 a month, and in ChuiZHou for the last 5months OIAP, lets just say I was living like a king... though I got only 600sing a month.

NOW however, my only source of income is 50bux a day for TEN HOURS which is about a 1000 a month with no allowance. I guess its not THAT hard of work, but the pay is not that high either. But at 50bux a day, I really REALLY REALLLLLY consider VERY fucking carefully before I spend. Rob told me that day that 8bux was nothing for the rental of a graduation gown, but i think different (i mean 8bux really is nothing, but its jut poly diploma for crinyg out loud... and not that Im a GPA 4.0 scholar, which is why I don't feel that its worth spending the 8bux for the gown... for my first degree perhaps... but for poly, its a NONO) its like giving an amateur a Leica (giving an amarteur a $4000 camera.., obviously he/she will turn out crappy photos and underuse the thing, just like I will be underusing my poly gradgown/ 8bux WHICH takes my slightly over 1.5hours to earn). Then last week I ate at some atas place at vivo.... freaking $70 for japanese FINEdining crap dinner.. which consisted of like 5 or 6 dishes and not like 5 or 6 maincourse, 5 or 6 pieces of sushi.... u get the deal...

SO if there is something I learnt from working?? I guess its how to be more CHEAPSKATE. I'm beginning to understand my dad a little... and I guess the saying 'like father; like son' is somewhat true.

2008-04-17T17:16:00.002+08:00

Just received my Enlistment notification, requiring me to report to duty 13th June.

Guess I'll be spending my 21st 24th June in a resort island off Singapore.

Glad I can finally be of some use to my nation :)

tHe kiNda sHiat tHaT aInT GoNNa gEt yOu LaiD

2008-04-11T08:05:00.002+08:00

I've been mending un convenience store for 2 weeks now, and have compiled a brief profile of some of the kuan's and the pattern of customer's around these lanes.

Standard - The people here belong to what is known as the "S" quadrants, which means the specialists (engineers, scientists, small biz owners etc.) Ofcourse there are "E" (employee) quadrant people which are the clerks, recpetionists and security guards, but they form the minorities. They all go for qi and pi (cheap cheap cheap....) or not they will (chip chip chip)

Gift of touch.
the great one gave each and everyone of us 5 senses. This catagory of customers particularly enjoy partaking in their sense of touch. they will come into the store, look around, bend over shelves, TOUCH my items, SHIFT my items, PRESS my items, and some even take it to the next level. They bring the fucking items to the table, and just LEAVE it there, later conveniently CHANGING their minds.

Remedy - rearrange EVERY drink again, cause they like to TURN the can drinks so that the logo is off centre or faces backwards, I have to turn back the can drinks so the logo faces forward. Sometimes these guys TOPPLE the entire fucking row of drinks (like dominos) and I have to rearrange it back. Ofcourse for the higher level people, I have to freaking put back all the goods from my counter to where they belong...

Plaintiff's
These fucks stand around in the store and COMPLAIN - literally. (and there is a pattern, they normally take the form of school kids in uniform or ladies in their late 20s to mid 30s..) They have abit of the touch syndrome, but atleast they bother to put back the goods on the shelf. They will look around the store, and then "share" with me their evaluation of the goods.... They will even at times tell me how EXPENSIVE the goods are (when for a fucking fact I know we sell one of the cheapest cause I do actively go around checking prices)...

Remedy - turn on my MP3 and enjoy the music, ALWAYS smile at all customers, old young ugly good or bad.

The tourists
These assholes are not tourists (or foreigners) per'se. They are just ordinary folks like you and I. But they are FUCKING off the market cause they come in here and ask me retarded questions like what is this (and point to Vitasoy..) That day a lady with strong indian accent brought a SNICKERS bar over to my counter and fucking asked me if it contained peanuts... Some of them also allow me to guide them about the shop and introduce the goods to them. They end up with the touch syndrome and the plaintiff problem. Luckily, most of them still end up buying something, however small or cheap that something is.

Remedy - Just continue to SERVICE them...

Nice
These people are part of the few who actually is one reason why I don't shoot myself because of the others. They come in and first thing they give me, is a smile and a big hello or good morning/ afternoon. Another type of these people do not give me the morning/afternoon or hello, but they bother to engage in conversation with me when I talk to them, and not just the usual (uhmm, yea its good, i think to too etc.) they actually give me their own opinions and input.

Remedy - there is no remedy, why would I wanna fix such nice people.

2008-04-07T14:26:00.002+08:00

Time sure FLIES ...
Has it been 5 years already since we first met at Mt. Doom ?
5 Years of going here and there ?
Through my JC years and yours,
through my poly ?!

I really did not realise this till you reminded me so ...

This year will be our 21st Bdae's,

Cheers to another 50 years !

I blew it ...

2008-04-04T18:37:00.003+08:00

Ok, so I've been da boss of the Cafe's convenience stall for a week now (ok the real boss is my mum). Anyways, OH MY TIAN! if this is what she has been doing for like years.... i respect her... really straining on my (*hot) body... the routine is like 5am/530am wake up, go work open doors. 12pm help wait the cafe upstairs while my dad takes over the convenience store downstairs for 2hours (the lunch peak hour). After 2, we begin to close up lunch. I go dry some dishes and then eat my lunch. Then its down to the convenience store again to relief my dad and let him eat his lunch and do his stuff. ALLLLLLLL the way till 7pm !

Then I've been going out every day till like 12+ cause I can only start meeting people at 8pm so 4hours is just right. Then I go home and bath. At about 130-2am I go to bed, and the routinous RAT RACE starts again ! My gawd (I used gawd and not "God" so does that still count as using His name in vain ?????) ... this is worse thn studying to Ngee Ann's Exams please... And I watched Vantage Point that day after work, and I fell asleep in the cinema AGAIN (the other time was when watching semi pro). I apologize to the 2 peeps who was sitting beside me at the theatre (u know who you are :P).

Here comes the part where I screwed up. There was this SWEEEt lady about early to late 20s I guess, whoes like in uni and doing some experiments or SOMETHING. She came in that day and left her pouch (handphone ? wallet? Camera?) on the table after paying. Later when she came back and asked for it, I said I didn't see shit. Nearly gave her a heart attack (i'm one mean muthafucka) then when I FINALLY told her i was kidding, I could see that she wanted to smack me liao, but she was so kind to say "oh ok, you really gave me a fright but thanks". Hontoni why Ken Ken did such a thing... why I did it I do not know ............ :P I guess its not that bad cause it was April 1, but the outcome was not as what I expected ...

2008-04-01T11:03:00.003+08:00

OK! Its another round of photos the top food photo was taken by this guy called Alwin (WHO OWNS a 100mm CGW Lense) but using my 400D setup. Still life apparently is his (mezzo)forte. Thus he is IN MY VIEW, worthy to wield the 100mm of a lense.

Talent Quest 2008 Photos have been processed at Caffe Cypress 101 Pick N Go whilst Ken Ken slacked about without customers... ...

BTW, can you guess what this is ????!!!!! (taken by the CGWrong 100mm Lense :D)

Some fried shit huh ?!

Maybe fried skin ??

Crepe ??

Part of an alien space craft ?!?!?!??!?! (yar... in spore, and I so happened to be there with my camera and with alwin's lense .... what the odds...)

but NOOOOOOOOOO

its !!!

Cheeseeeepie
I mean Roti Prata from Niggi's Cheese Prata ! For once the odds were in my favor, and the group actually anonymously voted to go to the shop NEAR MY HOUSE (at 1130pm, which is good for me)

Some random guys hands. I forgot who liao, but its not mine (or not the last finger on the bottom of the picture would have a scar... ) [remember this, incase in future u need to identify my body recovered from the burning wreck of a LAMBO or from the surgery table of a heart bypass operation .......] CHOY ge lao sai lar ..

2008-03-30T00:30:00.004+08:00

First off, TOTALLY sorry for missing Nit's BBQ on saturday.... I guess last week has been a bitch for me, and if its of any consolation, screwing up the meeting with you guys was not the only thing ... like on Sat morning, my frend sent me this sms "So I'll meet you at 1230pm at Anchorpoint", that was at 1135am lar, amidst my slumber, I managed to reply "Ok!". The next time I regained consciousness, it was already 12.47pm....... the rest you know lar..

Yesterday was a SUPER DUPER day for meself. Woke up at 8.30am and went to cafe at about 1030 for the freaking stock take bullcrap... ... Cause the convenience store under Caffe Cypress 101 is being handed back to us, we had to take back all the stocks and mend up the store. From today onwards, I'm officially the storekeep for the convenience store, which is like TOTALLY boring cause I just sit there all day and wait for people to buy my goods.

In the evening however, I was the OFFICIAL photographer for NUS Talent Quest 2008 ! (ok, official assistant photographer). But it sure feels good to have the front row to the team and access to anywhere in the SPoly Auditorium where the event was held. And let me tell you.. event photography IS NOT FUNNY. Anyway, the Canon EX external mounted flash has just been bumped to the top of my priority list. The 100mm will have to wait for a year or 2 I guess... (and I found a cheaper alternative to the 100mm like 1/6 cheaper alternative cause its about 100 below 200bux compared to the 800bux lense. That is, extension tubes ! ) but again, the EX flash comes first.... Was using the onboard flash on my 400D and the damn thing kept charging up. The flash would shoot once then there would be this beep tone which meant it was charging. And it took like 5 or so seconds per charge. And let me tell you, that is nightmarish for events, cause performances don't wait 5+ seconds for your flash to charge up... Anyway, the day went great I guess, now its up for the editing of 400+ photos (in which the LOOOOOng overdue chips photos will be done as well) for submittion by Friday !

2008-03-23T02:44:00.002+08:00

I have been trying to discover myself these week (waaaaaahhhhhh round of applause....)

I THINK I have a few flaws..

1. I'm impatient (not till you know me well will you see my impatient'ness)

2. I have commitment issues (cause I like to play it safe mostly. But if i say I will meet you, I most likely will unless something cropped up which is more impt. than YOU) Ofcourse, one issue on the commitment issue part is that I am forgetful, so I do forget our plans sometimes... ... and end up committing to a plan above our plan....

3. I am not a real good liar (but consider this carefully, maybe I'm lying to you now, making you lower your guard against me so that I can lie to you later :D hehe which means the opposite. Don't take every word at word value)

4. I do not have REAL life goals (i mean, up until now, my life goal SERIOUSLY was to study hard, get a good paying job, support my family, better still if my wife can choose whether or not to work. You know, that typical cliche AMERICAN DREAM kinda thing) But then, is that REALLY my real life goal??? I think most guys have that intention? But importantly, when someone actually asked me if that was my driving force behind what I do, i could not look at the person with a straight face and say a simple " YES". . . I guess we are all selfish people, and perhaps my life goal was too presumptious (that i will have a wife and kids, and therefore now i am working solely for someone/ people that may never materialise?) [parents is not counted.. tts like basic manners/ filial piety. And at the rate their going versus my studies, I may embarrassingly need them to look after me....]
Perhaps I just need more serious/ visionable goals like make my million by which age, or get my MRS manual drive by which age (WITHOUT help from dad).

5. I need closure (if you want to attack me on this, its real simple). I may act all cool and shit, but it destroys me inside when something doesn't go well and is left hanging [particularly with regards to social interactions, bgr, frendship, work, family etc.] I just can't sleep properly if I care about something/someone and I do not know the next step/ feeling to expect when I next meet/ approach the situation. It really tears me up sometimes ... (this is when my don't give a fuck attitude can be removed from studies and applied here)

6. I can be rather selfish (to a point that if I can't have something, noone else must have it), depending on what is at stakes (than again, this is not a valid weakness, cause anyone, depending on what is at stakes can be as selfish as i am, selfishness is relative...)

7. I have always been PROMPT for meetings or going 15mins earlier (thnx to the valuable lesson from Miss Yip Yuan Cum). But of late, from influence from SOMEONE and some other people from school... that habit is beginning to die down... AND BY GAWD I HATE it when people are late and do not notify me. Really, I may like relac one corner, but it affects my view on you badly [but then if its a constant thing... I guess i'm used to it].

If there is one thing I learnt in China, which I guess was one of the BEST lessons, is that "nice guys finish last" (sometimes you need to experience it for yourself before you believe it *winks*)

LAST but not least, i am still processing the CHIPS photos so paiseh, my daytime job... leaves me little time (AFTER I've had my dinner, movie games etc.) to do photography.... will do it ASAP. It's a pretty big file cause I shot it on RAW, so it will take effort and monotonous work to compress all the photos :P

2008-03-20T01:25:00.003+08:00

Today, I went for a jog around Chinese Gardens.

AFTER that, I had a bath at kiwis place and conveniently situated in the toilet was an electrical weighing scale..

CHONG MAR!!! I gained 5kgs since working at Cypress 101 in like 4 weeks ?!

Ken Ken HONTONI had one to many :
Cheesecake
Blueberry Pie
Mussel Spaghetti
Hot Chocolate
Puff Pastry
Ice Cream
Ice Cream Brownie
Ice Cream Milk Shake
Set Lunch ...
... and the list goes on ...
Our chef John, who I thought was my friend cause he every lunch time " eh boss wad u wanna eat I cook for you" ..... and I have been more than accomodating to his requests to practice his culinary skills for me ... :P

Starting to train for NS now, hope to have a more relac one corner life when I go in :)

2008-03-16T02:32:00.008+08:00

There are yet MORE things that can't go wrong.. amidst the many things that went wrong this week... Talent Quest was SOMEWHAT a success I guess.... all but ONE of the contestants came to be photographed for the brochure. Bel really has what people in my line call "THE EYE". The creative aspects, position, framing of shots etc. are good. Then the creative execution was done by Ken, which is no less important too. Learnt a thing or two about lighting and positioning of the flash. But enough of that, I shall go on to the CGW's. Today, I had the HONOUR of trying out the Canon 100mm f2.8 MACRO.
Its not just a macro lens, but it can be considered as a 100mm prime(prime meaning it has no zoom function/range function i.e is stuck at 100mm) telephoto too.

My wrist watch at close range ! Now you know why I said can't go wrong...

The plant at Istana Park.
Same plant.
.... same model...Note the smooth "bokeh" or the smooth blurred background. (nvm if you do not get this.)
Clouds at The Cathay.

tree bark with the 100mm.. my hands were shaking.

The rest were random shots along the way, practicing my explosion effects.
AND ofcourse, ken ken's post/ day wouldn't be complete without food shots :D SEX dinner at Vivocity..
Don't ask what name ar, just feast your eyes haha :P Imagine these pics on the 100mm macro !!!

2008-03-10T20:49:00.005+08:00

Life is full of randomness and variables, but somethings, just - CAN'T GO WRONG.Below are some of many CGW (can't go wrongs).

Uncle Ken called today, like AFTER me and dad finished dinner, asking us if we wanted Mee Pok... guess you can tell what our answer was ! One of the good things about this frend of my dad's - He likes to AND can eat. Worse about him is that despite his eating habits, he is not fat..... like damn unfair please...

Katong Laksa! Also can't go wrong. According to Peanut, the real Katong laksa is a tonne better than this one we had at Ho Lang Vee.... One thing one notices about Katong Laksa, or its trademarks (from all the Katong Laksa's I've eaten), is that the noodles have been cut up, negating the need for a pair of 筷子！Ofcourse, on this occasion, "kay hum" or "add cockles" was the SOP.

My first hand made Pizza. Contains prawns, zuchinni, pineapple, ham, shitake mushrooms and italian sausage !

Ingredients courtesy of Caffe Cypress 101 ! So working at a cafe as the boss's son does have its benefits.

We have like a china woman working there, and by all the gawds... she really taints china's image... always arrow people. Like when she breaks a dish (her job is dish washing) she will not admit until caught red handed. That day she arrowed me. My prime task is to make her remaining days in Caffe Cypress 101 a living hell.

Random shot of the SONY display sign. NO photoshop done. Just manipulation of the camera lens during picture taking :D

2008-03-10T15:46:00.000+08:00

The Leap years is about a young Singaporean girl who unexpectedly meets her dream man on a special day - 29 February 1988 - when a quaint old Leap Year custom allows women to make the first move in a romantic encounter. Our heroine does precisely that.

Hereafter she and the dream man, both exceptionally attractive and brimming with life's hopes and dreams, are caught in a dizzying spin of events that Fate seems to like visiting upon young lovers. "You will come together at last. But not yet, not yet," says Fate mischievously.

The lovers meet every 29 February over 12 years, in breathless negotiations of the many pitfalls along the path of true love which has never run smooth anyway, before their hopes are finally fulfilled in a spectacular millennial culmination worthy of love's loftiest dreams.

omg.. so emo ... hahas

2008-03-06T21:44:00.004+08:00

I went to IT Show 2008 :D

2008-03-05T21:48:00.002+08:00

Been working at mums cafe now, I went for med check on Monday, and now I am in PES B L1, which makes me damn pissed off cause it could have been A but cause of assmar problem I was put into B :( Many people call me "siao" or crazy etc., but I will try to enter Singapore's decisive force with this view "since I am already forced to go in, must as well make full use of it and come out hot :P One thing I should be grateful for I guess, is that I did not have to make the 15week or 29week BMT, but rather just the extra 4 weeks (fail Napfa) + standard 9week BMT.

Thanks to SHui for lending a hand at mums cafe for a day, it be great to see you around again :)
And also, to peanut who put things in a different light. I was actually still pissed off when I first started work on tuesday, and my black face did not hide it. But when actual crunch time came, I was happy and helpful.

Also, being with my jie for the short period of time actually thought me some life lessons. I really regretted not leanring them earlier, like in JC and sorts, there were actually people who were very nice to me at that time, and I really refused to open up to any but one of them. Actually lost a potentially good friend or 2. I just hope I do not commit the same mistake for Poly. for all my friends out there, I thankyou for all that you have given me ( may sound abit gay lar, but I just felt that you all, particularly some of you, deserve more attention than I have been giving to you).

2008-02-29T23:05:00.002+08:00

OK, so I have not posted in a month now, cause like I'm just lazy and abit busy as well.

I just came back from Shanghai with my sister and dad, that was a pretty unforgettable trip, I guess cause I spent time with my jie, WHICH I have not done in like many months... And OMG.. I thought BeiJing was nice... hah.. fuck no.. Shanghai has everything one would want. Modern, old, good food, fashion you name it. Beijing on the other hand has everything, but they are kind of like fused together. I don't know lar, but from the time I walked out of the hotel lobby onto Nanjing road, I fell in love with this place (perhaps I have given my heart to hastily). But yea, Shanghai does make for a good holiday location :) OFCOURSE, you can argue that there are places like Europe or Japan etc. which "can't go wrong" [just like the Tag Carrera Brad wears on the posters], but I wouldn't exactly classify these places as affordable. New Zealand ofcourse is another place I guess, that is affordable and good to travel to (now I'm torn between these 2...)

Digital camera was left at mums cafe ... which was a big mistake, cause there were many pictures of good food and places which were good enough for the digital, but unworthy for the film SLR... Hong Kong ofcourse, was a SUPER place to be in, though we only went there for a few hours and spent all the time in there travelling to the airport and waiting at the airport...

Anyway, now Im just wasting time in the Cafe and pretty much waiting for the government to take me in. That day i got a call from NUS, asking me to verify my 3rd Language abilities... apparently, the school was smart enough not to print it out on my transcript.. though I had taken Jap back in Semester 2 or 3.... But given that they even bothered to call me about my 3rd Language, means that I probably have lost the fight to NUS Biz... (if you are smiling or happy in your heart that i din make it to NUS Biz,... you should search the depths of your soul, cause i tot u were my friend :P)

Ah thats about it... now my eye's swollen like tio punch by ppl... cause I ate something wrong ... doctor said its due to food allergy (go watch Hitch if you wanna know how my eyes look like..)

cheap food, cheap booze and kway twee wee

2008-01-24T08:36:00.003+08:00

PULUT HITAM (dunno if i spelt tt right), but here its called 黑糯米 black glutinous rice... It came complete with the coconut milk dirzzled ontop, which I promptly stirred in, only remembering to take a picture after having my first mouth full..

Anyway, it costs 3.5RMB here... (which is like 70c sing...) yea.. one of the many stuff I'll miss from this place which I wun get in sing (cheap food, cheap booze and kway twee wee)
Beer is like 3RMB a bottle (Tsing Tao), 9 or 8RMB (about triple the price) if you buy it in a restaurant. Johnnies is 200RMB (75cl bottle), 220+ from Duty Free for 1L bottle... and food.. I need not mention, but ofcourse the sucky thing is that they do not have proper fish and chips/ western food, which is perhaps the only down side about this place (not china, Huizhou).

Is wearing a trench at 11degrees cels exaggerating exaggerating ?

2008-01-24T08:36:00.002+08:00

Ok, so its like less than a week before I return home, and I am in a dilemma now. I've got a flight booked at 11.05am on Friday, and so I need a place to stay in either HK or SZ (and like in SZ, a decent hotel costs 800bux, in Hong Kong its like 2.5K ...) so yea, its pretty obvious that if I were to open a hotel room it will be in SZ. Ofcourse, my budget was 100 and below, which isn't really much of a budget at all, so I was walking around the dodgy end of SZ, close to the railway station, over shadowed by 香格理拉.... my mind kept telling me "open in 香格理拉啦", but my wallet told me "open 香格理拉 LAN". My wallet ofcourse, holds precidence over my body and sadly - my soul.

Anyway, I found one that was like 68RMB, but the toilet was a common toilet and it was pretty ulu too. And to top it up, there were M'sans all over the place, offering me their wears for the night etc. (one even offered me 60bux [肥太婆一个?]). That doesn't really concern me though, infact I wouldn't mind checking it out but not using, just for kicks, like see what's it like, market rates etc. What's concerning, was the security, I sure wouldn't want to get raped or robbed in my sleep.

Therefore, current plan is ->

Frend's frend may possibly let me stay over
OR
just R.O.C on one chair in HK airport.

Let's see what happens eh :)

And basket, to top that off, someone vomitted on my coat over the weekend... forcing me to wear my trenchcoat today (which I think may be abit 夸张.. ) But well, that's life I guess...zzzz

2008-01-24T08:36:00.000+08:00

And so as my R.O.D (not ORD) date draws closer, it only means that my dateline to pass up the final report which is like freaking going to be anohter 7+ pages long.... is coming.

Anyway, I have pledged myself not to spend much of this months allowance, and to save it up for my DSLR (WHICH like i totally hope to get b4 I walk into the gates of hell) ... this is my last which (apparently the one to go US failed AGAIN), so I'm hoping my this wish doesn't.

My dinner last night was great though, I eat claypot brinjal/eggplant. One of the dishes I've grown to like in this place. Anyways, soon I'll be back home and happy, but until then, I guess I will just enjoy what more I have left in this place :)

2008-01-20T12:21:00.000+08:00

1st February 2.40pm and I'll be home. As that day draws closer, my heart beats faster. My countdown has begin and it will not stop.

The next 2 weeks, needless to say will be the most busiest of times, as I rush to finish my stuff and leave this place on a good note. This coming week, work hard, then weekend Sat and Sun its off to HKong. Then its Thursday back to HK again before I fly on Friday!

2008-01-17T22:21:00.000+08:00

Scenes from my new favourite show Lost In Beijing 苹果. Should I have been in BJ for OIAP instead of the 3months OITP, I could have filmed my own similar version :D lol...

Some background - This show was shown UNCUT at the Berlin Film Festivals. Its banned in China (conveniently the same place where I got the DVD)... cause of the many good scenes (illustrated below) in the movie.

The director 李玉 has been banned from making films in the mainland for 2 years cause of his UNCENCORED creativity and superb filmatography, but well that's life...

Anyway, its NOT a pron film... its a story about the consequences of sex in modern day beijing bla bla bla. I liked the story plot too. About the bugger (the guy whose back faces us in the first picture) who had so much money, but married a wife who couldn't bear him children.

For those of you wondering, the lady in the first pic (who btw seems to be ENJOYING her extra-marital activities with "impotent wife guy") is called 苹果 I guess the movie was rightfully named after her the protagonist. Lost In Beijing is a nice EL title I guess, cause it shows part of Beijing's colourful manly industry.

2008-01-16T08:18:00.000+08:00

The weekend was spent in - HONG - KONGGGGG!!!!

Yea。。。 and I ate like Siew Lup Char Siew 3 times in 2 days...

Anyway, we (me and dad) visited this place called Lantau Island, famous for the worlds largest outdoor SITTING buddha.

There are 2 ways there, take the cable car or climb (but climbing is unfulfilling, tiring and cheap right??) so we opted for the nice view and comfortable ride from the cable cars.

We passed by Hong Kong airport on the way up. I had to max my camera's zoom (and cause its not a NIKON DSLR ..tsk..tsk, the image is blurred :P)

When we FINALLY reached, I was greeted by the greatest of great (dun get me wrong, I meant Starbucks as greatest.)

Yea... one of the many bullshit falun dafucks.... mofo's called my personal office phone to advertise to me .... like freaking twice liao... all these ppl should kena 枪毙！buggers dare to compare their suffering to the great Auschwitz in Europe by saying "Auschwitz in China".

Creme Brule ? Looked like it, but its not. Taro milk with sago (and obviously loads of cream) . We also tried Banana Pancakes! Though it was not as good (but freaking 20HKD on that tourist trap... for each desert was a rip.. once in a long/lifetime kinda food I guess)

Each step SHE took, she knelt and prayed.....
From the top of the budha, looking down!

And FINALLY, we were home... hotel view was fantastic (but the damn lounge was shit... did not have anycrap to eat or drink there, comparing to the Xiamen)

Random picture on the MTR. What can I say? I guess I have fallen deeply in love. I have really fallen in love with Hong Kong and all its pleasures (including its people). 1 month in Chuizhou, then suddenly I go to Hong Kong, where I see the standards which are infinately better, in terms of dressing, looks, lifestlye etc. Its really blows people's brains out ! But the cost of living ...gg... therefore, while I'm not earning big bux or being paid HK standard salary, I will continue to live in CZ.

As for work.. It's only getting busier, but hey, I've got 15 days and 2 weekends left in this cestpool, so who's to complain.. On the downside, it means anohter treacherous round of review and company grading as well as another LONGass report to right...

And than theres the small jobs and favors here and there "hey, ken ken, do this for me, translate that for us" ...zzz

2008-01-04T12:42:00.000+08:00

I know I'm like haven't posted a thing for about a week now? Just not in the mood to do any postings...

Work getting busier and busier, got deadlines to meet and got deadlines which I have had to push back (not what I really like to do)...

I just can't wait to get out of here and back home, but then again, will home ever be the same to me? Will I actually prefer this place to home?

Today's cant food was real fucked up... nothing sucks worse then having your last glimpse of hope for the day (which is break time/ lunch) shattered by shitty pig's swill... They served us 2 vege's and a meat dish, but they had to fucking make the meat dish some internal organ... I think I heard my colleague say it was cow's tongue... even she did not wanna eat that shit...

Like WTF lar... why don'ts they want to fucking improve the canteen food once and for all... I know its free for me, but the other colleagues actually pay for it... I've actually eaten Millitary MRE's before, and I think that they taste god damn better then the crut served here... Well, time will tell...

I just keep walking forward with Johnnie and looking for the day where I get to see home, smell my bed sheets and play with Mamemo again.

2007-12-29T10:18:00.000+08:00

元旦快到啦
我今天为了补偿星期一的假，得上一天的班
办公室里还有挺多的人，可是也有挺多人修了假，比如我的经理，老板等。
郁闷世啦！圣诞节上了班，星期六又要上班。。。
他们说，“Lady Luck 是个善变的人”，我自己听了，觉得挺对的。
平安夜和圣诞天，还玩的挺开心的。可是今天又要上班，然后明天准备去澳门过元旦，
要坐4hr的车哦！听嘛啊！
还要过两个星期，就要发工资了，可是。。。我一直在想，为什么每个月的
工资发了，我就花得很多呢？

by gawd its fucking boring day .... I feel damn retarded typing in chinese ....
for those of you who know me well, I get random and spontaneuos when I'm bored, so BEAR with me.

And I bloody must go get some earphones soon, cause the ones I have right now are freaking spoilt (like one piece working, one piece not working .... so yea, I'm having a good time in one ear and in my right ear -nada-!

2007-12-29T08:30:00.000+08:00

And I tot I was my friend...
today must go back to work cause Monday they letting us off.
So the saying which goes "there is no free lunch/ offdays" is true :D

btw, whats with all this BS... phone tagging is gay hahas

Happy B'Lated My Frend and Saviour

2007-12-25T12:54:00.000+08:00

Short descriptions this time I promise. This post lags back to last Friday 21st of December 2007, where my SURREALISTIC LONGGGG weekend started and ended on christmas day yesterday 11+pm.

Why am I grabbing this drink like a wuss??? Cause its freaking 15deg's or lower down there, and the drink was actually heated (they actaully have mini heaters like mini refrigerators) so yes, my first time drinking a hot beverage from a plastic straw from a carton.

Xmas for me started off with the China Mobile Xmas party on Friday, good food, OK performances, but best of all, the chocolates !!

After Friday, I went over to Stoven's (colleague) home town in the farming areas for farm stay. My God, this was REALLY memoriable!
In the city, many people do not have homes - in the farms, many homes do not have people!

The best gift I brought out I guess, was Mao's little red book, it was lying about in one of the houses, and it was dated 1966! Wordings have yet to be deciphered :PThis is a well which used to be where people drew water from, the water is actually luke warm!

Haha! I like this one, its a classic! Freaking brick wall infront of the window...

Gas you say??? Forget it, they still use dried leave and wood, not even charcoal.
Fresh fish! It jumped out of the tub, so I took a photo of it b4 putting it back in

Fresh LIVE street chicken! They actually roam free in one of the huts which Stoven's family owns. This one just got its neck ...

Separating the chaff from the grain and the good grain from the bad grain! This ancient device was used by his parents once?

Xmas Eve

Xmas - Both the eve and the xmas day was SUPERB! very happy, I can't complain.

Xmas night itself was the best, will definitely rembmer this for a long time to come.. heres my self photoing while on one of the rides in the theme park ! Alas, I fulfilled my wish this Xmas -> die die must not spend it alone :)

2007-12-19T18:45:00.000+08:00

Yes, as you can see, Im still alive an kicking, enough to be standing up to take a photo (i mean have my photo taken lar). This is my home/ place that I stay and will be staying in.
Anyway, had another smashing weekend - in ShenZhen and Hong Kong. First ate at this place which serves very nice dim sum, but EXPENSIVE nonetheless............... but hey, I can't get free lunches all the time, goto foot the bills if I want to enjoy.

I think i looked quite retarded taking photos of the stuff around me.. like eh, wth takes pictures of food and stuff.. but well, I have no shame :P

And its me again, this time smiling. cause why>>>?? THE FUCKING food infront of me is MUCH nicer then the pigs swill CRUT shit they serve at the company canteen.... totally... like I've said so many times... If I goto live in this place for MY WHOLE LIFE, I would die... totally just utterly DIE.... ofcourse depending on my pay lar and family etc.. i may not die..
We headed down to Dong Men, a certain chinaman who brought me around here should know about it (right alan ..) I got my SIM card from here last time, and I am still like using it now... freaking overseas card... (consider overseas cause I do not live in SZ, but in anohter town). Ate the 余头牛奶冰。。 like omg omg omg... dman nice, but still can beat HZ's 豆碗's version.. the serving here is like very poor, not in terms of quantity, but in terms of presentation... but I guess it still tastes alright. Yam , which reminds me of mums BorBor Cha Cha and Orh Ni and Macdonalds Yam Pie and BK's Taro Pie... shit man then theres CARROT CAKE!!! (not ang moh chai tao kuei, but the traditional singaporean one mind you). then with chai tao kuei comes

CKTIAO!!!!!!! omg add HAM!!!! then with that comes !! ORH JIANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN. wa liew shit brings back memories (who can forget hokkien mee ....)and the list goes on pls...
Oh... i took this cause its a freaking sad sight... i mean like a nice piece of art kena 摧'ed... into a rubbish dump... u definitely dun see this shit in places like Rome, or europe for that matter... I mean even back home in FMPS/FMSS/NP (my schools) I don't see such sad sights .... not to the water cooler's atleast..
And omg... this dog was like ONE FAT FUCK.. freaking can eat someone up sia.. like sit on you you chui liao (i mean not on me lar, on someone smaller)... fat and hairy fuck, like the nick name we gave it 小肥狮... small fat lion...

He wasn't really bothered by me though nor was he bothered by me taking photos of him at such close proximity. Not even a hint of curiousity, he just sat there like a statue, like a good DOG.

And yea, we had seafood for dinner!!!!!! But ok thats enough yapping.. HK was on Sunday, but I did not take any photos, was too busy admiring civilisation in all its glory..... one thing I can sae though, WHICh I HAVe been DYING to sae... is that at the check point (and this is no joke), the china side uses darker light bulbs... which like gives it a darker glow as compared to HK... like u can literally see the contrast as u walk through the border...zzzz

2007-12-17T17:45:00.000+08:00

What I learnt thus far... ...
The world is a cruel and cold place...
its at times like this, that I am REALLY thankful, for the friends that I have .
Today, I discovered that I got fried... and at the same time, I fried the wrongly...
The feelings are overwhelming...

Turn to God? Many a times I have asked myself this question...

sometimes, I dunno wher I am anymore... I turn to God when I am in need.. pray to him when I am lonely.. but that is just wrong... in any r/s, we share the good times and the bad.. why do I only share the bad times with someone whom I supposedly love so much? And at times, save me, I have even cursed Him.....

I guess this is one of the many questions of my life that I must answer... Alex my CG leader, though you will probably NEVER read this, your random sms's asking me where to meet, and where I am (though you probably sms'ed the wrong kenneth, has had an effect on me, I openly/blogly thankyou for this).

2007-12-16T08:51:00.001+08:00

I checked into my first hotel last night... she was impressed... my wallet wasn't.
Went to ShenZhen to meet croc and his friend (I TOT I WAS HIS ONLY frend :P ok tt sounded gay... he is my cousin btw.)

I tot he was my frend... I went over DanShui, where he lives/work, then met hunter and frend WHICH freaking overdue for 2weeks... and when I returned, he kun liao.... call/sms/bang the door also no reply... so yea.. 1X hotel 新郦晶。。。

We shopped, and ate and had a wow of a time there, another great weekend I guess. Had a HELL of a great time on TGIF too, (though like a load of ACCOUNTS await my settlement) when I return to office on monday, like what a certain capital in Australia once said "we are smiling in the face of adversity:P" and I was indeed, even laughing at it :P

Today we go to Hong Kong, like FINALLY :P, which means every 2 weeks I goto go in and out, as my visa cancels the moment I leave this country. We will see what happens.

A great day awaits, and more story's of my devilicious ploys await to materialise (and like CHIPS please :P I miss all of you people.... kiwi,brain,hollowman,kh,Rob,tami,sjh,nananna,vonne,sit,COD... and the list goes ON and ON... I dying inside to see u all [peanut too hehe, and u tot i was ur frend :P] :) )

OH, btw, the part about she was impressed is bullshit... Im not so 随随便便。。.. (but my goddamn wallet and the check room was true...)

2007-12-10T11:49:00.001+08:00

Had a SUPERB weekend with Dad and croc at ShenZhen.
Now I know why I liked SZ so much in the first place.... so much shopping to do, so little time..
GZ main shopping street (up down 9), I guess till takes the cake for best shopping street (as compared to SZ's Dongmen). However, SZ had this new place called Coco Park, which had jusco and other shoping centres in it. Sort of reminded me of Millenia Walk as I walked through the shopping malls was quite therapeutic.

Then THANKS to my mum... who gave a load of winter cloths to my dad to birng to me... end up I had to extra carry a paper bag... ontop of my already heavy 8.5kg bagpack... But I got what I needed/ wanted.

Chinese compatible HPhone
Belt
Trechcoat
Gloves

So I guess it was still a productive weekend.

2007-12-04T08:37:00.000+08:00

EVERYTHING is falling apart and yet somethings are falling together !

Today, I dreamnt that I was unable to finish my projects on time, WHICH btw, I have time AND time again hated (but Tami did advice me that creating movies was after all fun and one of the things I liked doing), so I decided that I would take that angle on it. Anyway, I dreamnt that I was unable to finish it within this week, only to wake up and find out that I was unable to finish it this week....

Dads coming over for the weekend "monthly" visit, which means good food, good shopping, fun time good hotels and building up the weight which I lost and the hotel happy hours..... I guess a surrealistic weekend awaits me, though I have to walk with myself in hell before then. Then on Thursday, theres the Bdae party of hunter's PRC army frend, WHICH I hope does not fall through... atleast there is some massive drinking and partying awaiting (though I'm still dying inside for the King's place Xmas party WHICH I will never attend in person [even if i literally die], I mean, dun think his parents would want a corpse in the house :P) ..... SO thats about it.

Days pass fast these past 3 weeks, and I find myself more and more busy (sometimes I even start work before 9am, ofcourse Im not doing that now as Im blogging ). But its a good sign, atleast I'm busy... only thing is, everytime I look forward to a supposedly smashing weekend ahead, or think of anything other then work, work comes back to mind.... I feel its like before the exams when I just cannot watch TV, movies, talk to frends etc etc etc. and not think of work...zzz thats life I guess, and there is nothing much I can do about it.

Like I always sae -> This is my life, and that is what I do. (I think the "I am a carpet" statement I used to use alot to my closer friends is just bullshit and vaguely pathetic, this one is pathetic too, but atleast its not as bad as the carpet hehe)

-OUT-

2007-12-02T00:02:00.000+08:00

CHONG MAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I would have gone far... yes I would have...
Lucky I did not buy that shoe ...

nice guys finish last... sometimes I think they dun even finish.....

I dunno wth Im saying cause Im high from a jug of JD+coke.........

AND i TOT my colleagues was my frend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! all dun wanna go out one :P

2007-12-01T00:59:00.000+08:00

When you see ambulance crew relac one corner... you know thats no longer a good sign....
Communists bas***ds.... want me pay money to shoot the lousy SKS... no way man hahas.

Another BORING Friday...zzzz

SMSed 10 ppl, only 2 replied, later I realised that I was using my china number, and I had forgotten to introduce my name :P hehe so actually only 1 replied (the other one knew it was me :P) YOu know who you are, thanks for brightening up my otherwise uneventful Friday :P PEanut, you too!

So this week was a slam... Saturday and Friday (last) was one of THE greatest days of my time in China (alas, perhaps up to this point of my life ??? Its not THE greatest, but will definitely leave a memory in my mind :P). OK so that was it, then this week I was also quite on the ball, quite busy, days passed rather fast... and I thought I was on the ball liao... suddenly boss dump a pile of work on me ... (and I tot u were my boss...)..zzzz Its like Im trying to clear the big stuff, and here I have small ticks sucking the life blood out of me hahas. But yea... pretty much wasted much of my previous weeks here, so I guess I'm paying back for lost time now.

A8 was alright, and I was ALONE... got myself a bottle of GreatWall... like chui one lar... but atleast it comes with free 7up :P though I think mixing it sux.. that was the HIGHLIGHT of my day...

2007-11-27T08:36:00.000+08:00

be a nice person, and people eventually climb onto your head.

put all the eggs in one basket and you lose everything.

these are the lessons learnt the hard way.

(be a slacker and your monthy assessment wouldn't turn out too good :P hehehehe) ......

I've been distracted in late, deviating from my objectives of this OIAP undertaking. A few hard knocks got me back on track, and I pray I stay on track.

2007-11-22T17:45:00.000+08:00

I TOT I was my friend.....
everyday HONTONI remember to bring my wallet desu...
TODAY when I TOT I wanna go out .... 1X forget....

Miss Fortune really loves me I guess :P maybe we are destined to be together for all eternity...

My mind's brainstems are going pop pop pop.... a thousand sensations run through my head...

and the interim gawddammit!... hahas

2007-11-18T20:15:00.000+08:00

Finally, the XIN SHUI has been fa'ed ! But ar..... i tot i was.... more thrifty (hahas u tot it was "my frend" right haha).

I checked the bank account today, and I felt a HELL lot richer, BUT also poorer, cause apparently, all that galavanting in Guang Zhou last weekend and in Xia Men in October did infact bleed my China Construction Bank (CCB hehe) account dry... now like got small pubbles of water left... till the company dumped in a pail of water :D now its a small lake hehehe.

If i spend the way I spent last month, I will never forgive myself.... but then with Meizu M8 (china's pirated IPhone) just around the corner, and RG tempting me with his brand new and shiney AND FREE iTouch, HOW CANNNN!!!!! Then there's this bugging problem of my HPhone not being able to sms in chinese (I guess only 3 people in the whole world will know why this is a problem for me... hahas...), which I want to just conveniently go into a ChinaMobile shop and solve that problem, which btw would also be the first HPhone i ever bought with my own $ :P

And my gawd I just can't get over the song 宁夏 !! its just such a hapy tune.... haiz hahas

Oh and weekend was great too, I went to the gym, and now my arms are feeling like crap, but i felt I did something good for myself.... and ohmy gawd.... the yoga was 1hr of pain and pleasure..

Haizzzzzzz ... tmr back to the usual office routine... board meetings... seminars... strategy session on thursday (like thanks lor... u like to push the shit till jsut b4 the weekends...) ... but why am i not stressed?????? CAUSE I AM JUST THE AUDIENCE to all this hahas, see all my colleagues cry no tears while I relac one corner and try to absorb as much info as I can... most of the week will be spent doing that company intro and my rounds at the factory ground ofcourse.....

But that's life.. and that's the path I took... no thanks to Ngee Ann introducing Psychology only when I was in Year 3... I thought I was its frend.... hahas

2007-11-14T22:45:00.001+08:00

nothing makes sense sometimes..

the right from the wrong

the moral from the immoral

what are ethics?

im on this highway to hell and i really wanna get out.

just for now, I can offer my apology

though it will probably never reach its true target nor achieve its real meaning, atleast deep inside, I know then somewhere and somehow, apart of me is still human

Ken Ken

p.s to whom it may concern : thanks for the sense talk.

2007-11-13T12:41:00.000+08:00

spent the weekend with my uncle and dad over at GuangZhou. But I will post later when I get the photos up.

Right now, I'de like to talk about fishing.
Its such a wonderous activity. It challenges your stamina, patience and level of preparation.

Fishing ivolves 5 steps

1. Finding the pond (medium in which to fish)
2. Preparing the rod, line and bait (more on that later)
3. Casting (this is by far very important, as it is the first time your bait and line comes in contact with the medium and or fish. Like they say, first impression counts, any firsts are important)
4. Reeling in the fish (not simple, alot of skill and tact is required here)
5. Unhooking the fish and cooking it (can screw up at the very last moment)

1 - This is by far, one of the most simplest steps. Obvious commonsense is at play here (if the fish in this pond is sickly, not to your liking, not at your skill level etc. avoid it, no point casting over and over agian for nothing. Ofcourse, one can always practice here, gain some field time. Practice makes perfect.) Observation is the key skill here. Patience not to rush into it, observe other fishermen or the fish available.

2 - Obviously important. The rod is basic, it is there to support the line, give you that extra reach/ edge, give you the ability to cast far. Rod's do not normally snap, but if you so choose to, you can obtain a good one. The reel/line is crucial, it is the only connection you have between the fish and urself. Insufficient preparation here (too thin a line [snaps if the fish fights strong/ is heavy], too thick a line will be visible to the fish, and lessen's the chance of the fish taking the bait. (though I guess now materials engineering has made more and more transparent thick lines). The bait is again OBVIOUSLY important. It is meant to attract the fish and entice it to bite. Too weak, and the fish doesn't smell/ see it. Too strong or pungent, the fish sees through your bullshit and doesn't bite. The bait will be the determining factor as to whether or not is game on!

3 - Why I said it is important? Many times, I over zealously cast the rod, which led to either the bait being destroyed, the fish being scared away or the bait being lost hehe...

4 - Ok, the fish has taken the bait, 1 of 2 things can happen. The fish releases the filthy bait, as the hook failed to do its job (meaning ur bait failed). OR its game on. Skillful fishermen can feel the moment the fish bites. Jerking the bait a little ensures success in hooking up the fish. The fish is hooked and it begins to fight back. This is by far the most fun part of the game. The fish, most of the time, does not know WTF is happening, it just basically feels pain and struggles or it continues to swim without a clue (blur f**k hahas..). Whatever it is, the line will get pulled to its tension sooner or later. Skillful fishermen know when to release the tension, and when to pull (sort of like 1 step back, 2 steps forward). If your line was too short, it snaps.. too thin, it snaps.. too thick (your gamble paid off, it doesn't snap :P)

5 - So, now you have got the fish out of the water, it has somewhat resigned to its fate, but if u slack now and let down your guard, u risk having i slip out of your hands and jumping back into the water (well done son...) Ive even read of cases when the fish managed to slap the fisherman and injure him (with knives and hooks around, one flick of its tail at the right time,place and angle can mean certain injury).

Once you have unhooked your fish, congratulations, grill it in any way you like... but dun overdo it again... or you end up eating crappy fish.

The 5 steps are required in each fishing process, but depending on skill level of each individual, time taken from selection to consumption may differ greatly :)

Ofcourse, noone is stopping you from casting multiple lines or from using multiple ponds!

What I blogged is somewhat factual.. just bored and all.. hahas random facts... but in all its randomness and crappiness, perhaps some of you may find it useful or comprehend its full potential.

Again, if you fail, keep casting and casting. Time will come when you succeed :)

2007-11-08T18:18:00.000+08:00

She can kill with a smile,

she can wound with her eyes

She can ruin your faith with her casual lies

And she only reveals what she wants you to see

She hides like a child,

She can ask for the truth, but she'll never believe

And she'll take what you give her as long it's free

she never gives out

And she never gives in, she just changes her mind

And she'll promise you more than the garden of Eden

Then she'll carelessly cut you and laugh while you're bleeding

But she'll bring out the best and the worst you can be

She's frequently kind and she's suddenly cruel

She's all that but she's always a woman to me :)

ramblings.... ignore this post...

2007-11-04T18:48:00.000+08:00

Its pretty amazing how quickly the tides of change come about, how subtly Lady Luck makes herself scarce, and how Miss Fortune can discretely but quickly charms her way into our lives. My mum once told me, that if you trip at the entrance of a store, venture out of it and refrain from conducting business within its confines. Today, this phrase which has been etched into my mind (one of the many lessons a parent passes down to the child and the child to his own child) comes back to mock me.

I would have never known that when I tripped at the entrance of the store in this country and was taught that very lesson, it would lay buried deep in the recesses of my mind only to resurface at this very same location today to spit on my face.

Ok. Enough with the pleasantries, I will get straight to what is digging at my neck and sucking the life blood out of me.... slowly but surely....

The trip to this place... I never liked it from the very beginning... not only did it bring back the many memories of my lonely and boring desk job when I was here slightly over a year ago, it meant leaving behind a sort of new found happiness I was given earlier on. Aside from that, there was the incident during the registration for this trip, which I may consider my trip on the door step of this trip. Back then I was still able to walk away from this place, but perhaps curiosity and stubborn pride let me back here.

And here I was again. I came here with discontent, anger, sorrow, hate, pity, pride, and many more feelings and preset conceptions I had for this place, but all this changed. It seemed that I quite enjoyed it here after all, infact I once thought to myself, how did I condition my mind to think the way it did in the first few days of this trip. However, just as there is white and then there is black, and there's good and there's evil, and left and right. JUST when I was getting on well with things, some guy OR SOMETHING has the nasty habit of FUCKING it all up for you. "Fucking it all up" logically speaking now, is a gross overstatement, but that's just how I feel now.

Anyways... everything on this front seems fine, but there's just this situation/ problem now in my life that's bugging away at me..... I guess if life was a bed of roses, there'de be no reason to live right? I'll strongly stand up and face this problem. Sadly, my key witness has been rendered useless..... but I guess that's just the way things are - the more upper the ladder you go, the harder your problems.... makes me wonder sometimes, whether the happier people are really the bosses or the peasants....

To Whom It May Concern - FUCK you! Told you many times this problem would surface, but you never did shit about it... and I thought you were my friend.... (this time I mean it... of the countless times I've used this phrase....)

2007-11-02T12:59:00.000+08:00

Ah, so I visited Tang Quan over the weekends with my colleague. Tang Quan is basically a place that is made up of several mountains, hills, valleys and hot spring. The last time I went in, I did not know WHERE the **** to go, so I went back home. This time, I decided that I was gonna climb one of em mountains NOT matter WHAT! (sort of like the Allies, who were crossing the Rhine "Operation Market Garden was a disaster, but this time, bridge or no bridge, we would be going to Germany").
Ok, so at the entrance.... I know, I look like I'm "damn" interested hahas... but I really am :P

YEa... I got a colleague who has this urge to take "sneak" photos of me... (remember the box and office moving post ... hahas)On the way up, we saw this FAT FUCK. It was freaking like the size of your thumb....really wanted to squish it and see all its guts and gunk spill out hehehe. But the better side of me prevailed.

On the way up, we took a wrong road... looks like in the middle of nowhere eh hahas. This road led to someone's house with like 4 vicious dogs which kept barking at us. (those buggers dunno what their up against eh... duns they know humans eat dog meat in this land!) The owners came out, but the lead black dog was guai lan enuf to follow us as we walked off.

Nice lake (wonder if the water is drinkable... ofcourse not though, but tempting, can see fish inside?) I actually made it across by stepping of the trail of rocks hehe.

er.. what more can I say about the chinese... life is cheap here..... yea..
On the way to the top! Many views of this, looks good for rafting? hehe
And there we go! On the top! where there was a water pumping station... lol..
This night was better, we ate at this taiwanese place which sold SEXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX desserts! My god, the Taro Milk Ice was - TO LIVE for..... oh I ate this for a change, somewhat what dad ate at XiaMen last time.
A little night "treat" for ourself just before the sexxxxxxxx dessert, we shared a plate of beef hor fun (which was god awful oily) but very tastey nonetheless (we had not eaten any lunch on the mountain. We also ate steamboat! This time, 2 others had joined in.

japalang kuching kolo mee pok char kway tiao oh jian KFC

2007-11-01T08:31:00.000+08:00

First you tell me liddis, then later you tell me liddat... ... MAKE UP YOUR MIND! ... And I thought you were my friend...

Don't worry, I believe in 3 strikes and you're out. You're only at strike one ......

My interesting weekend

2007-10-29T10:30:00.000+08:00

YET another weekend has passed, bringing me one more step closer to the end of my OIAP which is like freaking 97 days away…

Saturday morning started off with tea/lunch at this golden colored hotel (much like Sheraton, but interior being far worse then), the food though was not too bad. Infact, I think it is one of the best foods I have tasted in HZ aside from KFC and the OhJian [KFC and Oh Jian to me is better then anything in the world :P] therefore, I can say that it IS the best. The remaining Saturday with 2 colleagues who were nice enough to bring me out and around shopping for pirated cloths and bags. The originals were also pretty cheap, there was this Converse ORIGINAL sale going on, and shoes were going at like 70%, 40%, 50% etc. that would be about 40odd sing.

There was a nice Nike Orange windbreaker that I wanted to buy, but like thanks… they did not have my size (tt’s another reason why I needa go to a western state. The chinks can never have cloths that are long enough or big enough for me :P) Not to insult any girls that I have gone shopping with (especially mom and sis), but I think like these 2 colleagues represented the better side of girls shopping. They were kind enough not the like stay in the shop for 30 or 40mins and not buy anything…. That way, we managed to like walk to many places and explore many shops. I also considered getting contact lenses, but when I first put them on, they felt real uncomfortable and troublesome to put on…. So ya… if I ever use contacts, it’ll probably be for sports or club (which like 3 times liao I danced till my glasses drop and nearly trample till chui).

Then to end off the day, we ate at this damn nice roast stall, I had duck and charsiew rice. I think though that the one in HK is still much better. But the main thing about this stall, is like 20RMB can get you a freaking huge portion, much like the one back home at West Coast wet market.

Sunday was mostly spent at home, and I FINALLY completed the report was I had been putting off since last week…. Today was deathline, so I had no choice. Sat down on my ass for about over an hour of hard writing and it was finally ocmpleted. After that, at about 9pm I made my way down to a contact which I had found selling airsoft! He had nicely agreed to let me preview some of his “goods” which were in his house (only after I spent 30rmb buying 2 bottles of pallets form him….) But did not allow me to take any pictures unless I bought it. Apparently, airsoft is somewhat illegal in china also…. Though many people still do sell it. Like 3 shops around my house sell those, but these can be considered small fish compared to him. Anyway, the rifles up for preview were the following. Brands are mostly WELL and BE.

(remember that these are pictures found online, the ones I saw were somewhat same but in poorer condition i guess)

The Remington M700, this costs 500RMB, and comes without the scope or bipod. The stock comes dismantled from the barrel and bolt. And it comes in 2 colours, Black plastic or wood (i think the wood one quite sex, but will look more like a hunting rifle). Anyway, I was rather disappointed cause the bolt was not shaped like the proper remington M700. Right hand is the real Remington M700 bolt, left hand is the airsoft version. Personally, I look for accuracy in airsoft (as if I will ever be able to bring one back to spore....)
Another was yes, if you have ever played CS you will recognise this one. Its the L96 rifle (black), though those idiots dubbed it the M14.... I was like expecting the M14 rifle when he told me he had one to show me, to my pleasant surprise, it was the L96! Same as the M700, it comes broken down into barrel and stock. But this one comes with a scope as well as mount and a cheapy bipod. It also includes a bag of palets, a speed loader and sling. This set costs 650RMB. I actually am considering on getting this piece... but how? Dump it after OIAP ar...

This is another brand, but the only closeup picture I could get. Its the same as the one I saw, but its in green not black. The bugger was reluctant to let me pull the bolt, much less remove it from the packaging... my hands are itchy now... REAL itchy... only 650RMB can quench tt ictch...lolz.. crazy... OK, so thats about what I saw that interest me. He had like a cheapy plastic AK47 as well as some unknown shotgun and pistols. Apparently He can get more goods as long as I have the item number from the net and they are made in CHina....

For now, I just melt my eyes and recall that brief 1.5 hours I spent in a strangers home... just glad I din get raped or something lolz....

2007-10-26T08:39:00.000+08:00

Wa last night ate 1X nice nice. Korean BBQ treat by one of our courier agents. I think I probably put back all the 2kgs I'de lost over the month through all the endless servings of beef and bacon strips. This accompanied by Kim Chi, sushi, claypot cooked rice, seafood nooodles and the list goes on! Went back home at about 8? And I did not sleep till 11+.... And I mean did not get into bed. After turning and tossing which seems to have become a nightly ritual, I probably finally slept only at about 2+ or so in the morning... and today I'm feeling chui'ed.. GIMAAHHHH!!!

OK, so I answered to the colonel's call FINALLY, thanks to a certain SOMEONE who made reference to his great name in a blog entry. Haiya... like KFC here HONTONI cannot match up to Singapore's KFC lar... and they do not even have the extra crispy version.... just original recipe (the crispy on is like made in to freaking small drumlets.... how to eat full you tell me...) And the coleslaw.... don't even get me started... its like they just mashed together some different boiled vegetables and pouring in mayo.... Then there is the chicken burger.... the patty inside does not even have trace amounts of whole chicken meat... another mashed with vege recipe... really really NOT GOOD. Ofcourse, the fired chicken cheered me up abit, atleast it did have the taste worthy to be called that of KFC.
OK so this is the Melon Pan (Melong Bread) served at 5degrees below zero (currently my favourite bread shop in china). As you can see, it doesn't even look the like/ comparable to the ones made by Pantasia's Azuma Kazuma or the Holland Village Provence bread store back home (my gawed... i miss that taste ... the chocolate cornet) And speaking of Holland, it reminds me of Fosters, AND fosters reminds me of one of our customers.... lol..
My gosh... this calendar has uncanny resemblance to my own calendar ... today atleast...

teapots that costs as much as a 1Ds MK2

2007-10-24T08:24:00.000+08:00

Ar, so I had time to rewatch the show ratatioulle or what I call (rata-diulelomo). And I so cannot get over the "I thought you were my friend scene" hahas.

Also, I visited this nice tea place called Ten Fu. I dub this place one of the few nice places to enjoy and get away from it all in HZ. I entered through open glass doors, with 2 fu wu yuans standing on either side. Was then led to a table with a teaset on it, teapot, teacups, hot water, drainage platform and all. And was treated to a session of show and tell on tea's, as one of them made the tea and talked about its origins, tastes etc. After tasting the tea and some tidbits, I took a walk around the shop.

The walls were flanked with teas, teapots and posters on tea and tea history. There was also a picture of the Chinese premier who had probably visited this place some time ago. Anyway, some things shoke me up. The teas ranged from 100 to 800RMB per 500gms (thats SGD20 to 160), ahas these guys really take tea drinking seriously... (much like the brits who began brewing up their national drink on the beaches of Normandy on DDay!). I mean, I would probably never pay so much a leaves, unless its for some special occasion. But what really took the cake, was this made to order teapot, costing RMB33800 (SGD6760) ! Yes, I am not joking. This teapot was as expensive OR MORE expensive then Canon's top of the line DSLR.... (see peanut, Im not that crazy after all, aiming to get the MK2). Anyway, I learnt abit or 2 about teas, teapots apparently are yang'ed(seasoned/ matured). The chinese believe that the more you use it, the more its value increases, due to the tealeaves seasoning and cleaning the inside of the pot. So anyway, that was about it for my shocking and interesting trip. Will pay this place a visit again before destination Spore and am looking to get a set for the living hall's marble table!

For those of you who enjoyed the show Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke, Grave Of The Fireflies (Hotaru no haka) is another title to try out. Its about 2 sibblings who was trapped amidst the ravages of the US bombardment of Japan towards the end of WW2 (I was actually happy for those bastards, they deserved it). But ya, my feelings took a 180 degree turn and I sympatized with them a little, sure I don't feel their as innocent as Germany (*grins*), but they are still people after all, and they were civilians not fighting soldiers... So, go on and watch it. The starting part already intrigued me , with the protagonist saying "October 25 1945 (can't really remember the date), this is how I died". Hahas, thats the most spoiler you're gonna get for now. Go catch it yourself!

2007-10-21T03:09:00.000+08:00

TGIF was GREAT! The ppl at admin finally got my internet at my dorm setup nice and fast... ... things really only picked up when I went to the higher ups... to think that they could actually get it done in like 5 days, 1 for drafting a request, 1 day for me to hand in the request to the finance dept. and another 3 days to get the cable guy to come over and fix the internet! It baffles me how long it took before that... well, I guess i'm in a way lucky that I could go straight to people with "power" to do things.

Living standards really have changed with the internet up and running. Movies and TV can now been viewed IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE :P and ofcourse, this not being the office, means that Limewire and Bittorrent are up and running once again! THen there's Steam. OMG.. I like watched the preview of the scottish Demoman for TF2 this afternoon..... hahas "their gonna have to stick you back together, IN HELL!" Yakitate is almost done, and Im setting my sights on a new series, since the new zealand bird praises Clannad, I have decided to give it a shot, but I've only got the first 2 episodes, of 3 which has been released? I haven't watched it yet tho, did a sneak peak and decided I was more in the mood for less thought provoking anime's at the time, however I have not given up on Clannad. Then just tonight, I tasted the blood of the americans again, on Anzio and Avalanche (god i miss that taste...) ! Yes, DOD is up and running again. Unfortunately, DOD:S cannot be run smoothly due to my computer limitations...

Well, on the home front, it seems that school has started for COD and the rest, which means they will probably be online less often [BAD NEWS] ..... and also, bird bird got into OCS .. good for him.. means he's gonna get the officer sword eh (i always wanted one of those). I guess army is really unpredictable sometimes... leo getting in to commandos... bird OCS... wonder what will be my calling .. I only hope that my health and stamina do not hinder my will to serve my country :) [TTS WHAT I SAY NOW]. Called back home this afternoon, whilst I was sitting around at my "fav" spot in HZ. Theres actually some place with lots of tables and chairs in the open, where ppl can sit and waste time/ talk to friends etc. Found out mum was sick! I hope she recovers soon. I guess the timing could have been better, though I would not have even known that she was sick since friday if I did not even call.

Today was the same as seemingly every saturday.... woke up at about 11am, and slacked off till 4pm.. couldn't even be bothered to go out for lunch. Then at 5 I went to get some groceries before sitting down at the tables and chairs place till about 7+ 8 and then to dinner and home. Nothing really exciting about my life here... but I do get the occasional weird dream once in a while.

Like I dreamnt last night that I was at prom night with a few ppl, actually, it was like a mixture of some ppl from NP as well as the group of friends from FMSS! Then suddenly, I was in a totally different environment agian, this time in some garden where I saw a small car (you know the electric ones, where kids can actuallly sit in it and drive it around)... for reasons unknown, I got into the car and drove it onto the main road! Like thanx... there was only 2 pedals, acceleration and stop and a plastic stirring wheel!! hahas and not forgetting that I could hardly fit in the car! That was a hellish experience man.. I then woke up at like 7am or so, and went back to sleep again. This time, I was in dad's car with the maid in it! I don't know where I was driving, but it was just this long road with head lamps on both flanks, and then it led to several junctions. When I did a turn, I realised that the wheel reaction was lagging lar! Initially, when I turned the wheel a little, like 10degrees, there was no movement in the car, so i yanked it left full! Suddenly, the car jolted to the left, and before I knew it, the ass of the car was scrapping against the fence... I remembered feeling DAMN fucking scared lar, then THANKS... my boss smsed to tell me that the programme of goign to her place for dinner was cancelled. Then I was back to sleep again, and I dreamnt that I was in someplace, all I could think of was Bukit Timah plaza, though I know know it was not bukit timah plaza. Walking with 4 others from NP. Then we reached a arcade and because one of them in the group wanted to play, we all decided to go in. We sat at a table to chat was waste time while that person was playing on the arcade, and I suddenly offered to buy ice cream hahas... Andersons Ice Cream was the pick (god i miss this taste too... referring to real life... I think andersons is like THE best ice cream ever... hagen daz and another one (the cow logo) I forget liao.. is not bad also lar... but i think those 2 too common liao, I still prefer andersons :P). Ok, so i was at the Anderson's stall, and just as I ordered the ice cream, I woke up... chibong!hahas so thats my dream for now... weird as hell, but well, I guess thats what dreams are... they are just DREAMS.. anything and everything that can't be done in reality, can be done then :)

2007-10-18T10:56:00.000+08:00

The 30 great things.
1. No airsoft
2. No booze till 18years old
3. NO SEX with minors (16yrs and below..)
4. No Weed...
5. No guns
6. Modification of exhaust of cars not allowed..
7. No CHEWING GUM....
8. No LED lights under cars..
9. NO GAMBLING..
10. Street racing..
11. No anal sex (until recently?) .. even how we make love aso kena controlled...
12. No speeding
13. No NUDIST beach (both sexes)
14. No bar top dancing until recently...
15. Not allowed to walk the streets with top off...
16. Then theres NO SMOKING in pubs and clubs... like WTF is this... freaking duns you know that smokes and booze go hand in hand man?!

Then theres the notion that we pay and pay ...
17. Electronic Rape Pricing (ERP)
18. Car so expensive ! Si hor Yi ar ! (COE)
19. DO anything wrong ? NEvermind FINE lor PAY money lor..
20. Coffin Providing Funds (CPF)
21. Buy alcohol ? Taxation gum gum ho!

The list probably goes on and on.. (no Kevlar vests etc.) but I think for now, I'm being enough of an unreasonble complain bitch :P

2007-10-17T13:31:00.000+08:00

Another stupid and hilarious email I got :P I feel compelled to share with you all!

Actual comments in a register at Mpumalanga Hospital (South Africa):

1. The patient refused autopsy.

2. The patient has no previous history of suicides..

3. Patient has left white blood cells at another hospital.

4. Patient has two teenage children, but no other abnormalities

5. Large brown stool ambulating in the hall.

6. Patient has chest pain if she lies on her left side for over a year.

7. On the second day the knee was better, and on the third day it disappeared.

8. The patient is tearful and crying constantly. She also appears to be depressed.

9. The patient has been depressed since she began seeing me in 1993.

10. Discharge status: Alive but without my permission.

11. Healthy appearing decrepit 69-year old male, mentlly alert but forgetful.

12. Patient had waffles for breakfast and anorexia for lunch.

13. She is numb from her toes down.

14. While in ER, she was examined, x-rated and sent home.

15. The skin was moist and dry.

16. Occasional, constant infrequent headaches.

17. Patient was alert and unresponsive.

18. Rectal examination revealed a normal size thyroid.

19. The pelvic exam will be done later on the floor.

20. I saw your patient today, who is still under our car for physical therapy.

21. Both breasts are equal and reactive to light and accommodation.

22. Examination of genitalia reveals that he is circus sized.

23. The lab test indicated abnormal lover function.

24. Skin: somewhat pale but present.

25. Patient's medical history has been remarkably insignificant with only a 40 pound weight gain in the past three days.

26. She has no rigors or shaking chills, but her husband states she was very hot in bed last night.

27. She stated that she had been constipated for most of her life, until she got a divorce

2007-10-15T13:11:00.001+08:00

I swear... this girl in the left hand (screened from Yakitate) looks alot like Lucy Aksam from another anime, Planetes! Unfortunately I have deleted it form my hard drive and its seems that screenshots and pictures on this anime is hard to find on the net.... dkiwi perhaps you can do me the honor of emailing me a screenshot :P

Today... I learnt.. a very important lesson.................. EMAILLLLLLL! Is apparently the pivot in any business organisation. Infact internet is the pivot... ... for some nice reason, the People's Republic decided to block emails today... (and on top of that, stage6. WHICH means no yakitate azumanga daioh or anyhting whatsoever!). . . . . . And like THANKS lar... have to do this on a monday sia.. like monday blues not good enough. To think today i getting my pay I happy happy gum gum ho liao....

My I got a client (yes, Im handling small clients here and there) whom I have to email urgently but can't...

So anyway, got my pay liao according to the HRM person, but now cant spend lar, must save up... then this weekend maybe going GuangZhou for departmental outing so it means $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ flying out again. For now, Im just happy with life as it is... but like one of my long term projects more or less gum gum ho liao, wish leaves me with the powerpoint presentation to create YOSH! Gambatte neh!

Yea.. and its freaking boring lar.... i decided to dl C&C95, which was more or less the 1st strategy game which was given to me on my BDae by mel in 1995. The game which started it all - from there it was RA then RA2 etc etc. Now the WESTWOOD is letting it download for free on their website, I decided to get some and 想当年! But unfortunately, whilst thinking about it.... I realised something.. I haven't actaully really given anybody birthday presents before (am i a stingy basket???) I mean, I have done it before but very few times... friends that even used to give me stopped doing so, perhaps even out of frustration.. but then again, a birthday is just another date right? What's important is how we treat each other daily. If its all good, then I guess we can say everyday is a birthday.

Noto Mamiko - Voice artist for

School Rumble : Tsukamoto Yakumo Imouto-san is seen here when she was young. It is apparent that she has been very talented since a young age.

Ichigo 100% : Toujo Aya

I swear man... when she smiles.. OMG... she makes my heart skip !

Jigoku Shoujo : Emma Ai

Hmm.. this one ar. no explanation, I just like the fact that she's from hell, so she can walk with me in hell literally and metaphorically :P

What does these 3 have in common?

Well, other then the same voice artist, these are the 3 which KNN HONTONI daisuki desu!

2007-10-15T09:20:00.000+08:00

OK! So another weekend has gone by... ... and where was I ? I was in the middle of NOWHERE. hahas. Like 30+min bus ride from HuiZhou central landed me in this place called 汤泉. Supposedly a great place for mountain climbing and hot springs? I could see that from the sign boards as well, which were not really useful actually..... I like walked in about maybe 5 clicks and I still could not see shit, hahas, so i decided to cut my losses and hightail back to the supermarket, do groceries and go home. Perhaps, this place was not meant for loners. Which was obvious, given the sad and stark contrast between myself ALONE (because that is my life, and that is what I do) versus the many couples or families I saw along the way... and like may of them took a cab in or a taxi :P
I did however, catch a nice glimpse of this waterfall, somewhere in the middle of nowhere on the mountains. It does hold promise for when I visit this place again, hopefully with more people in future.

AND YES! Today, payday has FINALLY arrived.. I can't wait to see the first glimpse of the many zeros behind a nice number in my bank account :P I'll scrap the F5 plan for now, given that it is so hard to earn... and so easy to spend... Been tossing and turning in bed again, why does this happen to me on every sunday night... its a curse I tell ya!

The song "somewhere out there" and "on the same side of the moon" played again on my ipod (which is a god send... thnx jie!). It inspired me to jott down the following phrase.

Even though I know how very far apart we are, it helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky.

We maybe miles apart, but it comforts me to know that when I stare out of that window tonight, we will be gazing upon the same side of the moon.

2007-10-10T10:34:00.000+08:00

OK, pay day is coming soon, and because I did not get my previous months pay, I have a good feeling that I'm getting double. Which, lets just say is enough to get me a nifty mid to low range DSLR. But then there is something wrong with me, I seem stuck on the concept of the film based SLR, and more recently, I eyes have shifted from Canon's EOS-1v to the more affordable Nikon F5. But yea.. thats just a wish for now..., cause I don't really want to blow 2 months worth of work on anohter camera...

Hmm.. treat me like your lapdog say... ask me go do this, go do that. Go collect this for me, go pass this to this person for me. Go WASH your FUCKING fruit for you.. stuff spoil - NO problem TECHNICIAN ken ken is here...well, im the handy fockin' man after all ain't I huh. Jack of all fockin' traits - WELL FUCK you AND UP YOURS! GO stick a fucking sock in it... you're lucky the school FUCKING in on it, if you pulled this stunt on my last trip here i'de have FUCKED you up you godless mother piece of SHIT. Why duns you ask me clean your shit off for you which has been stuck so far up ur arse you ca't feel it no more, or how about wiping that filthy hole of a mouth of yours huh? how about that! Save me from this place....

Ah and its finally a Thursday again, which means 2 more days till the weekend. And I realised that I don't get paid monthly till like on the 15th of the next month, so it was alright I guess, and in essence, I was never paid late. But hey, I'm here for the exp. points, not the $ :) Money is just a small form of motivation and means to help me with my living expenses for now.

Hmm, apricot and peach mix roll! Sorta like Uncle Toby's Roll ups eh. Boss gave this to us upon his return from his NDay vacations. I'de like to be where he has been some day... It is after all one of the countries I want to go to before I die (india, US and Europe [not britain] included).

Ok, I don't really know the story behind this one, but some faggot decided to take it out on the dust bin>? and right outside the canteen too... like thanks.. its not as if the canteen doesn't smell bad enuf already.

And this is the food I have to put up with DAILY... but its free, so hey, no complaints there... but when even china people start complaining, you know somethings not going well....

2007-10-08T08:32:00.000+08:00

Seeing your good friend go out with the one you love, seeing him kiss her, touch her and tell you all about it. Yes, that is one of the worst pains any man can go through! Its like a daily living nightmare, trapped between your friendship and never dying love for your sweetheart... ... yes, this is one pain no man ever has to go through, just as no father should ever have to bury his son.

But the world is a cruel place, and such things do happen. It is therefore what we do that makes a difference, not how we feel or think. WHICH brings me to my post.
Having brought you (the reader) through how I feel, I
now explain my case... ... Medal of Honor : Airborne has finally been released (I had been waiting for this for like half a year now). And when I finally obtain a demo what happens? GIMAHH ! The messege says "Graphic Card not supported, MOHAirborne supports Radeon X1300 and above, please contact IT administrator for further details"!!!
So what I do? I contact myself (the IT admin) and YES, it is confirmed that my laptop has finaly met its match! haiz... now you know how I feel !

OK! Now, onto a lighter note. I have been rewatching School Rumble 第二期。THanks to my underestimated feelings towards Yakitate.. I thought that 7 new episodes would last me through the weekend, but it only lasted me through 1 day!! hahas.

On of my ROFL scenes. Some back ground. Harima Kenji is in love with Tenma Tsukamoto (for some weirdass reason... like her sister is a much more better deal AND her sister likes him.. but he still goes for tenma.... freaking choosing silver over gold). SO, in this scene, he manages SOMEHOW by dumb luck to get invited to stay over at the home of the girl whom he admires (Tenma loves someonelse, and has NO clue whatsoever of Harima's feeling towards her.. typical girls...) So her goes ! This is Harima fantasizing while looking over Tenma who is sleeping soundly.
Yes..... the world is one sick place ! hahas!

The Post That Took 2 days

2007-10-04T12:54:00.000+08:00

Haiz! PRC National Day holiday is over... Headed over to Xia Men for the NDay Hols with my dad for 4 days of no holes barred fun. On the 30th, we checked into this SEEEEEEXXXXX hotel! As you can see, Sheraton outshines all the other faggots around it :P And it seeminly is 1 of the only 2 gold buildings in Xia Men. It really stands out like a soar thumb (a VERY luxurious sore thumb :D)

This was breakfast! And best of all, you could have as many servings of this as available! It comes along with the standard cereal oats, break milk and cookies on the table. Ok, so after a nice night in warm beds and a hearty BF (sure beats the crutty outfit they have decked up for me at 东湖花园... to think the president sleeps in the same accomodations sometimes..., but hey, the laundry and housekeeping is settled, so theres no complaining on my part). We head out to explore Xia Men.
中山步行街was our first stop.

I do have this "fettish" for the Espirit line of jeans with the little red/yellow/green tags hanging on em which says stuff like Jam, Beat, Rock etc.

I call this piece - Beauty and the Beast. I think its vulgar and crude accent really brings out the true colors of Xia Men WHICH tourists do not often see. This was taken at the backstreets of 中山步行街. A must go place for walking shopping and wasting time :P To come here, I had to bravely step out of my VERY comfortable zone and into the backstreets of 中山, risking capture or rape. But well, it was all worth it in the end. Being able to humbly bring back some pictures to let the world see for themselves. People here live in filthy hoffles, the rear their own bird to sell (and at 30RMB a bird, thats really .. - cheap..) I really got a sense of nostalgia, as I stepped into this 1960/70s version of Singapore, where people washed clothes on the streets, paddled their goods in small street stalls etc.

This place really IS humble living... I don't know man, but I feel damn lucky to be born in Spore in the 1980s and not 60/70s and not here. The people here really struggle to make ends meet. But yet, you still see them smiling at you, you still see kids playing happily and you still see them going about happily with what they have. I guess, its kinda like the frog in well theory. If you do not know better, you will probably not feel like crap in your current condition. For me downgrade to that kind of living standard (close to street sleeping... I wun be surprised if water leaks and rats scurry about whilst Im asleep) is really not easy. OK, enuf of that! hahas. Lets get back to the main street where tourists are SUPPOSSED to be in.
By the time we finished exploring the side and back lanes, it was close to sun set. I managed to snap the 2 pictures of the sun hahas. Talk about walking into the light! The sun was really bright and it metaphorically pierced my eyes.... like I had to put my hand over my forehead once in a while to shield my eyes form the sun cause it was hurting my eye. For our first dinner at Xia Men, we ate like a load of stuff... Thanks to the nice lady at Sheraton who recommended us the street to go to.

水煮鱼！我在北京第一次吃了以后，立刻爱上了它！可讲是一见钟情！ This dish is just EXTREMEly hot oil, with 5 spice and what not, poured over fish slices.
Another was this standard operation procedure dish - 铁板牛肉片. I guess nearly all of you have tried it before, so it needs no introduction. hahas... in china, anyhting can be done.... Yea, aside from the 2 dishes, we ordered 2 bowls of noodles, beer, coke and a vegetable dish. And guess what? It all added to 14Sing dollars...

Oh yes! If you go into most cabs in most states in CHina, you would have realised that they have cages around the drivers compartment (llike a long knife or a pistol won't be able to penetrate the 3cm gaps between bars.....) Xia men has adopted a more practical approach, that is to place video cameras ! And there is a small red button on the bottom left of the steering wheel(accessible ONLY to the cab driver) which activates the cameras ! cool huh.

Ask anyone who has gone to or know of Xia Men, and they will tell you that Xia Men's (gu lang yu somewhat like the sentosa of xia men) is a must see.

This island is somewhat THE sentosa of XiaMen, and only accessible by boat. On the island itself, you can see many old colonial buildings as well as streets flanked by stalls selling jades, clothes and island crafts (shell necklaces etc.) And it does not have a single car or bicycle on it. All visitors have to walk on foot.
夜晚的古兰与岛！

At Gu Lang Yu island, we came across this stall and saw some girls eating deserts like these! We just had to try hahas. Mine was the "OH Ni on ice (oh ni ice kachang)" hahas. with milk toping... it was like omg.. heavenly...

My dad tried the sweet soup with beancurd, peanut, red bean and green bean. This soup wasn't actually that nice, we found it too sweet and I guess only if you have and extremely sweet tooth, you will not enjoy it.
One of the many shops that sells Xia Men's main art work. Gold plated scupltures on ceramic.
Along the streets, you also see many of these things - YUCKS :P hahas. Dried squids, baskets of dried prawns, dried fish etc.

Another place to go to is Pu Tou mountain (or rather hill)! This is a mountain with a nice scenic tip, over looking Xia Men and a temple at the bottom (very characteristic of the chinese).

Another of the many 3motor cycles I saw hahas (Heil Hitler!) I would buy one of these and repaint it :P If it were cheap and if i lived here. Hahas, turtles cluster fucking at the temple rivers !

At the bottom, many devotees and tourists alike say their prayers in the temples. Hahas I was like some tourist journalist snapping away frame after frame (i would have posted the pictures here, but why i can't???? cause the Nikon D200 is too expensive.... :P so stick to film lor)This picture explains itself ! XP

Along the way, I saw many carvings and paintings on the rock surfaces like this 福神 god of properity?
At one part about say 1/3 the way to the top, I saw this amazing collection of statues of every god possibly imaginable! And the whole area was like say 3 metres deep by 5 meters wide, and it was just bear rock! Someone had the idea of placing all these inside one of the small "caves" in the mountain.
And yes... at certain places it was really tight... like freaking half a meter wide ( i had to twist my body to navigate this one hahas.)
Like thanks... take picture first, read later! I don't really bother to read the words lar.. but i guess its meaningful? 哈哈
Then like 1/2 way up .... the chinse are really amazing.. you see this small shop setup! Selling straw made roses and grasshoppers... raw materials costs close to nothing, but the effort taken to gring the sutff up... (and I assume they do it everyday..)... is just..... commendible!

And YESS!!... hahas we see chickens again EVEN on the mountain like hundred meters above sea level. (gives you an idea of how birdflu spread so fast :P)HMMM I already see KFC in her, she will make a fine chicky meal :P hahas

AND we finally reached the top! and what did I say about business anywhere? hahas. a refreshment stand! Where I got our much needed bottle of pepsi and dad got the 茶叶蛋s for us.

The view ofcourse is all worth it! Gu Lang Yu is the island on the far left of the picture. (this was blocked by terrain lar hahas.. but the other view was really nice :P)
At the bottom, there was another street of shopping, selling japalang things. Ken Ken like!
hahas Another random guy driving the 3motor cycle. Anyway, we finished Xia Men in 2 days.. honestly speaking, there arn't really much places to go to in Xia Men (GLY island was a crushing disappointment..) only 铺头山 and the back/side lanes at 中山步行街was worth visiting.. hahas we decided to go to another place called 泉州under the recommendation of the nice lady at the Sheraton lounge.

Ok, so we were told to go do 5 things. Eat Ba Chang. Climb a mountain (laozi mountain something like that) and go see 古民村. Also to go see some old military installation.. We accomplished 2 of the 4 tasks. For 500bux, we rented a taxi which drove us all day from Xia Men to Quan Zhou and around Quan Zhou! Go see the twin pagodas temple.We arrived at 泉州at around afternoon, which was just perfect for eating hahas... to htink we travelled all the way (2hours...) just to find that specific BaChang stall on deming road to eat hahs..Sex bachang lar! Like my granny makes (but not as good :P as granny) cause it has loads of meat and mushroom inside. Unlike the ones in spore so stingy one hahas. (scarely its the 60%meat 40% board!!)

Then we headed on to the twin pagodas! Not a bad place if I say so myself, becasue the temple was like freaking 1300years old (tts wat the bald guy says lar), there were like photo opportunities abound!) I love photographing old and historical stuff.

Hahas, one of the small businesses setup! You like give them your name, and they write a poem for you. But my dad said it was all BS, nothing great about the poems:P hahas (ken ken doth make the sun shine bright, he is like a snowy dove trooping with crows, he is like the jewel in an ethiops (black guy) ear. Ive never seen true beauty (ken ken) till tonight!!! hahas.
So yea.. after the temple, we headed to the olden people village. erm.. what can I sae.. the place was FARKING disappointing.. like 7 out of 10 of the houses are fake (remodelled) or atleast you can tell lar, that extensive renovations and remodelling has been done on the property..

Hahas.. so like it is back the Xia Men, and we went on our last night to HuLi Street, another place selling japa lang things! But this place was worse then ZhongShan lar, we like walked it fast then headed back home liao hahas. Round 2 was a 酒吧一条街。Hahas, that was like our standard MO throughout the entire 4days :P

Bloody disdainful and shameless act upon the face of this earth.......bloody bitches can copy ANYTHING... even freaking KFC got copied hahas.... like wad sia..
Hahas Jiao Kiam Um Pat Lastic (a pharse my mom likes to use hahas, meaning the bird does not even know that he is facing the sling shot :P The chinese equivalent is 班门弄斧！)

Aight so thats a BRIEF summary of my holidays hahas tata! miss you all and at the same time wish you were here :P Like fark sia.. I dreamnt that I was back home after the 5months and on sentosa beach talking to some of the TB17 ppl...

2007-09-28T16:24:00.000+08:00

ok today.

LAST day before the 5day NDP holidays. So, was abit more relac, just did my school report and like freaking 1700+++++++ words for just 3% .... like the 30% report how sia... must write thesis liao hahas.

So, the department decided to renovate our office area and move us around, there were many many MANY boxes. Ive said enough. Picture says it all.

Boxes large enough to fit a human being....

Happy Mid Autumn！

2007-09-26T08:38:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was 中秋节! Hope all of you ate many many mooncakes (especially the girls, and grow fat, then you'll know how it feels like being fat for once hehehehe). Celebrated the night away by walking the streets and looking at young faggots release fireworks (like what sia.. at 11pm when people (LIKE myself, who is tired and have to wake at 630am tomorrow to go to work, they were still releasing those wretched fire flowers, so when in china, do what chinese do :P I sat back and enjoyed the wonderous fireworks display. An event which I normally enjoy only once a year back home.) and carrying lanterns... (like HULLOh.... the street lamps were invented for a reason...). Ofcourse, I have my moments, and I did take a few minutes to admire the fullness of the planet we call the moon in all its 360°greatness.

This couplemust have been thinking "pai simi l**, wanna take picture take without us in the frame la" hahahas.... but no lar.. they just walked past :P

To celebrate mid autumn, and oh man... it really is mid autumn here. The temperature is dropping, the wind is getting up (i was walking in the park, and I noticed how nicely the willow trees were swaying in the wind), and the maple tree leaves have turned bright orange red and falling. And better still, in some roads, pink sakura flowers rain down from their large overhanging branches... all this is just so dreamy.. (cause it is... I just made it up....... hahas)

But in reality, to celebrate, I went to watch No Reservations! Omg... whoever said Catherine is getting old is JOKING.... she is still young and hot as ever... omg.. and her .... omg .. and her in the chef uniform.... its like the best of both worlds.. (just like the fantasy of a certain - dressed in certain - in a lambo spyder... and with strawberrys all over :P) hey lets not get carried away now. But yea, it was a superb show for me. And as always, love the kitchen and the story plot. Would have been perfect if the SOB china bastard infront would not talk so loud on his cell.. back home, someone would have probably asked him to STFU..... and then theres this bastard sitting beside me, constantly repeating phrases in english to impress his gf or what not.... (like STFU man.... your english is just fucking -CHOR-.. so just shove a fucking sock in it and let us enjoy the movie...) like wtf..ccb... i think your not just embarrassing yourself, you are embarrassing ur gf as well lar...... and what's infinitely worse, you're pissing me off and not allowing everyone else to enjoy the great movie.

And in better news still, besides the above, Mr Johnnie as walked over !! That's right! After 2 weeks of continued searching aorund for the "non fake" black label, I have found it (atleast it matches all the details which the net said to look out for. Now I'm just left with one "problem" before I sit back, relax and enjoy - finding a way to make proper ice... (apparently, the ice tray in the fridge is satined with like black crap.... guess i'll have to use Jiff to wash it off).

This morning, boss also brought over one bigass moonie! and to top off the uniqueness of this mooncake, it was filled with char siew ... hahas. Betcha haven't had this shit before aye！