Miamigod

Maragor

2011-10-23T00:54:00.000-07:00

I realise, in the course of my work, some people are low in confidence but big in ego. Though not abrasive by nature, they could be ticked off at the merest inapt choice of words. They find themselves victimized suddenly and the only way to vindicate their honor is to hurt the other person back at all extent. Constructive criticism is vital to improvement. Take a deep breath and suck it in becoz we're not that good anyway. But abuses should just be shrugged off. The objective is to berate and nothing else. At the end of the day, you allow yourself to be ravaged by senseless wrath whilst I continue to live my life.

New Zealand North island tour

2011-07-03T03:17:00.000-07:00

A simplified itinerary I've summarized for you-know-who-u-are's brother. He claimed it sounds boring!!! huh! lol

Day 1) Hobbiton movie & farm tours @ Matamata. $66/-. 1/2 day.
Rating: 3/10. Why 3? I'm not big fan of LOTR.

Day 2) White Island Tour @ Whakatane. $185/-. Full day.
Rating: 4/10. +0.5 for lunch onboard. +1 for dolphins.

Day 3) You can do white water rafting @ Rotorua.
But we did Hukajets @ Huka Falls, Rotorua. $95/-. 30 min.
Rating: -1/10. Totally forgettable. Minus 1 for my breakfast wasted via regurgitation.

Day 4) Skydiving @ Lake Taupo. $250 for 12,000 feet drop.
Rating: 8/10. Awesome!! Not to mention u sound really cool talking bout it when u return

Day 5) Tongariro Alpine crossing @ Tongariro National Park. $35/- for transport to Park's entrance to start trek.
Rating: 7/10. Hold ur breath! simply amazing! Little note: we stayed in Skotel, Whakapapa Village. There're only 2 hotels in that village. Highly recommended.

Day 6-7) Waitomo Caves @ Waitomo. We engaged the services of this company:http://www.waitomo.co.nz/.
Rating: 9++/10. We suffered bruises, cuts, abrasions but its like nothing we've ever seen. But of coz, a good adventure entails pain. Don't EVER try if ur claustrophobic.

Day 8) Auckland. Rating: yawnz.

Sitting alone but happy

2011-06-07T06:39:00.000-07:00

From underneath the rubble...

2011-05-16T08:53:00.000-07:00

... sings a rebel song!

Maybe I'm in the black, maybe I'm on my knees; But my heart is beating and my pulses is starting; And we saw this light emerge blinking to tell me it's alright; So you can hurt, hurt me bad but still I'll raise the flag. Who says you're the only one in pain. We're drums & drums of dust. We matter. We don't matter. Bounce it off the grooved surface. See it break merrily into a band of pure sparkling color. I have that to offer, amongst the many other facets of light. But you can only see it if you want to.

I can say now, without the benefit of hindsight, that I am doing possibly everything to the best of my meager knowledge, to alleviate beyond my current situation, and I am doing more. (This is the longest sentence that I've ever written) So if I look back one day and lament (lament! *gasp) that nothing is fruitful, in elucidation, nothing is fruitless either.

So far gone.. james blunt's the best!

2011-02-10T07:30:00.000-08:00

geez u'd never find another song that so aptly describes the state of a r/ship when any efforts of reconciliation is futile.

All the things I know you want to say
Now we're just looking for the best way out
I can't fight you anymore
You're already one step out the door
So I'll just say what you won't say

Yet another A* song frm James! smuacks!

The brand new li'o prince

2011-02-02T08:18:00.000-08:00

there is a rat in my pocket, he poked his head out and i slashed his wrist. He died instantly, they said its a manslaughter. I din noe rats died from slit wrists too. We just have to be brilliant brilliant brilliant.

When Carbamazepine, trance & CFA converges

2011-01-03T07:44:00.000-08:00

spin spin spin
ingenuity and lunacy took on each other
twirling twirling
my hapless letch
because all the logic makes sense
I am still the prevailing protagonist

Such disdain

2010-12-03T19:48:00.000-08:00

In a small town off the narrrow straits of the Meaning River, which dried up eons ago, lived a trio namely, the elderly Ann J Bothh, her nephew Hadin and his tenderly young friend, Mildy "Emo". One day they had an epiphany looking at the dried up river. That they could uncover the secrets of the universe by studying the natural oscillation of the pendullum. And they applied for patent and set up a partnership. Large Observation Lab. (LOL)

Everyday they stared intently into the pendullum, tick tock tick tock, days went past and despite of their reluctance, they grew old together. There's been no progress since the start of time but the trio was happy. That’s just about all their pint mind can attain but they still think they're going to make a huge contribution to humanity.

Then, one day a mute lost his way and stumbled upon the town. Famished and drained, he offered to work for food.
They put him through arduous tests to affirm his disability. He passed. "Our would-be research results will be safe," they agreed unanimously and hired the mute.
Everyday the trio paid him with 3 peanuts while they continued their aimless toil.

A decade into his service (and no research outcome of coz), they finally asked his name. "Mangoes Oi," he wrote.
They frowned, and thought hard, and a wave of panic swept across. They can't pronounce his name! Is it Man-goes or Mango-es?
Unable to come out with the answer, they fled. They took off and left Mangoes Oi waking up alone the next morning in an empty town.

Its fantasy adapted to fiction. I dun hate the trio, i hate the town. Toying with anagram is fun though.

We covets... you'll nver find a better movie!

2010-11-25T06:16:00.001-08:00

we begin by coveting what we see every day.
Our Billy wants to be reborn. And he will be reborn.
Good evening, Clarice. (Its was never Hello Clarice!!!)
About yourself. Quid pro quo. Yes or no?
Hester Mofet. It's an anagram, isn't it, Doctor? Hester Mofet, "the rest of me". "Miss the rest of me,"
Tell me, Clarice – have the lambs stopped screaming?

20 Fingers - Short Dick Man

2010-11-03T06:30:00.000-07:00

omg they played this song over loudspeaker at River Regatta 2010. No QC of songs!!!

Don't want no short dick man
Don't want no short dick man

Iny weeny teeny weeny
Shriveled little short dick man
What in the world is that thing?
Do you need some tweezers to put that thing away

That has got to be the smallest dick
I've ever seen in my whole life
I have ever seen in my whole life
Get the fuck outta here
Iny weeny teeny weeny
Shriveled little short dick man

Restoration

2010-10-13T17:40:00.000-07:00

In the land of mar, where everyone's living years was carved on their body out of sight only to themselves, will we treat each other differently

mmadventure

2010-09-11T22:23:00.001-07:00

I went Abseilling - Caving - Water rafting @ Ipoh with mmadventure!

There's no trip reviews from other travellers on MMadventure under Google search. So I was quite skeptical that it could be a scam. But it's not. It's manned by a fervent caver voraciously defensive of the natural spots "that used to be a haven, but now a hell when tourists flood in", in his words. He finds irresponsible tourists loathsome, and the imbecile authority even more so for lacking the foresight to preserve their environment.
You might have guessed, he's not likeable. He's not your conventional guide, nice, warm, "go the extra mile to service customers" (how i hate this phrase). He's frank, chatty, brusque on touchy topic. He made us descend down a waterfall, crawl through a cave tunnel lit only with headlamps. He refused to compromise safety with adventure. He gave a whole new meaning to brand new travel experience. Still, I'll prefer nothing else.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/album.php?aid=281384&id=505056562
there u go dude

Why does a Jeffrey Dahmer happen?

2010-08-20T20:10:00.000-07:00

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/dahmer/13.html

His father, Lionel Dahmer, wrote a very sad and poignant book called A Father's Story, which explores the very common phenomenon of parents trying desperately to give their child a good upbringing, and discovering to their horror that their child has built a high wall around himself from which their influence is progressively shut out. While fortunately, most parents do not have a Jeffrey Dahmer to raise, too many have seen their children succumb to drugs, alcohol, and crime, despite their very best and often frantic efforts to intervene.

"It is a portrayal of parental dread... the terrible sense that your child has slipped beyond your grasp, that your little boy is spinning in the void, swirling in the maelstrom, lost, lost, lost."

"I could not imagine how he had become such a ruined soul... For the first time, I no longer believed that my efforts and resources alone would be enough to save my son. There was something missing in Jeff.... We call it a "conscience"... that had either died or had never been alive in the first place."

Amphibian scare

2010-08-20T18:19:00.000-07:00

When Lorraine complained about toads croaking on her front porch, and how she suffered headache from it, we dismissed it as over-reaction. But of coz, staying in high rise apartments doesn't expose us to the nusiance of toads croaking in our living premises. We just didnt know how loud it could be. But we knew Lorraine was hovering near hysteria from this menace.

But it was loud. It was thunderous. And I'm glad Lorraine winded down the car windows. We could then totally understand she wasn't exaggerating when she said she could still hear the croaking even after shutting all doors & windows. It was that loud. Bin and I were horrified, but determined to save our friend. And we caught 3! And rewarded ourselves to Udders Mango Sorbet in serenity.

Conceits of my idle hours

2010-07-19T06:47:00.000-07:00

1) If you bring a child into this world, you have to rear him well. You have to follow through, and he should not be subject to your tantrums or fits just because ur in a bad mod.
2) I am not the centre of the world, and the worst bahaviour i can put on is to be an egotistical fool.
3) I recycle. When we save the environment, we save our children. How can we pump out tons of garbage & dunno what to do with it.
4) Don't eat sharkfin soup. I can't bear watching another shark sliced off of its fins and left to die.
5) I love my homeland! You're always glad to see a uniformed personnel when ur in trouble unless ur the perpetrator. Elimination by meritocracy is brutal but very effective in results.

Jokes.......
1) Joke on radio (25/11):
DJ: Wow u won a pair of tickets to Harry Potter's movie. Are you a hard core fan?
Male listener (enthusiastically): Yes, very hard!
=.=
2) Joke @ lunch (25/11) :
Sharon (lunch's lor mee with egg), says to Ivy: Do you want my egg?
erm... not really.. lol
3) Joke during interrogation by LTA officer wrt OPC car crossing Anson road ERP @ 659pm.
Officer: where r u heading?
Me: (kallang stadium for land training) Going national stadium.
Officer: To do?
Me: I exercise every wed. I go national stadium to do some sets (sex!)
*weird pause*
lol. There're just so many things to laugh at urself about! Life has got to be much bigger than me.

No Sirs

2010-07-18T06:34:00.001-07:00

"Sir" is a title of honour of a knight or baronet placed before a name. You would have been conferred the title by a Sovereignty. You will be addressed otherwise unless the following occurs:

If ur a knight or baron, I address you as Sir.

If ur a doctor or professor, I address you as Doc/Prof.

If I’m a recruit in USA Marine Corps and ur my drill instructor, I have to address you as Sir.

If you have purchased ur title online at http://www.regaltitles.com/, and u show me ur sales draft that u paid US$197 for title of Count/Marquis/Duke/Earl/Viscount, I’ll address u by ur title accordingly.

Otherwise, ur just a Mr. And because I’m not ur bulter/pageboy/manservant/surf, I’ll not be at ur beck and call.

I discovered itunes!

2010-07-13T08:07:00.000-07:00

...almost a decade after its launch. such an amazing program. I gasped at the number of online courses available, I gasped at the fluency of the operation, I gasped at the ingenuity of its engineers and the vision of Steve Jobs. And most importantly, itunes seem to put an end to piracy, which stifles creativity because the talented artistes are receiving pennies for their work. However popular their songs are, they still can't afford to pay rent, utilities are cut off and collectors call up every other hour! *Gasp*
Too much gas.

间碟

2010-07-07T08:53:00.000-07:00

One fine sunday, we finally made our way beyond the east for dinner. In fact, we decided to join the tourist horde and headed for dinner @ Lau Pa Sat.

There was no lack of empty tables, but, as habits dictate, one of us will sit and "chomp" the table while waiting for the rest to return with their food. While I was seated alone, 3 Chinese teenage girls who are noticeably non-local, approached me. They appeared harmless, in fact, they were looking more uncomfortable than I am. They explained they were from Hong Kong and wanted to know more about Singapore. So they were looking for a local to interview. First thing they asked was,

"Can you speak Mandarin?"
"ok..."
"Can we ask you some questions?"
"ok..."
"你有听过新生水吗？“
”有。。。“
”你知道新生水有什么用途吗？”
I said yes and explained the uses & sources, and that the public was educated through brochures, websites etc when it was first launched. I sounded like a really convinced citizen!
Then the unsettling questions.

"你会喝新生水吗？"
"你周围的人有不支持的吗？"
"你不认为正常的自来水会更好吗？"
"你是否信任政府信息?"

How do teenagers ask stuff of such depth? I was totally taken aback. The series of bombardment left me stuttering, and seemingly unsure of my conviction at the end of the interview. Could they be spies planted to uncover potential troublemakers who are skeptical of shitwater? Haha. In the end, they even requested to take pic together with me. Hopefully their identities are genuinue, then I shd expect it to be framed up in some HK high school classroom.

My job

2010-02-09T18:48:00.000-08:00

its such a freaking easy job that I laugh at myself sometimes. What could be so challenging about getting existing customers to pay for their arrears? People who are concerned about their credit rating, people who plead for extensions, people whom u have an absolute hold over. The most challenging aspect perhaps is trying to pronounce long names (and sounding like ur damn familiar) The KPI is only an indication how deft ur fingers are and how long more tolerant u are on this job. And they can still say I'm on a learning curve? How long do u take to learn "Have you made payment?" "sorry u have to pay today" I earn my keeps asking people to pay their dues. This job's a joke.

Haiti Earthquake

2010-01-26T19:27:00.000-08:00

The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake. The Haitian authorities confirmed that death toll was over 150,000 in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area alone.

Prior to the earthquake, there was widespread unemployment; more than 2/3 of the labor force do not have formal jobs. One of the world’s poorest countries, Haiti is rated 146 out of 177 on the UN’s Human Development Index. Haiti’s per Capita Income is USD$800/yr, comparable to Zimbabwe’s. 80% of the population is living below the poverty line.

Haiti is also one of the most overpopulated countries. China’s population density is 139/km2, Haiti’s 361/km2.

To top it up, Haiti's infrastructure was among the world's worst even in the best of times, the country's ambassador to USA, "It was a catastrophe waiting to happen," Raymond Alcide Joseph told CNN from Washington shortly after a 7.0 earthquake leveled parts of his home country, "Sadly, it has happened."

(With all due respect to the victims) Disregarding personal tragedies and devastation to the country’s already crumbling infrastructure, the death toll relieves the problem of exploding population, and perhaps even unemployment to some extent. Buildings fell, power lines were cut off, and labor is highly sought after to rebuild. Though all said, it is not to suggest that devastating Works of God is beneficial to poor nations.

A dialogue with … the world

2010-01-01T06:34:00.000-08:00

Microcredit is extension of small loans to the poor who lack collateral; steady employment; verificable credit history and were rejected traditional credit. Grameen Bank’s founder, Muhammad Yunus discovered small loans could make a huge difference. His first loan was $27 from his own pocket, which he lent to 42 people including a woman who made bamboo furniture to support herself & her family. Yunus, a Nobel Prize winner, aims to eliminate 50% poverty by 2015.

We worry bout finding new dining places whilst some worry about when’s the next meal.

Israel poured more troops into Lebanon and escalated its aerial bombardment. For the 22 days of military action, millions become refugees. Govt offices, hosp, clinics were not spared. Over 5600 homes destroyed, a further 7000 uninhabitable.

When 911 happened, I was having dinner with the hockeygirls. Stephanie’s phone flashed a sms…air strike…NYC…twin tower… We laughed it off like its totally hypothetical. But it was all over headline news that night. Maybe we’ve taken crisis too lightly. Maybe we’re taking this stability for granted.

A 2nd car bomb discovered in central London. "All I kept thinking was, there mist be an angel on my shoulders," one woman said. "because if that had gone off - glass, everything - we wouldnt habe been alive today."

We scowl at daily living inconveniences. Lift doesnt work, bank statements dun come, frds keep me waiting. These are annoying, but is it enough to lose composure over?

We live in comfort for so long that we overlook possibilities of other life conditions, that there’re graver concerns than whats on billboard charts. While Lebanese worry about rebuilding homes, we fret about where to watch NDP fireworks. I couldnt be happier with the life im leading, but what will it reduce me to?

Pay attention to the bigger world. I am but one of the 6300,000,000 people sharing the same planet.

LCCT vs KLIA

2009-10-23T23:32:00.000-07:00

I came very close to getting stranded alone in KL airport. It was almost a bad dream come true, a delighted overseas trip which ended with missing the flight home. Worse, work commenced the next day so I almost resorted to reporting urgent leave.

KL has 2 airports: LCCT and KLIA. Before I boarded the bus at KL Sentral I asked the driver over and over again.

"Not budget terminal ah?" "International Airport ah?"

Twice he said yes. But I was supposed to go KLIA, not LCCT. Worse, the bus reached LCCT late because it was Friday and everywhere was jammed. It was already 820 and my flight's departure time is 920. I hurried to the gate but the ground staff looked at my printout and said "Not here. jetstar, KLIA, 30 min taxi."

I blinked. He repeated, almost apologetically, and that shook me wide awake. I'm seriously late.

I sprinted across to the taxi stands, there was a long queue and the staff said I need a ticket which costs 42 ringgits. I dug out all my ringgits but it wasnt enough. She asked if I have other currencies and took my remaining SGD. I took the ticket and dived into a cab.

My palms were sweating, and my fingers were shaking uncontrollably. A wave of panic swept across and I couldn’t think right. That sounds like totally exaggerated for such a trivial matter but I only knew then I really din want to stayover for the night in KL airport. The cab reached KLIA 845, the cabbie muttered, "gate should have closed... but u can try..."

I dashed across the platforms, and frankly, I've prepared to campover but there was a ground staff checking in a male passenger who saw me dashing across platforms, turned around and said "It's ok, plane delayed, I ran like mad too."

And so that night I reached home 2 hrs later :)

Along Telok Blangah Road

2009-09-21T05:18:00.001-07:00

I don't like 2009. Everywhere u turn its Works under Progress. The Casinos are sprouting, Orchard road is reinventing, and circle line is drilling pockets of holes everywhere.

I chanced upon this lost parcel of land behind Telok Blangah Rd. There's no streetlights lining along the path, there's no unit #, but it looks occupied since a very long time ago.

Pizza Hut

2009-08-27T19:50:00.000-07:00

We had the most hilarious experience with a floor manager dining at Pizza Hut today. I guess the branch at Habourfront has neither the capacity nor the resources to accomodate the sudden surge of lunchgoers, probably encouraged by its recent vigorous ad campaign. People like us, devoid of ideas for lunch, who pounce on the first poster we see on our way heading for lunch.

Ok, at first it wasn't funny. First B asked for replacement for her soup when she saw a blue scrap inside. The female asst manager didn't return, she simply took the bowl and vanished. Then we were charged for calamari that wasn't served, which we realised after we stepped out. It was the manager who attended to us. He looked totally hapless heading a bunch of incompetents, as he tried explaining, "i was the one who fried the calamari, where did the person bring it to?!"

Why would a flr manager even need to fry calamari?! We decided his outlet must be completely screwed up. Then he scrambled $6.50 and hastily handed it over which was an act of total unprofessionalism but left us very satisfied (and amused) in the end.

Our Cultural Revolution

2009-06-16T01:22:00.000-07:00

I made a trip to the Post Office today to mail a postage. While my hand was reaching for the adhesive tape (usually freeflow @ PO) on the counter, a man who's doing form filling by the side turned around and barked "IT's MINE!" Startled, I nodded meekly and withdrew my hand. He continued to blast "I PAID FOR IT, KNOW?!" I recovered at that instant, put up my hands as in surrendering and reassured him, "Ok, sorry, don't worry, I'm not trying to steal your tape." And he was still glaring at me as I repeated myself again. Finally he turned away, murmuring "I'm not worried... (but) I paid for it..."

The staff who attended to me later couldn't be bothered to mask her contempt "Fierce right? The fellow. Thats why I don't want to give him the tape, I tell him must buy... these Chinamen ah.." And she handed me a roll of adhesive tape.

I wondered how a Singaporean wld've reacted. Probably looks at u with a straight face, and say quietly "Erm, x'cuse me thats mine" and then complain to a frd while ur out of sight "Wah lau, stupid bitch" A Jap wld probably waits for u to be done before telling u very politely with a tinge of embarrassment, that he has to go off now, and he needs the tape back. A HK probly remarks sarcastically "Some pple think the tape is free" and make sure ur within earshot. A Taiwanese puts on a broad smile, and reminds u tapes are provided at the counter. A Korean might just box u, grab the tape and storm off. Haha, i wonder which of the hypothesis is true. For Sporeans, unfortunately, we're not exactly a bunch of gracious angels anyway. I thought we're ugly, now we meet a match.

Goodbye my Lover

2009-06-09T06:57:00.000-07:00

I am here for you if you'd only care.You touched my heart you touched my soul.You changed my life and all my goals.love is blind.I've kissed your lips and held your hand.I know you well,I know your smell.You have been the one for me.And as you move on,remember me,Remember us and all we used to be.I've seen you cry,I've seen you smile.I've watched you sleeping for a while.I'd spend a lifetime with you.I know your fears and you know mine.We've had our doubts but now we're fine,And I love you, I swear that's true.And I still hold your hand in mine when I'm asleep. I cant share your aloofness, by hindsight I look like a fool.Always trying to pull you into my intensity.I never succeed,you're still standing at a distance.I cannot be staring into the phone everynight, pining for the blink.It tires me, eventually.And you're the only one missing.

Split Screen Sadness

2009-06-02T02:49:00.000-07:00

I don't know where you went when you left me but,it says here,you must be gone;by now I can tell somehow.One hand on the trigger of the telephone;Wonderin when the call comes.I'll sleep inside my coat and wait on your porch 'til you come back home;I can't find a fight;We share the sadness.We had a love but we still said goodbye.Now we're tired,battered fighters.And it stings when it nobody's fault;Cause there's nothing to blame.At the drop of your name, it's only the air you took;And the breath you left.I called... because I just need to feel you on the line.Don't hang up this time,And I know well it's me who called it over but I still wish you fought me 'til your dying day;Don't let me get away.Cause I can't wait to figure out what's wrong with me;So I can say this is the way that I used to be.There's no compatibility;there's only the comfort u led me into.Now where's the commitment?And I can't stop the inevitable,I let u take the helm.But we'll come to a happy end.

Scary stories

2009-05-23T19:38:00.000-07:00

I've been hearing a lot of horror breakup stories lately. A friend divorced his wife whom he hasnt been talking to for the past 1 year whilst still living in a same household. A guy broke up with his girlfrd because he insisted to go dutch on every cent. (i think she shd just dump him) Makes me wonder if I wld go down a same path. Happy ending doesn't just mean walking down the aisle and live happily everafter, in another context it also means a mutual breakup & no one bears any grudge at all. And i have my reservations with guys, who looks seemingly nice, but have hysterical ex-girlfriends screaming at their doorsteps, incessantly appearing at the workplaces. Fishy.

Aging in Place

2009-04-01T18:48:00.000-07:00

I first came across this term when I was googling for bathroom design on the internet. It simply means the ability to live in one's own home for as long as confidently and comfortably possible. Naturally everyone wants a comfortable home, and a majority of us think that our homes' safety features are more than adequate. But unfortunately, most homes are an accident waiting to happen.
Do you know if ur using safety glasses or just ordinary glasses? Do you place loose rugs on the floor? Do you overload ur sockets?
I tried assessing how convenient it is for the disabled (& elderly) to manoeuvre around my home when I was in crutches for a month couple years ago. It was terrible, the toilet seat was too low, the corridor was too narrow, and all the doors opened inwards. I was extremely jittery about bathing, there was nowhere to grab, nowhere to sit, and I entered the bathroom everytime with the conviction that I'll slip and trip my good leg as well.
More than 95% of hip fractures among adults ages 65 & older are caused by falls at home. These injuries can cause severe health problems. If there's someone at home 65 & older, whether be it now or in the near future, we might want to consider a few basic measures (esply in the bathroom!) to make the home a safer place for all.

Some safety features

A little chatty

2009-03-25T20:22:00.000-07:00

I'm addicted to going interviews. I realised it's an invaluable opportunity to talk about myself and only ME to someone who listens attentively, or at least they pretended to. I am most delighted when they ask "Tell me bout urself". You know sometimes you'll refrain talking too much about urself so the opposite party of the conversation dun get bored? And u've got nowhere else to spit it out to? Go to interviews!

live musician- trade gig for dental cleaning / xrays / exam - $1 (Ft, Myers)

2009-03-18T06:50:00.000-07:00

I found this in craiglist: musician's got toothache but cash-strapped, so he posted ad under "BARTER" for dentist who's willing to clean his teeth up in exchange for a 4 hr performance. pretty innovative. The ad reads:

Professional guitar/ vocalist will play private party up to 4 hours for Teeth cleaning, xray, exam. (You have to be a licensed dentist ;) I don't have insurance.

MXO1116

2009-03-11T23:19:00.000-07:00

I'm rejected by one of the Statutory Boards but they will consider me for another position if I write them an essay and hand it up within 5 days. How weird is that? And the job function is handling administrative duties. I suppose our public sector does work differently from the rest of the world.

And I actually wrote it. I treated it seriously. Being unemployed over a long period of time (Korea-9mths + Spore-1mth = 10 mths?) does result in permanent brain damage. Anyway this is what I handed up.

Please tell us your key achievements, activities and interests and explain how they represent the values and beliefs that you hold strongly to: My key interest is learning. I’ve developed an unquenchable thirst to acquire as much information as I possibly can. Curiosity keeps life going, and it’s one of a main preservation of life. Knowledge develops into power, as quoted from Sir Francis Bacon, English Lawyer and Philosopher, 1561-1626. However, it’s also a cure for ignorance, which in my opinion, one of the key reasons why many conflicts in the contemporary world occur. For example, it’s a misinterpretation of the Koran that terrorists believe that Islam condones violence against infidels (non-believers).

In today's world where global issues are so important, many people feel a sense of powerlessness and resignation; a feeling that no individual's efforts can change the way things are.

However, I believe that if I can win control over oneself, I can overcome the small self that is dominated by narrow self-interest and awaken to the larger self that
works for the good of all humanity. To cite another example, it was not a practice in my family to recycle every aluminium can and every plastic bottle till I started doing it. Now, they’ll collect the recycleable materials to dispose at the void deck’s recycle bin despite the inconvenience. (i lied, they still throw everything down the rubbish chute)

From this standpoint a major obstacle to developing ourselves is to pursue a way of life bound by our small ego or self. That is why changing our own lives, through acquisition of knowledge, and in turn, wisdom, will bring a change in our family, our
community, and the society in which we live. It will change the age we live in, our history, and indeed all aspects of our world.

I wrote it this morning. And I wrote another one this afternoon during a face-to-face interview.

How would your friends describe you?
When I make up my mind, it's almost impossible to change that decision. Some friends say I'm determined, others say its obstinacy. I prefer the first description.

How would you describe yourself?
I have yet to discover the intrinsic value of human life. I shrugged off major disasters that caused the loss of hundreds, thousands of lives but I grieved the death of a baby seal clubbed to death. I read up extensively on news and secretly wish I am the anonymous saviour that has a single, almighty solution to all the troubles in the world. But if everyone's living harmoniously with everyone else, I suppose there's no news for me to read anymore. I think sometimes my humor is incomprehensible too.

Today is a Write Essay To Ur Heart's Content day.

Job searching

2009-03-09T18:41:00.000-07:00

To me, the most irking thing about being jobless is not impoverishment that stares at you in the face, but rather the mandatory process of getting one. Those senseless interviews, those moments sitting at the receptional areas filling up application form, faking ingenuity in front of would-be bosses.

I'm not nice & pretty but i do my work seriously, u didnt know that, do u? So thats why i had to answer ur dumb questions with answers i found on the net. What do u look for in a job? Recognition, fulfilment, Challenges. Bullshit... I only want to go home on time. Still I smiled, sat up straight and babbled words that I pretended I believe too.

To top it up, there are those asshole interviewers and job scope description which totally differs from what was advertised. The AXA interviewer sat me at a table just outside a vacant room (with glass wondow) and conducted the interview in the working area with colleagues eavesdropping. To this day I never knew why she wouldn't bring me into the private room instead. I should have known better. Her phonecall was so ambiguous "We can't send u an email till u come for the interview", "There're 3 positions available and we'll decide which is good for u" I guess I was bored.

And boredom is a killer too. I'm barely a month into unemployment and I'm restless already.

Did the K really say that?

2009-03-09T18:31:00.000-07:00

2 24 year old men brought 5 loaves of bread to the home of a 75 year old
Saudi woman. One of whom was elderly woman's late husband's nephew. And woman was sentenced to 40 lashes and 4 months in jail for mingling.

back home?

2009-02-24T18:11:00.000-08:00

We didnt expect spending a mere 9 months could pose inconveniences in our daily lives when we returned home but it did.

Left, right, left? right?

1) Koreans drive on the left side, so right is the easy turn for them. I nearly ended up on the opp direction when i made such an exaggerated left turn while driving once. Good thing Singaporean roads are partitioned. I might just end up head on against everyone else.

2) Seoul subway commuters stand on the right of the escalators to give way, we stand on the left instead. And I kept blocking everyone else...

3) I forgot ants, mosquitoes, flies exist because it is not sub zero temp here.

4) Seoul bus commuters enjoy a free 2nd bus ride while Singapore bus commuters enjoy a discounted 2nd bus ride. We kept thinking its free...

Rabbit Brand Shark Fin

2009-02-05T23:45:00.000-08:00

"Shark is very very kind animal... Thats bullshit! Shark actually is not kind animals... You don't believe me, go to see... the shark whether he eat u or not! No... the shark is not. its very very fierce. You see the teeth? Like saw. They bite you and tear away and you die. You will die, pain and you die. Shark is very fierce animal."
"Sharks so far, they don't have cancer. This is from the Western people, the professionals say. Sharks never get cancer, and die, thats right... very strong... shark."

William Goh, Managing director of Rabbit Brand Sharkfin, in an interview in SHARKWATER. watch this in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jntcX-WlT34&feature=related 2:24min.

SHARKWATER is a 2007 Canadian film written and directed by Rob Stewart, who also plays the lead role. The documentary covers the lives of sharks, how the media portrays them, and how they are treated today.

We wanted to watch an underwater documentary and SHARKWATER came to our mind. The least we expect on an internationally acclaimed documentary is a fellow Singaporean (a Managing director apparently) spouting ignorance on big screen. This guy made me feel so ashamed that I bore the same nationality as him. It doesnt matter how fierce a shark is, it just doesnt justify the killing of sharks, dumping their carcass back into the sea after slicing off their fins. Every year 26 to 73 million sharks are killed by people in commercial and recreational fishing, a big percentage contributed by poachers for sharkfins.

Sharks are the top predators of the ocean and they're there for a reason. There's no species that has ever survived by ignoring the laws of ecologics, and we're breaking it everyday and thats going to be our own demise in a very short period of time. The problem is we don't understand what we are. In our mind, there's some sort of conceived legend. We see ourselves as some sort of god, walking around deciding what will live and what will not, what would be destroyed and what stays. But the fact is we're just a bunch of primates out of control.

Going home

2009-01-14T08:52:00.000-08:00

Its almost 2 am. I'm suffering from insomnia, a rare occurence brought about by my roommate, who's at this very instant wrapped up in comfy comforter and limbs spreaded diagonally across the entire bed. I'm beginning to think there'll be no room for me. My human alarm failed to wake me up from a well-intended 1 hr nap. It went well beyond 2 hours and I think I'm too regenerated now. Damn, got class tomorrow.
I'll be heading for home in a month's time. Back to the familiar equatorial climate, late night supper with friends, MRT tracks besides my block and Discovery channel. In a month's time I'd end my 9 months long vacation and back to routine. There's a tinge of regret on not accomplishing things we should have done, places we should have gone, people we should have met. Don't we all?
We've made friends, in school and I in Soka, and it's devastating to some point leaving people behind you won't probably see again. But this is not our place after all.

guess what? I think I'll miss my 越位 roommate the most.

Dinner @ 사랑's

2008-12-23T00:25:00.001-08:00

사랑 is a classmate from Thailand and her Korean name stems from her real name which is, simply, Love. When the teacher was checking attendence and sometimes she's not around, and we'll reply "사랑은 안 왔어요" (Love did not come) Guess how weird it sounds to Koreans.

Last Sat she invited us over for dinner. We had a hard time looking for her dorm coz the door is sorta concealed. We knocked on the wrong door, and when the wrong guy questioned who we looking for, and merrily popped out "we're looking for Love". Gosh!

After dinner, we made merry by mocking Korglish - which is the Korean version of Singlish. But they have a harder time with phonetics rather than grammer, for instead, most noticeably, there is no "f", "v", "z". So fork= pork, zoo=choo, i see=i shee, friend=pram. They usually omit subjects in the context, except for "our", there is little use of I, you, she, he etc. To confuse further, instead of "my family", "my home", they say "our family", "our home". So talking to Asel who's our dormitory mate is always bewildering. When she says "our room", we'll be left wondering if she means her room, or our rooms in general. We always ended up clarifying the conversation in English.

The inconveniences of winter

2008-12-05T00:29:00.000-08:00

temperature: -12°C/-1°C ; wind: 9mph; humidity: 35%.

for a sense of relativity, here’s singapore weather forecast for today: temperature update: 29°C/25°C ; wind: 9mph; humidity: 76%. So Seoul is very cold, verry verrry dry, Singapore is the stark contrast, very warm, verrry humid, fungus doesn’t like Seoul at all.

Winter is not romantic, its not Winter sonata. You don’t stand still for 5 min, look afar and then a tear dropped, and everyone thought the expression is beautiful. It is grotesque misbelief! When the wind blows, the faces, fingers freeze numb, mucus drips despite of yourself, and your glittering tear (or mucus) probably freezes on the cheekbone and that is not pretty at all.
We’re facing a whole range of household inconveniences, problems we haven’t imagine in our whole lifetime living in an equatorial region. First of all, window panes. Water condenses between the panes due to indoor/outdoor temp & humidity differentation and they freezes below zero. It’s impossible sliding windows panes with ice in between. When we cant mobilize the windows, CO builds up and ventilation poses a problem.

Even if it’s bright and sunny outside, forget about hanging clothes. The intolerable chore aside, a thin layer of ice will form on the wet laundry, so upon collection, you realise the clothes have stiffen and feels like cardboards. Dont bode well for garments made of texture like cotton, that has no memory, and takes the shape of whatevers.

It’s yet to snow (which might turn out to be another environmental problem), and our water pipes have yet to freeze (thank you!). The contraction of pipes, electrical appliances and the noise they make at nights is a huge menace. We’re eating more and exercising less. But above all, it’s a brand new experience I’ve volunteered into.

An important page of history

2008-11-04T00:37:00.000-08:00

Democrat Barack Obama has won the 2008 U.S. presidential election, CNN projects, setting him up to become the 44th president of the United States and the first African-American to hold the nation’s highest office. Obama’s former rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Hillary Clinton said in a statement that “we are celebrating an historic victory for the American people.”축하합니다!!!

You… the one from Qingdao

2008-11-03T00:40:00.000-08:00

Even if it’s a well-intentioned presentation, and you deperately want to show the class the proudest moment of your hometown, how could you be so dumb, stupid, insensitive to include pictures of dishes made of pork when there’s 2 Muslims and a Vegetarian in the class? Are you so unaware Muslims and Vegetarian DON’T eat PORK.
Worse still, a whole suckling pig with facial features intact. Wow u best, u stoopid Stoopid Hoof. Pls dont tell me after 10 weeks of lessons, you didn’t know they’re Muslims/Vegetarian? You live in a cave? And as they turned away from the screen in revulsion and in unison, I can’t believe u ignored them and rattled on about your delicacy. You’re definitely one of the Only Child, you think the whole world revolves ard u. well it doesn’t, get a grip dork.

What a 2008!

2008-10-28T20:22:00.000-07:00

It’s a leap year, its an election year and its a year where Dow’s fell 25% from the start of the year. I should start penning down my 2009’s resolution list. Next Tuesday will be Washington big day. I really hope they won’t vote in a 72-yr old and his foreign-policy-stemmed-from-Alaska’s-proximity-to-Russia deputy candidate. Pls, get a grip, dun vote for another lame duck president like Chen ShuiBian or Bush. *The only reason why Im interested in politics is simply becoz homeland politics is so boring. Everyone wants to be The Good Guy and no one throwing vases around*

Give me back my fried chicken!

2008-10-27T20:23:00.000-07:00

We like Koreans. We have been immensely spoilt by their geniality. There’s seldom a moment where they’re not awed by the fact that ur a foreigner, or that u can speak English/Chinese, or that ur simply not a Korean. It doesn’t mean they’re closeted, but instead they retain this childlike, unfeigned curiosity towards foreigners, probably even trusting. That is a phenomenon rarely seen in the richer Asian countries. We’re usually skeptical towards outsiders, there’s a inborn spontaneous repulse against anything moving, breathing and nonnative. “These are my Filipino colleagues”, “Those are the table tennis players imported from China”, “She’s his Vietnamese bride” We never really allow any infiltration. But sometimes, we forget we were foreigners once.

Despite the grammer, I think we might have penetrated into the Korean language. We understood instructions handed down, we understood the man in the street, and shopping is no longer terrifying. My brain capacity must have swelled 100%, I’m constantly deciphering every roadsign on the street, what this or that passerby is yelling. The classes never end, we’re coerced to revise all the time unless we refuse to interact. (ie live a turtle?! XXX)
And bit by bit, the door opens, Korea is no longer this faraway, mystical peninsula and their people blabbering an uncomprehensible, alien language. We love Korea!

Our birdday

2008-10-24T20:23:00.000-07:00

It’s 5:31pm now, the Friday of my 27th birthday. And it’s only on my 27th year of existence that I finally get to experience seasons changing shifts. The place where we came from, balding trees & temperature drops of more than 5°C is an abnormality.
I just did our laundry at 11°C outdoor temp, done with spreading out the clothes to dry. I’m wrapped in bulky garments & a furry winter scarf, and I’m most probably wearing more than the laundry. Good thing is, you won’t get the chance to do laundry frequently. Because, unlike in tropical regions, you don’t drench ur panties in sweat (and sometimes waste or pimple cream, eww) very often. And a trick is, since you’re wearing so many layers, all u do everyday is swop-in-swop-out the exact same garments and no one will ever notice u havent change. It’s such a cold chore, everyone hates doing it.
Have I mentioned? It’s barely 6pm and its pitch dark. When I first arrived in late spring, the sun waited till 845pm to set. When u live around the equator for too long, these natural phenomenons freaked u out. The length of daytime actually differs by a whooping 3 hrs. ooo… ulu me.
Such a memorable birdday. Spent typing with frozen fingers in climate akin to a fridge, and about to deteriorate to a climate akin to the freezer compartment. Oh ya, and i need to collect my laundry in pitch dark.
*Thanks HOng Hong and Kheng Kheng who brought some trophical warmth here*

2nd level 2nd presentation

2008-10-22T20:23:00.000-07:00

안녕하십니까? Hello.
많은 사람들처럼 제 취미는 여행입니다. Like many people, my hobby is travelling.
가는곳마다 이야기를 하고있습니다. Everyplace has a story to tell.
싱가포르는 동남 아시아에 위치를 하는데 가까운 나라에, 예를 들면 캄보디아와 베트남에, 가 봤습니다.
Spore’s in SEAsia, I’ve travelled to nearby countries eg Cambodia & Vietnam.
지금까지, 캄보디아는 제가 방문한 국가중에서 제일 재미있는 국가입니다.
Till now, Cambodia is the most interesting country I’ve visited.
캄보디아의앙코르와트는유명한성전인데출발하기전에벌써알았습니다.
Its temple, Angkor Wat, is a famous temple, I knew about it before I set off.
찾기 힘들기 때문에 가이드가 필요합니다. its difficult to find, so a local guide is needed.
우리 가이드는 부끄러움이 많은 사람이라서 사진 한개 밖에 찍지 않았습니다.
This is our guide, he’s really shy, & this is e only picture I have of us together.
그는 마음이 좋기 때문에 앙코르 와트이야기하고 옛날의 문화에 대해서 자세히 설명했습니다.
He was a good guide, and he explained Angkor wat in detail.
그들은 동료였습니다. These are my colleagues.
이것은 800 년 이상 된 건물였습니다. These buildings are more than 800 years.
불상의얼굴이보였습니다. You can see faces of buddha.
15 세기에 그 곳은 갑자기 나빠쪘습니다. In 15th century, the place was suddenly abandoned.
이 기간 동안 뿌리들은 앙코르 와트를 먹었습니다. During this time, the jungle ate up angkor wat.
노을은 특히 아름다운데 그 날은 오후에 비가 오기 때문에 사진을 전혀 찍지 않았습니다.
Sunsets r esply beautiful,but I din take any coz it rained that afternoon.
이 사진이 바로 인터넷에서 찾은 사진입니다. This picture is in fact a photo I found in internet
제가 여행 하면서 슬픈 역사를 배웠습니다. While I’m visiting there, I also learned of its sad history.
캄보디아 내전은 1979 년 끝나고 많은 사람이 죽었습니다.
Cambodia’s civil war ended in 1979, and many people died.
이 학교가 감옥으로 사용했습니다. A school was used as a prison.
그래서 역사를 배우러 그 학교에 가 봤습니다. And we visited the school.
그 날은 날씨가 좋았지만 이 곳에 도착하니까 갑자기 살살해졌습니다.
The weather was good that day, but when we reached it suddenly got windy.
그 곳은 어둡고 비기 많이 시작했습니다. It got very dark and rained heavily.
정말 무서웠군요! really frightening!
시간이 나면 다시 한번 갈 겁니다. I’ll go again if I have time.
그런데 올해에 추운 크리스마스를 한국에서 지낼 거니까 즐겁게 지내겠습니다.
It’s the first time I’m spending a cold Christmas this year, I suppose I’ll have a wonderful time.
듣고셔서 감사합니다. thank you for listening.

Jing’s birthday

2008-10-10T20:24:00.000-07:00

After 5 months in a foreignland, we realised we’ve missed the food most, and the weather least. I could hence empathise with people who’d comb foreign streets for a bite of homeland food. We overcome the longing via cooking at home as much as possible, and as many familiar dishes as possible. But it’s barely enough, so on her birthday, I treated her to a 70,000 won Crystal Jade meal wherein Singapore, it costs less than half the price. We found Yaku Kaya toast in Gangkam area as well, though somewhat let down by its interior design. It looks and feels like just about any Coffee Bean. Perhaps creaky wooden stools would evoke more curiosity in these Koreans, who remain fiercely defensive towards their own culture, history and heritage.

Today’s menu (5)

2008-10-09T21:24:00.000-07:00

JING'S FAV PIC OF NOODLES.

our first attempt failed miserably, tasteless. On Martin’s tip, we put in some oyster sauce which salvaged our 2nd attempt.

The National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts

2008-10-09T20:33:00.000-07:00

OUR 2급 반.

While the world struggles with plummeting currencies, home foreclosures, writedowns and bailouts, increasing job loss rates, we seem to be having the best time of our life. It was an excursion organised by LEI, where we learned how to play the Korean drum called 장구 in unison. I thought thats really a good idea for team bonding.

Today’s menu (4)

2008-09-27T20:48:00.000-07:00

(1) KIMCHI STEW.
throw all available ingredients and leftovers, together with kinmchi, chilli paste and chilli powder. When ur fingers and toes are freezing, theres nothing more comforting then having a pot of boiling kimchi stew in front of you…
(2) MINCED MEAT POTATO.
and in the making. It was supposed to be stir fried? But the finish product resembles more of minced meat stew. Tasty, nevertheless.

(3) DEEP FRIED CHICKEN WITH SWEET & SOUR MIXED VEGETABLES

OUR FRIDGE AND WHAT GOES AROUND IT

Our balcony

2008-09-27T20:45:00.000-07:00

Local weather report for Seoul

2008-09-25T21:06:00.000-07:00

Friday Afternoon
Temperature: 14°C
A mix of sun and cloud. Windy at times.

And this officially marks the end of summer. its perfect weather, not humid nor hot and u wont drip sweat at all. if only it stays chilling, and never ever turns cold.

Colonizing the neighbourhood

2008-09-20T21:07:00.000-07:00

ASEL-OUR KGRYSTAN SCHOOLMATE.

We found our residence to be so excellent, that by our recommendation, a friend has shifted in, and another on the waiting list. As soon as a room (just right opp ours) is about to be vacated, we told Asel (who’s on the waiting list) and she’s viewed the room twice already.
Because the occupant hasnt moved out yet, we faced him right on while viewing the room. Right up to this stage, we havent figured out who our neighbours are. It seems fine to me, we can skip the awkwardness when we come across each other at the washing machine, microwave, water dispenser corner. Isnt it so back at home?

삼결살 BBQ pork

2008-09-19T21:09:00.000-07:00

THE EVER-FAMOUS BULGOGI & EVER-OVERWHELMING SIDEDISHES .

sweep it up!

What a spectacular opening to a week

2008-09-15T21:13:00.000-07:00

A week after Henry Paulson announced the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,

1. 4th largest investment bank giant 158-yr-old Lehman Bros declared bankruptcy.
2. Merrill Lynch, 94-yr-old firm and America’s largest brokerage form, sold to Bank of America.
3. AIG, the nation’s largest insurance company, faced credit downgrades.

Never borrow too much and put it in dubious deals.

My new classmate

2008-09-02T21:30:00.000-07:00

Level 2 just started a day ago… the previous L1 class was reshuffled and guess who one of my new classmate is?

회층씨 만나서 반갑습니다. 어디에서 오셨어요?
싱가폴? 아… 나도…
(HWEE CHING-shi, nice to meet you. Where are you from?)

New roommate

2008-09-02T21:27:00.000-07:00

Now, in a space no bigger than a 4-RM flat living RM, there’s 3 of us huddled up together. MISS JAPAN had to bunk in 4 nights because her new home (downstairs) has not been vacated by the occupant. And her contract with the previous lodging finished earlier. By a weird twist of fate, we ended up being each other’s companions. Once upon a time, Miss Taiwan (who stayed with Miss Japan) complained the ah-jussi landlord was a chi-go bek. Miss Japan, despite her lack of eloquence in English and mild composure, displayed her strong contempt too. So we decided to help her find a new place.
On one fine day during our summer holidays, Jing, me, Miss Kypgyzstan and Japan went asking from door-to-door "방 있어요?" (is there a room?) After half a day of fruitless searching, we decided to take a break at our room. The ingenius Miss Kypgyzstan then suggested that maybe we shld try our own block. Bingo.

A typical day

2008-09-02T21:15:00.000-07:00

As we trace our routine walk to school… we see GRAFFITI on Gwanak-san wall. WEIRD LOOKING FURNACE & FRONT DOOR that looks totally out of place with a wanted man poster.

SCHOOLGIRLS WITH VERY TIGHT ATTIRES.

JUNCTION - SNU'S GATE. It’s football field size, usually chaotic.

And we reach our school. A tree in the compound.

Mama Papa and Sista in Hangul!

2008-09-01T21:32:00.000-07:00

SNAPSHOT 1: Dongdaemun Doota shopping mall. When ur with ur parents, it only takes 1/2 an hour to finish touring all 9 levels…boy don’t they look bored?

snapshot 2: only SISTA is estastic. until…

MAMA gave her opinions on Sista’s buys…

caught SISTA yawning…

Today’s menu (3)

2008-08-26T20:22:00.000-07:00

(1) Bulgogi pork & Bulgogi chicken.

Step 1: Pour in the meat
Step 2: Add in pre-mix bulgogi sauce. Haha. not a culinary challenge. just something to go with the porridge.

Potato balls: Preparation of this dish took up a whole day. 20% cooking, the rest is spent cleaning up. Jing wanted to make minced meat potato but her frd sent her this recipe instead. 要了我的命.
1. Boil potatos and squash them up. 2. Mix together with salt and pepper. 3. Roll into small balls and coat with egg. 4. Deep fry for a min.

But I must say credit must be given to Jing for her insistence to make the balls (make the balls?!) because it’s simply delicious!

This is to supplement our veggie intake after all the meat and deep fried food inputs. Fried veg (urgh! get rid of the stalks!)
1. Heat pan.
2. Pour in kailan, and a lot a lot of oyster sauce.

Suwon 수원: one of UNIESCO’s world heritage sites

2008-08-26T20:15:00.000-07:00

or rather, a remake. We didn’t know that till we arrived after a 45min subway ride. Although I like staying in Korea and indulging in the hospitality of her people, I really think there’s nothing much to tour around Seoul. The remakes feel like… Tang Dynasty…

Because we’ve nothing much to do, we’ve resorted to taking silly pics. When Choonhong and khengkheng come in oct, we’ll recommend them here. wuahaha. we end up in Dongdaemun shopping for the rest of the day.

Today’s menu (2) Pancake day!

2008-08-22T20:32:00.000-07:00

1. Add in pancake mix.
2. Mix.
3. Fry.
Tips: Do not attempt to twist and toss pancake while pancake is still in liquid form, u’ll get a queer shaped pancake. These are how Jing’s pancake looks like. Sometimes she get solarsystem shaped pancake too…

My queer shaped pancake.

Our new home!

2008-08-16T20:43:00.000-07:00

We moved into our 3rd home on August 1st, it’s walkable distance from school and lotsa cheap food! This is the entrance. Basically we walked into the 5 storey building a month ago, and asked the first person we saw "방 있어요?" (is there room?) We signed the contract an hour later. speedy.
the corridor. going up the stairs. There’s a microwave and water dispenser on the 2nd flr. Our room’s on the 3rd.

our new room! It’s about the size of a 4room flat living room, equipped with a fridge, aircon, an electric stove & a drafthood. not too bad. The space in front of the closet is to lay out our mattress. There’s only one chair, so Huijing says since I’m too stingy to buy another, I’d have to sit on the flr. This pic is one of the rarest moment.

Huijing was most excited about cooking despite no prior experience. I’ve been trying to learn to operate the fire entinguisher since then.

It was perfect, a stark contrast from the previous dwelling, where I’ve spent my most agonising July. We move around with ease, and we do not need to wait for the family to finish their dinner. Most imptly, we no longer live under the scrutiny of a certain being, of whom I feel no love lost for. And rental is 47% cheaper!

at least one fact remains unchanged: Jingjing stays on the bed wherever we stay!

Today’s menu (1)

2008-08-16T20:37:00.000-07:00

Potatoo salad:
3 boiled potatos, 2 crabsticks, 2 hardboiled eggs, 4 pickles, half a cucumber. Sprinkle some salt and pepper. A handful perhaps, some like it hot. 2 spoonfuls of mayonnaise.
1. Stir.
All ingredients’ optional. All proportions added at free will.

Fish (where’s the fish?) with ginger simmered in soy bean sauce: It’s the picture really, this dish lacks lustre but it’s brilliantly tasty, adorned with a dash of nostalgia. It’s home food! Fish, sliced ginger strips,oil, soybean sauce.
1. Add a teaspoon oil, and ginger.
2. Fry the fish until golden brown and crispy.
3. Add 3 tablespoons of soy bean sauce.

27/8 update: 2nd attempt is always more successful.

여름 방학하다 summer vacation!

2008-08-08T21:16:00.000-07:00

The day the Olympics commenced was also the official day our course ended. There was an unexpected formal ceremonial event celebrating our graduation. I even got the chance to go on stage to receive my prize for Perfect attendance, basking in glory in the acclamation of my fellow schoolmates just becoz i come to school everyday. (Jing didnt get it coz she zao 2 classes due to knee injury) The Koreans really like to give out prizes.

My class & 2 teachers - one last picture. Half of the class is going back home. Jing and I both received Certificate of Excellency for scores above 90, actually 80% of the classes are recipients too. There’ll be a 3 weeks holiday before Lvl 2 starts on 1/9. Although it’s terribly hot & humid now, we were warned coming Sep onwards we’ll be needing jackets, sweaters etc. Coming Nov we’ll wear gloves. It’s hard to imagine, back home, temp never varies dramatically. Come rain or shine, Jan or July, we’ll only need jeans & flip flops & tshirts.

Yoshi and Manami - the cutest 2 in my class are the Japanese!

He’s by far the cutest boy in the school, with Jing’s concurrence, but Mr Japan’s sister grabbed him for herself

My level 1 final exam presentation

2008-07-28T21:21:00.000-07:00

저는 고소링이고 싱가폴에서 왔습니다. 저는 항상 한국어를 배우고 싶습니다. 한국어를 재미있으니까요. I’m Koh Soh Ling from Singapore. I’ve always wanted to learn Korean because it’s interesting.

이것은 싱가폴 개인확인카드입니다. 영어와 중국어이름하고 생년월일하고 성별을 볼 수 있습니다. 저는 열 여섯 살이었습니다. This is my ID, you can see the name in both English and Chinese. I was 16 in the pic.

뒤에 혈액형하고 주소를 썼습니다.
At the back the bloodgroup and address was indicated.

제가 다니는 은행은 “UOB”이었습니다. The bank I used to work for was “UOB”.

여기가 사무실입니다. 그들이 동료였습니다. This is my office and these are my colleagues.

우리가 음식을 사랑합니다. We love to dine together.

고추게는 유명한음식입니다. 고추하고 같이 먹어야 합니다. Chilli crab is a famous dish. We must eat our food together with chilli.

Tourism website: 이 웹사이트는 싱가폴음식비평 있으니까 방문 하세요. 감사합니다. This website features our local food so pls come and visit. Gam sa hamida!

Tea ceremony

2008-07-26T21:25:00.000-07:00

Thats our classmates dressed in Hanbok serving us tea!

2 SNU students majoring in traditional music playing 한국음악.

Thats Jing’s and my class.
Korean ricecake 떡 - something we aren’t too excited about.
Korean vocabulary is made up of a whopping 30% imported verses. As we learn more words we grow increasingly suspicious because a lot of them has a really familiar ring.
It’s not just names of recent inventions eg Internet or TV, which in korean is written 텔레비전 and read as Tear-Leh-Bi-Choen, but also verbs, adjectives passed on eons ago. Eg bystander = 방관자 (pang guan ja) fart = 방귀 (pang gwi). Does it ring a bell? Promise = 약수 Family = 가족 which is similar to the Jap lang. well thats what Miss Jap told me.

"does honesty & courtesy still exists?"

2008-07-19T19:02:00.000-07:00

My colleague found her chipped mug left by the pantry overnight.
Upset, she emailed the entire dept.

"Dear All
My apology if my pink mug stands in yr way at the basin.
i appreciate if you could let me know if you are the one who hv chipped my mug, and not just left it there, kept quiet
its a disney princess mug, a gift, kinda new."

And updated a shoutout in facebook "does honesty & courtesy still exist?"

she left me in awe of her uncanny ability of amplifying her distress beyond range of reasonable comprehension.

Boryeong Mud Festival 보령 머드 축제

2008-07-18T21:52:00.000-07:00

Jing missed school today coz she’s totally immobilised. She sprained her knee yesterday during mud festival. (it might be a prolonged muscle cramp, or both. We’re not too sure but it isnt swelling much yet and Linda’s tiger palm plaster certainly came into good use)

First thing we tried was the Mud super slide, you climb up a 10m slippery slimy slide and leap off from the top, nosediving into a malicious pool of mud. There was a mud bath and a mud wrestle site where the sole aim is to make sure you’re soaked in mud. The mud fantasy waterfall rained mud (and water). At the end of the day, we thrust ourselves into the waves (mud festival’s @ Daejeon beach) to wash off the mud.

Going to a mud festival is the craziest thing we did so far since we came Korea. It was Jing’s classmate’s invite and we took it up without hesitation. The bus ride cost $27 each and the event is free-admission.

It rained for a while too, and it was such a wet day, you dunno if its rain or seawater or mud on you but its just so much fun. And Jing’s knee’s still hurting.

내일 바빠요?

2008-07-08T22:10:00.000-07:00

내일 바빠요? - Tomorrow busy? (neil pappayo?)
Lesson 16: Making appointments. Introductory line is Are you busy tomorrow? Towards the end of today’s lesson we played a game whereby the person who made the most appointments with others (no repetition with the same person) wins, and we’ll need to jot down time & location of our date as well.

sounds ok up to this stage right?

But someone started saying 내일 나빠요? (neil nappayo?) instead and strangely, the whole class echoed. problem is 나빠요? is Are you bad? so u have like 10 of us asking each other -Are you bad tomorrow?- for a couple of min before our instructor corrected us after she’s done with laughing herself.

Last day @ Sun Yong’s

2008-07-07T22:13:00.000-07:00

29th June was our last day @ Sun Yong’s. We held a little TGIF party, and also for our ultimate departure on Sun. We bought 5 cakes as a token of appreciation to the Korean family… costed 19000 Won = S$26, an extravagant buy for us now. Our lady host was overwhelmed by our gesture and she treated us to pizza, wine and an evening of merry making in return.
Snowman is for the little host, which is really cute while the rest of the pastries are done up very exquisitely.
Although the monthly rental $600 was beyond our budget, it was altogether a worthy experience. When we landed in Seoul on 27th May, clueless & lost, our host not only offered us accomodation but directions & guidance as well. She was keen to introduce her country when we needed it the most, in more than a way or two. We’re still reminiscing her dishes, and moments we laid in anticipation what will be our breakfast tomorrow.

Spectacular house moving

2008-07-07T22:00:00.000-07:00

we’re totally awestruck… i hope they’ve cleared the vehicles below. indeed… thats a 4 STAR 15" thick mattress we’re talking about.

First oral test

2008-07-04T22:22:00.000-07:00

Games, roleplays were incorporated into our curriculum to stimulate and enhance usage of the language in daily life. which can be quite hilarious sometimes. my classmates (except the Abominable Frenchman) are really gd sport. Mr Japan & Mr China partners in roleplay.
We watched on.
Singing the nursery rhyme to memorise names of body parts.
We were learning to converse via phone & one of our instructor made Miss Taiwan call her own mum (the instructor’s mum)

Miss Spore, Japan, Swenden & Mr Japan playing cool before oral test … trying very hard indeed. Yippee! we just finished our first oral exam today, as a celebration we went COEX aquarium for an excursion hehe. its part of the mid term exam, the written part takes place on next Mon. we were soo nervous awaiting our turn outside the classroom, of coz as usual tips were exchanged and I’ve greatly benefited from it since I’m 3rd last.

Waiting for our turn for our debut 1-on-1 Korean oral test. Thats a Mongolian paper hat Jing’s classmate made.

Classmates @ SNU

2008-07-01T23:25:00.000-07:00

There’s 5 of my SNU classmates standing @ the school’s front porch. Thats Mr Japan, Miss Swenden, Miss Japan, Miss Taiwan & Mr USA. Miss Japan had to return home for 3 days coz there’s some prob with her Visa, Jing’s China classmate said its becoz Koreans still dislike Japanese.
We’re all pretty serious students, except Mr Japan is always dozing off in class. Mr Japan has an older sis attending the same course but in another class (thk gdness) She’s loud & atrociously extrovert. she’ll storm into our class during breaktime & talks with her bro (so now everyone knows her). On the other hand, he’s seemingly earthy.
Ok, here’s everyone else. From left, The Abominable Frenchman, Mr China, Mr USA, Mr HongKong, Ms Taiwan, Ms Japan & Ms China. Where am I? becoz I wasn’t there. We are the most homebound students, we sleep at 11 everynight & wake up at 7am, we didnt even head off anywhere during weekends. Come to think of it, we havent even gone to Dongdaemun, and our fav hangout is their supermart. oh gosh.

This is our building! We’ll reach 830 everyday, I’ll grab a cup of coffee from the machine (200W = S$0.27 Wow!) and Jing will grumble about no Milo in Seoul without fail every morning. someone pls courier her some packets. or a tin.

80% Korea is mountains so even a soccer field is so freaking scenic. Thats Mt Gwanak behind sch compund. We kinda see it shrouded in mist the whole time.

Our fav hangouts

2008-07-01T22:41:00.000-07:00

Markets (시장) and supermarts (슈버), lol. .
Though many Korean pronoun sounds suspiciously similiar to Chinese/English, dun think the learning process is smooth coz its the linguistics thats killing.
Soju (소주) selling for $2 per btl. Jing’s Miss Mongolia classmate said she’s never seen so many drunk pple when she went Gangnam in the wkends. dirt cheap alcohol is the culprit.
Usually the side dishes 반잔 fill us up by the time main dish is served. But u can still ask for more ‘pan chan (반잔)’. and becoz ur Korean sounds filmsy & u explain ur a foreigner, the lady boss wld sit herself down beside u & check u out. Contrary to popular misbelief, the Koreans are really a hospitable & helpful bunch of pple.

No. 3 연습

2008-06-20T23:35:00.000-07:00

it’s finally wkend… sleep late time. in fact jing hasnt woken up. but it won’t be rest&relax time, coz Monday its another loathsome review test again. that’ll be the 3rd. we’ll have to memorise a dialogue, and roleplay out with a chosen classmate as partner. During rehearsal sometimes i’ll be like "ok next sentence is -How is the weather?- but what is it in Korean… gosh" and I’m so worried I’ll screw up and fail level 1.
Now Jing’s hooked on to playing bridge in Viwawa. maybe we can all log in for a game, can chit chat & play bridge @ the same time.

Routine

2008-06-18T23:36:00.000-07:00

It’s been 3 weeks here, and we’ve gradually settled into a routine lifestyle. We’re less so bewildered, or amazed or astonished by happenings around us, because we’re repeating everyday. We’ll wake up 7am, take off at 8am, class start 9am, ends 1pm, lunch till 145pm, reach home 230pm. I’ll bathe first, homework, take a short nap, dinner, followed by a game of online bridge;mahjong/an episode of drama/more studying.

서울대학교 (Seoul National University) The Entrance: looks like a few fallen steel bars…
Every morning we’ll take bus #5412, as much as I hate it, we’ve become one of those pests who refuse to move to the back of the bus and stand like Da Bo Gong at the exit. Because its so crowded in the morning that we’re afraid we can’t push our way through. And their bus drivers are notorious for speeding off before the door closes.

Teeokpokki (spicy rice cakes) + dumplings + bbq pork: they are everywhere! and selling cheap. a plate of rice cakes = $2.67 and filling enough for 2 of us.
Joash and our Korean little host. Chinese or Korean boys, both are able to hold conversations with their toy cars.
But at least after 3 wks here we know where to look for cheap food, grocery, household accessories etc. We bought 4 scrubs for $2; tub of ice cream for $2.5. (why do we need 4 scrubs anyway?) We’ve been patronising the same canteen for the past wk, on the average our meal costs 3000 WON = S$2/pax, and its surprisingly tasty! But however tasty it is and how awesome a cook our host is, sometimes we’ll stay up at night talking bout what local food we miss.
is it a sympton of homesickness? Cha Kuei Tiao is still better than kimchi. sobz.

My roomie

2008-06-07T18:25:00.000-07:00

Actually I meant to take a picture of our cosy bed only but since my roomie is forever lying on it, i’ve to take it with her as well.

oh well

A week in school

2008-06-06T18:31:00.000-07:00

Since Jing has no qualm bout being in a different class for the next 10 weeks, I’ve ceased bugging the administrative about changing classes I realised many 2nd generation Korean immigrants are returning home to learn Korean. I’m soo glad I know Mandarin, its useful in today’s context and it gives me a sense of identity.
My Taiwanese classmate suggested that we shld get a phonecard to call overseas because she’s wasted 1 week asking ard for renting a pay-as-u-use phone. Apparently, though the phones are so up to date, their phone plan sucks. An applicant for contract plan needs to have a Korean bank account - which is redundant becoz we won’t be staying > 1 yr here. If you’re going for the pay-as-u-use plan, then u’ll have to buy their phone even if ur phone is 3G, because there’s only so few models adapted for such uses. Becoz there’s little choices, its expensive. duh. Internet is great, & internet is free.
Jing is sleeping again, its sat 1032am now & we just woke up an hr ago.

Girls’ room is a mess… but JJ is one of the worst. I made her keep an balance sheet of our expenditure everyday and my compulsive cleanliness disorder is driving her crazy. hehe…

why am I here?

2008-06-02T18:45:00.000-07:00

As contrary to general opionion, this is the reason why I’m here. Not because I want to understand Korean dramas, and it really doesn’t matter if its Korean, Vietnamese or learning how to drive a wagon cart.

the world of learn-ing. In this state, one dedicates oneself to creating a better life through self-reformation and self-development by learning from the ideas, knowledge, and experience of one’s predecessors and contemporaries… learning gains knowledge, and knowledge is power(http://www.sgi.org/buddhism/concepts/list/tenworlds.html)

First day in school

2008-06-02T18:38:00.000-07:00

before that, a day of devouring at Myeongdong market!

Huijing and I were allocated different classes, each class 8-10 students. I have a Taiwanese, 2 Chinese, 1 Jap, 1 Amercian, a Swedish-who’s-born-of-Korean-parents and a Jap-who-stays-in-US-& has Korean-parents. quite complicated. Jing’s classmates’ ethnicity are more exotic, there’s a Turkish couple and a Mongolian. Come to think of it, I’ve never spoken to a Mongolian before.

Taking a tour to Seoul City

2008-05-29T18:47:00.000-07:00

We have not watched tv for 3 days because we will not be able to understand anyway. So we sleep at 9pm everyday and wake up at 7am because there’s nothing to do at night. Very healthy lifestyle finally…
This is our favourite takeaway store because it’s only S$2.67! aahh so cheap. We’ve become acquainted with the female boss who’s extremely altruistic towards forsaken foreigners with blank looks on their faces. Even though we cannot understand each other at all, she displayed total hospitality. She came over a few times to talk to us (in korean).

As a gesture of frendliness I smiled and nodded, though I had no idea what she said. Suddenly she disappeared into the kitchen. Jing said something is wrong. Before long she returned with a plate of cauliflower, kimshi and rice, entirely on the house. I think she asked if we’re still hungry and i actually smiled n nodded back.
As a token of appreciation, I said to her "Mushi soyo." which is supposed to be delicious, according to my beloved travelling companion Miss Poh. But she gave me a totally bewildered look. As it turns out ,"Mushi soyo" meant handsome & the correct word should be "Mashi soyo".
Walau… this is embarrassing. One day i’m so going to stun her with my eloquent Hangul.

we finally got out of Sillimdong and walked the 6km long Cheonggyecheon strea m.

2nd day in Seoul

2008-05-28T19:28:00.000-07:00

We finally managed to find lodging from 27/5 to 1/7 at http://www.homestaykorea.com/. It’s S$600/pax/month. At first the coordinator Jamie requested that we wired over a full month rental ~ S$1200 + U$30 (placement fee) before they’d be able to release host’s address to us. We only agreed to TT U$200. And there! we’ve secured our accomodation, 2 days before departure.

It’s supposed to be summer here. But picture weather here akin to Cameron Highlands or even cooler. What will happen to us in winter?
Our place is terrific! its like a bukit timah road condo hehe. Our host, Mdm Pi Sun Yong is a chatty young housewife. She even cooked us dinner, which is not included in the rental.

Never believe it if anyone from Korea tourism board assured u that u can navigate easily in Korea w/o any knowledge of the native language. Today’s my first outing and i truly believe that Koreans are monolingual.

We went to our school today to take the placement test, and we both finished it in 5 min though the test duration is 1.5 hour. How ingenius! Becoz we didnt manage to write anything. Naturally, placement test placed us in level 1.

A normal meal costs S$5-8; canteen food ranges S$2.50. A T-money card (equivalent to EZLink) costs S$12.67; each trip is about S$1.2. Its not the most economical city we’ve visited but it takes perseverance to find cheap food. We just discovered a 1700WON lunchbox takeaway = S$2.67. Cost has always been a deciding factor in my decisions, so far thats for Huijing too. So far. where we’re staying: Humansia apartments blk 212 #14-01

Nowhere to stay

2008-05-14T19:41:00.000-07:00

this is the nth time we’ve applied for their dormitory and the nth time we’ve been rejected.
———————–

Hi good day! Since we’ve been rejected lodging in Kwanak-sa, Worldville and Yewon, do u have further information regarding the private boarding houses or studios we can browse through over the internet and make booking via? Thanks a million! I’ve yet to experience life of a vagrant in a foreignland.

김하영 wrote:
Dear student,

We are sorry to notify you that you will not be able to use the KLCP dormitory, since there are no vacancies. As we mentioned before, we have limited number of rooms that we could offer. For more information about housing, please come to our office (bldg 137-1, #101) and we will try our best to help you.
Have a nice day!
Sincerely,
Haryung Kim
**********Seoul National University Tel) +82-2-880-8570, 5488Fax) +82-2-872-6808

I’m on my way to see the world!

2008-05-13T19:49:00.000-07:00

It’s been a year of planning. As the time rolled by i feel my anticipation & excitement ballooning. yes, we’ve been admitted to a 10-weeks Summer school term in Language Education Institute, Seoul National University. Studying… Hangul!
It’s been my most major decision made in life so far. I have nothing to fall back on since ive decided on it. The notion of overseas study still seemed so far-fetched to me. And we havent even tried if we can stand living with each other yet. The choice to remain ignorant of what to expect elicits nostalgia, its been a long time since I’ve thrown myself to an abyss of unknowns (and emerged unharmed).

I think im crazy. but lets try.

Its so cheesy… but i absolutely adore the lyrics!

2008-05-04T19:51:00.000-07:00

When you look me in the eyes,
And tell me that you love me.
Everything’s alright,
When you’re right here by my side.
When you look me in the eyes.
When I hold you in my arms
I know that it’s forever
I just gotta let you knowI never wanna let you go
Cause when you look me in the eyes.

Ok, we’re all on occasions big blocks of mousy cheesy.

Scouting for girls - she’s so lovely

2008-04-15T19:53:00.000-07:00

I know how much u hate this song. It’s umpteen repetition of mouthing "i don’t know" and "she’s so lovely". I know how much u want to shut me up whilst i sang gleefully, driving down the road. but… i juz want to tell u, that i’ve found the song! i keyed in LOVELY X9 and i actually found it wuahaha.

"I love the way she fills her clothes
She looks just like them girls in vogue
I love the way she plays it cool
I think that she is beautiful She’s so lovely (x8)

I don’t know (x3)How we’ll make it through this I don’t know (x3) I don’t know (x3 How we’ll make it through this x 4 (!) I think that you are lovely x9 I think that you are beautiful
She’s so lovely (x8) Again?!
I don’t know (x3)How we’ll make it through this x 6"

i noe why u hate this song haha

SNU

2008-04-14T20:03:00.000-07:00

In less than a week we’ll receive the notice from SNU. It’s agonising and thrilling, laying in wait for an experience we’ve been researching/planning/sorting/discussing for almost a yr. and suddenly the moment to decide is looking at us right in the face.
Once the green light is given, there will be so much preparation to do, there won’t be time to ponder on. The main trouble is weight limit of luggage. Anticipating a favourable reply, just go and dun look back!

Someone left a teddy bear sitting alone @ the stairs

2008-04-02T20:03:00.000-07:00

Tak Sama leh…

2008-02-18T20:09:00.000-08:00

When the synopsis doesnt tally with the program’s title, it gets confusing sometimes. Title is "Taiwan to the world", but synopsis reads "Dinosaurs… cockroaches…" ?

Valentine 2008

2008-02-18T20:07:00.000-08:00

You don’t see this in public swimming pools everyday (the lavatories a different matter of coz). Full grown males locking arms, cuddling underwater. It must be the Valentine mood, or just a normality at Costa Sands Sentosa. it must be that aura of love in the air.

one more day

2008-02-13T20:17:00.000-08:00

i believe that parents, if they love you, will hold u up safely, above swirling waters, and sometimes that means that you’ll never know what they’ve endured, and you may treat them unkindly, in a way you otherwise wouldn’t.

Singapore General Hospital

2008-02-13T20:12:00.000-08:00

Every 2 months i need to return SGH for ankle xray. i keep postponing the visits becoz I simply CANNOT TaHAN the waiting time. (ok its gettin better. it used to take 4 hrs, now its 3. & they’ve fashionable toilets now… hehe like those in shopping malls) Well to give them credits, the fees are inexpensive & they cater to mass market of coz it’ll be jammed. Never mind i’ve taken it in my stride. in fact i realise there’s free kopi so waiting time’s spent on hunting for those hidden corners where e machines are.

BUT yesterday i met the silliest cashier in my life.

Patients are to drop appointment card & receipt at the cashier after the visit. This time they gave me someone else’s receipt, though i still have my own card. So before i handed it over to e cashier i told her the receipt’s name is wrong but card’s name is correct. Cashier says no probx, im attending to 2 other patients, i’ll call for u later.

After 5 mins i heard cashier call "…Stephanie… Stephanie Khoo…" instinctively u’ll ignore it becoz its NOT ur name. Then cashier started flapping at me furiously. below is an extract of a ridiculous conversation.
- i was calling for u -
- but Stephanie’s not my name… -
- but i was calling for u -
- …
you called me with a name you know its not mine?!

i think its what she ate for lunch.

Sambal samba

2008-02-12T20:21:00.000-08:00

i enlisted the help of my parents & made my 1st sambal chilli!

Greatest contribution of all is they dissuaded me from quantity overdose.
since the recipe says for (2) servings for a family of 5 use 200g of chilli, so i decide for a BBQ for 15, i shld multiply the amt of ingredients.

When i showed my parents a list of purchases which include 2kg chilli + 500g shallots & garlic + 1 kg lime + 500g sugar etc they gasped in horror. my mum thought i was venturing into food biz.
so they drew out a marker and scaled down everything for me. i bought 300g chilli + 20 shallots + 5 garlic in e end but only 1/2 used in cooking coz they still think its a lot.

and they’re right! For a dish for 5 u’ll only use half a ladle of sambal chilli. it’ll prob takes me 1/2 yr to finish this whole wok and u cant keep sambal for > 1 mth. but now i can cook like jamie oliver!

My own engineering firm

2008-02-12T20:19:00.000-08:00

KSL Engineering PTE LTD. wow… i didnt even know that… thanks for naming ur company after me. whoever u r. lol.

就当我为遇见你伏笔

2008-02-09T20:37:00.000-08:00

And the journey stretched, it was supposed to cover a distance of 4 bus stops? feels like 4 miles. I’ve just engaged a stalker, who needs more practising. performace to be constantly graded, results of surprise tests will also be included in final assessment.

你嫣然的一笑如含苞待放就当我为遇见你伏笔

CNY 2008

2008-02-06T20:39:00.000-08:00

As compared to the mad rush in office during CNY 2007:

"It’s not exactly a brilliant idea to start our foreign talent’s 1st day on NY eve, isnt it? When Ana came in @ 6pm, I think she wish she has 8 arms. In fact, I think she wish she can multiply"

This yr I even have time to plan my vacation whilst remaining AVAIL. It must have been very different to Ana too… think she’s shaking legs @ home now.

Wow Im impressed…

2008-02-03T20:44:00.000-08:00

…by myself. What a superbly wrapped wedding gift! Took me half the day, didnt know wrapping a squarish box can be so tiring.

And I attended a punk concert

2008-02-03T20:41:00.000-08:00

Pillow was kind enough to offer me a complimentary pass to My Chemical Romance’s concert @ Pavailion, Expo. We expected teenagers, but a mob of menacing, rowdy, hormones raging teenagers with breeding black eyeliners was off our limits.

We got acquainted with a tall 17 yrs old who’s queuing behind us. She was so tall, & becoz it was squeezy and we were huddled up so closely, her breasts were practically resting on my shoulders, one on each side. which makes me very uncomfortable, naturally. who likes supporting another 2 bosoms, of another?

When the concert began, the young people went hysterical and started hopping up & down. We were so close to each other that we were involuntarily brought to bounce along. Hence i decided to proceed to the First aid section. At least i can enjoy the concert with <> 1m from me. hah, must be the age catching up.

Tragedy in the Ring

2008-01-20T20:47:00.000-08:00

Ray Mancini vs Duk Koo Kim

On November 13, 1982, lightweight champion Ray Mancini met Duk Koo Kim in Las Vegas. It changed Mancini’s career and boxing world forever.
In the 14th round, Mancini’s straight right knock Kim flat on his back, who struggled to get up and later collapsed moments after the fight. Kim sustained brain damages and slipped into coma that led to his death 5 days later at Desert Springs Hospital.
Kim’s mother committed suicide four months after the fight. Referee for the fight, Richard Greene also committed suicide in 1983. Kim’s pregnant girlfriend changed her name and living in undisclosed location. Word boxing organizations began operating 12-round championship bouts instead of 15.
Mancini went to the funeral in South Korea, but he fell into a deep depression afterwards. Mancini struggled with Kim’s death and he was not the Ray Mancini that attracted fans. He lost his title to Livingstone Bramble in 1984 and retired early from boxing.

better days

2008-01-13T20:50:00.000-08:00

I recalled a time when i wasnt given any role, I took the easiness for granted, skimping on difficult issues because i’d always have someone to back it up. Nowadays i just feel like hiding in the handicapped toilet. I’ll lock the door and no one will know i’m inside. I’m sick of apologizing for our errors, mistakes, blunders, faults, oversight, delay.

I need some place simple where we could live;and something only you could give;
and that’s faith and trust and peace while we’re alive; just a chance that maybe we’ll find better days; I wish everyone was loved tonight; and somehow stop this endless fight; just a chance that maybe we’ll find better days

Maybe i don’t need you to unmask totally maybe i just want u to stop hiding. but maybe ur truth hurts maybe i don’t mind a harmless lie, because i won’t know anything. maybe i dun need u to be generous, perfect, popular, or kind to everybody else, and maybe i dun need a thousand messages blinking blankly back at me maybe i just want a hello call a goodnight call maybe i really dun mind u a bother.