sincerity can move mountains and flood rivers..

does everyone experience this?!?!

2010-01-17T01:11:00.004+08:00

suddenly I realised that I don't seem to understand her that much anymore.. and she is not as supportive of decisions I made as she used to be.. are we loosing it? is the honeymoon period over so soon already?

today I am torned between my mum and her, and though I have the support of my mum, I actually need hers.. oh god please, could someone please help me?

I am currently looking back at the happiest moments we used to share, wondering when it could happen again? gone were the days of selfless love giving and sharing..

cars and what they really mean..

2009-11-27T08:02:00.018+08:00

AUDI: Another Ugly Deutsche Invention

BMW: Brings Me Women but Broke My Wallet / Bring More Worries / Bus MRT Walking

FIAT: Failure in Italian Automotive Technology

FORD: Fast Only Rolling Downhill

HYUNDAI: Hope You Understand Nothing's Driveable and Inexpensive

SUBARU: Screwed Up Beyond All Repair Usually

VOLVO: Very Odd Looking Vehicular Object

PORSCHE: Proof Of Rich Spoiled Children Having Everything

10 Commandments of Marriage

2009-11-27T07:46:00.000+08:00

10 Commandments of Marriage

Commandment 1
Marriages are made in heaven. But so again, are thunder and lightning.

Commandment 2
If you want your wife to listen and pay strict attention to every word you say, talk in your sleep.

Commandment 3
Marriage is grand - and divorce is at least 100 grand!

Commandment 4
Married life is very frustrating! In the first year of marriage, the man speaks and the woman listens. In the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens. In the third year, they both speak and the neighbours listen.

Commandment 5
When a man opens the door of his car for his wife, you can be sure of one thing: Either the car is new or the wife is.

Commandment 6
Marriage is when a man and woman become as one; the trouble starts when they try to decide which one.

Commandment 7
Before marriage, a man will lie awake all night thinking about something you say. After marriage, he will fall asleep before you
finish.

Commandment 8
Every man wants a wife who is beautiful, understanding, economical and a good cook. But the law allows only one wife.

Commandment 9
Marriage and love are purely matter of chemistry. That is why the wife treats the husband like toxic waste.

Commandment 10
A man is incomplete until he is married. After that, he is finished.

liverpool??

2009-11-09T22:53:00.000+08:00

to all my 'liverpool crazy' friends out there.. here is something for you..

weekly visits to our neighbour

2009-11-01T07:59:00.005+08:00

i am so looking forward to the trip into malaysia again this afternoon, first to settle the printing of the wedding invitation cards, which really is much much cheaper that if it was done in singapore, then to walk alround shopping areas like 'jusco' or 'chang long'..

this has become like a weekly trip (as far as possible) to me and i really love it because the pace of life, the people and the environment is so unlike urbanised singapore, which i have slowly grown to not like so much as before.. malaysians are more simple minded (although vehicle thefts and robberies are very common in JB) but i was referring to the better part of them..

malaysia here i come, AGAIN!

food tasting

2009-10-30T06:38:00.001+08:00

yesterday the two families had our food tasting, the dinner started off a little akward, with both sides not talking alot, only the 2 bridesmaid, grace and genevieve, peipei and myself doing much of the conversation..

however some way into the dinner, with the atmosphere pretty warmed up, and also after much hard work prompting by peipei and myself, the families started to open up, and the dinner seemed so much comfortable.. the two mothers, as like all mothers, who are relatively experts in food, started giving comments, with the occassional jokes that caused the whole table to burst into laughter..

Ghandism

2009-10-27T12:08:00.001+08:00

Dr. Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and founder of the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Non-violence, in his 9 June lecture at the University of Puerto Rico, shared the following story:-

I was 16 years old and living with my parents at the institute my grandfather had founded 18 miles outside of Durban, South Africa, in the middle of the sugar plantations. We were deep in the country and had no neighbors, so my two sisters and I would always look forward to going to town to visit friends or go to the movies.

One day, my father asked me to drive him to town for an all-day conference, and I jumped at the chance. Since I was going to town, my mother gave me a list of groceries she needed and, since I had all day in town, my father asked me to take care of several pending chores, such as getting the car serviced. When I dropped my father off that morning, he said, "I will meet you here at 5:00 p.m., and we will go home together."

After hurriedly completing my chores, I went straight to the nearest movie theatre. I got so engrossed in a John Wayne double-feature that I forgot the time. It was 5:30 before I remembered. By the time I ran to the garage and got the car and hurried to where my father was waiting for me, it was almost 6:00. He anxiously asked me, "Why were you late?"

I was so ashamed of telling him I was watching a John Wayne western movie that I said, "The car wasn't ready, so I had to wait," not realizing that he had already called the garage. When he caught me in the lie, he said: "There's something wrong in the way I brought you up that didn't give you the confidence to tell me the truth. In order to figure out where I went wrong with you, I'm going to walk home 18 miles and think about it." So, dressed in his suit and dress shoes, he began to walk home in the dark on mostly unpaved, unlit roads.

I couldn't leave him, so for five-and-a-half hours I drove behind him, watching my father go through this agony for a stupid lie that I uttered. I decided then and there that I was never going to lie again. I often think about that episode and wonder, if he had punished me the way we punish our children, whether I would have learned a lesson at all. I don't think so. I would have suffered the punishment and gone on doing the same thing. But this single non-violent action was so powerful that it is still as if it happened yesterday. That is the power of non-violence.

a man utd fan's letter to all liverfool fans

2009-10-26T12:31:00.000+08:00

My dear beloved Liverfool fans,

I do hope with last night’s win, Reds will crawl back into the league standings. This is a onetime kind gesture by Man Utd to bring back the rivalry within the top 4, the make the EPL competitive, and without Liverfool’s rivalry, there is no shiok in watching the EPL.

Please don’t take Man Utd’s kind gesture for granted, the loss is good omen for Man Utd as last season we lost both legs to Liverfool, but still won the title, which matters most. I hope to see all Liverfool fans to be on a happy note today, as for the past 2 weeks, there were dejected, drowned in sorrow, feeling so depressed, and suicidal. Wish all Liverfool fans a great Monday.

Sincerely,
Man Utd Fan

a nice story to share..

2009-10-23T16:55:00.005+08:00

4 years ago, an accident took my beloved away and very often I wonder, “How does my wife, who is now in the heavenly realm, feel right now? She must be feeling extremely sad for leaving a husband who is incapable to taking care of the house and the kid.” Because that is the exact feeling that I have, as I feel that I have failed to provide for the physical and emotional needs of my child, and failed to be the dad and mum for my child.

There was one particular day, when I had an emergency at work. Hence, I had to leave home whilst my child was still sleeping. So thinking that there were still rice leftovers, I hastily cooked an egg and left after informing my sleepy child.

With the double roles, I am often exhausted at work as well as when I am home. So after a long day, I came home, totally drained of all energy. So with just a brief hug and kiss for my child, I went straight into the room, skipping dinner. However, when I jumped into my bed with intention of just having a well-deserved sleep, all I heard and felt was broken porcelain and warm liquid! I flipped open my blanket, and there lies the source of the 'problem'.. a broken bowl with instant noodles and a mess on the bedsheet and blanket!

Boy was I mad! I was so furious that I took a clothes hanger, charged straight at my child who was happily playing with his toy, and give him a good spanking! He merely cried but not asking for mercy, except a short explanation, "Dad, I was hungry and there wasn't any more leftover rice. But you were not back yet, hence I wanted to cook some instant noodles. But I remembered you reminding me not to touch or use the gas stove without any adults around, hence I turned on the shower and used the hot water from the bathroom to cook the noodles. One is for you and the other is for me. However, I was afraid that the noodles will turn cold, so I hid it under the blanket to keep it warm till you return. But I forgot to remind you cause I was playing with my toys.. I am sorry Dad..".

At that moment, tears were starting to run down my cheeks, but I didn't want my son to see his dad crying so I dashed into the bathroom and cried with the shower head on to mask my cries. After that episode, I went towards my son to give him a tight hug and applied medication on him, while coaxing him to sleep. Then, it was time to clear up the mess on the bed. When everything was done and well past midnight, I passed my son's room, and saw that he was still crying, not from the pain on his little buttock, but from looking at the photograph of his beloved mummy.

A year has passed since the episode, I have tried, in this period, to focus on giving him both the love of his dad and mum, and to attend to most of his needs. And soon, he is turning seven, and will be graduating from kindergarten. Fortunately, the incident did not leave a lasting impression on his childhood memories and he is still happily growing up.

However, not so long ago, I hit my boy again, with much regret. This time, his kindergarten teacher called, informing me of my son's absence from school. I took off early from work and went home, expecting him to explain. But he wasn't to be found, so I went around our house, calling out his name and eventually found him outside a stationery shop, happily playing computer games. I was fuming, brought him home and whack the hell out of him. He did not retaliate, except to say, “I am sorry, Dad”. But after much probing, I realized that it was a 'Talent Show' organized by his school and the invite is for every student's mummy. And that was the reason for his absence as he has no mummy..

Few days after the caning, my son came home to tell me, the kindergarten has recently taught him how to read and write. Since then, he has kept to himself and stayed in his room to practice his writing, which I am sure, would make my wife proud, if she was still around he makes me proud too!

Time passes by very quickly, and soon another year has passed. It's winter, and its Christmas time. Everywhere the Christmas spirit is in every passer-by. Christmas carols and frantic shoppers, but alas, my son got into another trouble. When I was about to knock off from the day's work, the post office called. Due to the peak season, the post master was also on an edgy mood. He called to tell me that my son has attempted to post several letters with no addressee. Although I did make a promise never to hit my son again, I couldn't help but to hit him as I feel that this child of mine is really beyond control. Once again, as before, he apologized, “I'm sorry, Dad” and no additional reason to explain. I pushed him towards a corner, went to the post office to collect the letters with no addressee and came home, and angrily questioned my son on his prank, during this time of the year.

His answer, amidst his sobbing, was, “The letters were for Mummy.”

My eyes grew teary, but I tried to control my emotions and continued to ask him, “But why did u post so many letters, at one time?" My son's reply was “I have been writing to mummy for a long time, but each time I reach out for the post box, it was too high for me, hence I was not able to post the letters. But recently, when I went back to the postbox, I could reach it and I sent it all at once."

After hearing this, I was lost. Lost at not knowing what to do, what to say.

I told my son, " Son, mummy is in the heavenly kingdom, so in future, if you have anything to tell her, just burn the letter and it will reach mummy. My son, on hearing this, was much pacified and calm, and soon after, he was sleeping soundly. On promising that I will burn the letters on his behalf, I brought the letters outside, but couldnt help opening the letter before they turn to ash.

And one of the letters broke my heart.

Dear Mummy,

I miss you so much! Today, there was a 'Talent Show' in school, and the school invited all mothers for the show. But you are not around, so I did not want to participate as well. I did not tell Dad about it as I was
afraid that Dad would start to cry and miss you all over again. Dad went around looking for me, but in order to hide my sadness, I sat in front of the computer and started playing games at one of the shops. Dad was furious, and he couldn’t help it but scolded and hit me, but I did not tell him the real reason.

Mummy, every day I see Dad missing you and whenever he think of you, he is so sad and often hide and cry in his room. I think we both miss you very very much. Too much for our own good I think. But Mummy, I am starting to forget your face. Can you please appear in my dreams so that I can see your face and remember you? I heard that if you fall asleep with the photograph of the person whom you miss, you will see the person in your dreams. But mummy, why haven’t you appeared?

After reading the letter, I can’t stop sobbing, because I can never replace the irreplaceable gap left behind by my wife.

*
For the females with children:

Don't do so much overtime. If you cannot finish the work, it must be some kind of problems within the company, and it is not your sole problem. Feedback to your boss. Endless overtime may not necessary be the answer to the problem. Take care of your health so that you can treasure and take care
of your little precious.

*
For the married men:

Drink less, smoke less, because nothing can replace your good health, not even business nor clients.

Try thinking this way; Are you able to work till your clients are totally dependent on you? Or your boss is totally dependent on you? In this society, no one is indispensable.

Take care of your health, so that you can take care of your little precious and your loved ones.

*
For those singles out there:

Beauty lies in loving yourself first.

With confidence and loving yourself, you will see the beauty in other things around you. You will be able to work better and happier. Don't let your health be affected by your work or your boss, so nothing matters more than your well being.

going home!!

2009-10-14T11:15:00.002+08:00

after an ardous 16 days in rostov, russia, today i am finally going back.. the last 3 days has really been busy for me, early morning work starts till late at night, couple with one hours walks between the ferry embarkation point and my hotel, finally its over.. i like to work with the people here, they are very helpful and at all times willing to share knowledge and information, no holds bare.. they also don't like to procrastinate much, only small talk and immediately do the job..

i have handed over all the job to the people here, bring them a walk through of the STBD strip on what needs to be done, and when (provided conditions do not change) an so today, NOW, i can leave with an easy heart, seriously you don't need me here to get the job done, but i can say with me here, job gets done easier because i have the facts & figures (dimensions) at my finger tips and i know the strip nearly inside out, i also appreciate the opportunity to work on the last 3 days, though the first 13 days was really wasting time..

and for the first time in nearly 2 weeks, i am blogging happily, waiting for half an hour more to go downstairs, check out and head for the airport.. i am eager again to see familiar faces at changi airport, singapore, here i come.. BACK

morning breakfast

2009-10-10T11:58:00.004+08:00

i just came back from the morning breakfast.. i went down earlier than usual, @ 7.30am rather than 8.30am, because the last few days, the occupancy rate in the hotel is nearly exceeding 100% (yes!100%!)

yesterday, as all the other days, i went for breakfast at 8.30am, i waited about 15 mins for a lift to go downstairs, from 7th floor to 2nd floor where the restaurant was, only to realise that the restaurant was full (seat about estimated 150 ppl), sian, i went back up again and only had breakfast like nearly 10.00am just before the breakfast place closes for lunch preparations..

it is like they are having alot of conventions and meetings here, companies like Pfizer etc are all here..

updates so far..

2009-10-10T04:05:00.003+08:00

there is nothing much to say these few days, except again i've been busy planning the wedding, consolidating the guest list by asking my friends via internet sms and msn whether they'll be free to turn up.. in the blink of an eye (actually it should be after dragging for so long), 10 days has passed, and it'll be another 6 days more before i'll be headed my way back to singapore.. something which i so look forward to, the friends the family, and of course to peipei..

so far it has been heard that the port strip has already cleared the rostov customs, and the transit permit has already been applied, and is now on its way to the first lock of the volga don canal, should reach there in a few hours time..

the stbd strip is still at rostov lower anchorage, still in progress of clearing the customs, afterwhich we will pull it to alongside a 60T shore crane to unload 6 wire drums of 30T each.. expected to remove the wire drums in the afternoon of today.. then the stbd strip will be pulled past the first bridge into the upper anchorage, which ballasting operations to acheive it to 3.2m draft, at even keel and 0 degrees of heel.. after which these conditions are acheived, we will have to wait till exactly 5 days after the port strip clear the first lock only is the stbd strip allowed to go in the first lock, the reason for the 5 days period is to allow for any unforeseen circumstances, which is very famous here in rostov, as the saying here goes, 'anything can happen here, at anytime', which we experience it many times before..

i miss peipei, and the first thing i am going to do when i touch down singapore, is to give her a really big hug and a big kiss, it is so punishing for the both of us to be away from each other for so long, i wonder if i will ever take up another overseas assignment again or not..

the gym

2009-10-07T14:27:00.003+08:00

i went to the gym yesterday, it was located on the top floor of the hotel, you had to take the lift to the 16th floor, and climb the last flight of stairs to the 17th floor, in that area, including the gym, there is a jacuzzi, a spa bath and sauna! and while doing the treadmill and various upper body exercises, you have a fantastic view of the river,it was simply breathtaking..

and did i mention that all their gym equipment looks new, or say the least, well maintained? it will probably be my best buddy for the next 7 days, at least..

i will probably go to the gym again, and hopefully stay longer that, my body permits, since it is still aching from yesterday.. another day of waiting, and waiting, and waiting..

i am dying to get home, as i rather be waiting and doing nothing at home then being here all alone..

dealy in going back to singapore again!

2009-10-06T14:57:00.002+08:00

and so the news is finalised.. from the 7 oct 09, to 10 oct 09, now till 14 oct 09, my return date to singapore keeps on changing, funny thing is, that fucker did not bother to discuss anything with me, expecting that i will agree to stay whenever he asks, which i definitely will not agree..

dear keppel and the top management, you all should learn to treat the human resource that you have under you now with a little bit of respect, treat them like humans at the very least, if not you'll find them gone in time to come.. right now you all are taking them for granted, never praising them for a job well done, but disposing of them the moment a small oversight is done.. have you all wonder why there is such a high casulty rate in the project team associated with DLB? 3 materials controller, 1 planner, 1 procurement officer, 1 safety officer and 1 construction manager all left the company, but either you all are blind to the fact, or are just covering up for the incompetence of someone..

but well since it is already a done deal, i might as well make use of my free time, which happens to be 100% all the time, to plan for my wedding, catch up with old friends over msn and go to the gym etc..

i am looking forward for both the hull strips to arrive at port in rostov, so that we can go onboard and do the ballasting/de-ballasting, at least i will be doing what i came here for..

the last 7 days, fucking waste of time..

what the hell am i in russia for??

2009-10-05T17:00:00.002+08:00

and so this is the sixth day running, nothing to do for the past five days, and just received an SMS from that idiot, in his exact words, "Two of u can go out to have a walk. I m gg down to river sea agent 4 short meeting."

i come here because of you, you need someone to do the job for you, yet keep me out of the loop of all matters pertaining to progress of the hull strips? wake up you stupid fucker!

2009 formula 1 japan grand prix..

2009-10-04T14:34:00.002+08:00

and so the winner of the 2009 formula 1 japan grand prix is sebastian vettel of red bull, followed by jarno trulli of toyota and lewis hamilton of maclaren mercedes..

yawn i am so bloody bored to tears that i spend over an hour watching, from start to finish, something which i am not even really interested in..

i am so looking forward to going home

so far so good

2009-10-03T21:24:00.006+08:00

and so this is my fourth full day in russia, and my third full day doing nothing.. with proper planning and paperwork, i am quite sure that all these can be avoided..

today we spent 3 hours walking around to nearly the other end of the city, and finally found a market place selling flowers and various russian food.. this place is also the place where the concentration of asians, mostly indians (i saw about 5) and chinese (i saw about 4), are higher, though not alot..

drivers here accelerate like nobody's business, the wheels of the car can be rotating on the road while the car is still stationary, then the car catapults off like an arrow let off form a bow.. but then again, i have yet to witness an accident here so i guess they are pretty comfortable driving like that.. haha

and today being saturday, seems like a good day for weddings.. you can know that a wedding entourage is approaching beacuse all the vehicles in that entourage, including the lead car (that sits the bride and groom) moves around with their horns blaring in full force! i have seen like countless of these entourages moving around town today, including the one with a limousine as seen below (will attached it when i get back, please remind me);

2016 olympic games

2009-10-03T00:53:00.001+08:00

and so brazil, rio de janerio wins the right to host the 2016 olympic games..

cold weather here..

2009-10-02T12:02:00.004+08:00

every morning i wake up it is to an uncertain day.. what will i be doing today? in the first place, why am i here? all updates i received are from a colleague back in singapore, and she updates me only after receiving updates from the very people who are here with me in rostov.. it is really fustrating to work like that, everyone other asshole knows i am here for this job, but nobody bothers to feed me any information.. FUCK keppel and the whole fucking project management team, espc the two guys with the same surname..

anyway we are suppose to be onboard both the strips to see and supervise the ballasting operation, but when we arrived here, we realised from local river authorities that you need a permit to board the strips at anchorage.. hence now we are not sure if we'llbe able to go onboard as permits for us haven't been applied, though this was supposed to be done by BAB/dockwise.. anyways, we are checking on this matter..

just a small update so far on the progress, the PORT strip was unloaded first, followed by the STB strip, yesterdayat around 1440 hrs kerch time.. delay in unloading of both the strips on 29/30 sep 09 in kerch was due to bad weather/strong winds.. now both strips are on the way and expected to arrive to rostov (where we are) by tonight or tomorrow morning, and from here, it is another 20 hours to the first lock of the Volga Don canal.. STBD strip is experiencing heeling of about 2 degrees to outboard side, draft of 3.9m, now my colleague who is here with me is working to determine the de-ballasting sequence and after that we'll submit it to local river authorities to do the necessary.. the only problem is we're not sure if we're able to de-ballast into the river, but we are assured to be able to..

about us going to see the strips going into the first lock is doubtful as they claim it to be a secure area/militarised zone.. also, the difference between the entry of each strip into the lock is 5 days as the authorities do not want the strips to block the locks..

let's hope all jobs can be completed ASAP, so that i am able to come back to Singapore on 8 Oct 09 because the weather here is really cold.. 6 degreesC in the morning with strong winds.. noon is usually 15 degreesC with little winds and night is about 4 degreesC with moderate winds.. rain is expected for the whole day tomorrow, which is likely to bring the temperature down further..

and so the end of 30 sep 09

2009-10-01T01:52:00.003+08:00

the end of today also marks the end of my 27th birthday

the whole day today it was drizzling, and now it is really heavy rain.. i can hear the rain drops beating relentlessly on my hotel window, and am now feeling so tired because my body is still according to singapore time, not yet adjusted, but i really have to force myself to sleep later and wake up later so that i would not be so listless during the day time like today..

i walked the town today, about 1 hour away from the hotel and back, taking about 2 hours in total, and did the same in the other direction.. there is really nothing much here except that i noticed that there are like 'hundreds'of parks (not that i mean it literally), whether big or small, but they are just all over the place.. there are also small street stalls selling fresh flowers at the entrance of every park.. and becasue the weather here is really cool, there is no need for artificial refrigeration of the flowers to keep them fresh..

shops that are opened are very rare, and for those that are, common things sold are cold wear clothing, ladies shoes/boots and mobile phones etc, just to name a few.. at the intersection (t-junction) of most streets, there is an underpass linking, and all these underpasses are like mini underground malls, full of small shops selling hair accessories and dvds..

what is even more rare is that there are no asians like us, after 4 hours of walking, i only saw 2 asians, pretty much seemed like they were japanese, and talking to the hotel staff, i found out that people, other than russians, are only here usually for 2 reasons, one is for business trip, like me, and the other is for college studies.. seldom tourist visit rostov as they prefer the more busy moscow..

ok it is really getting late now (2.15am singapore time) and i must really sleep, getting a little bit heavy eye lids

first morning in rostov

2009-09-30T11:16:00.004+08:00

the internet connection here is so bad but luckily it is free and i can have 24 hours access, if not i will be so totally cut off from the world, especially when i have nothing much to do, for now..

weather is cold and very chilly, sometimes can go down to about 10 degreesC, but when the wind blows, all your hair can stand immeiately..

i still cannot get used to the local time.. i woke up at 8am singapore time, which is 4am local time, then i could not get back to sleep.. i watched a movie, at the same time doing push-ups, sit-ups and star jumps so that i would not get fat from all the eating and drinking..

don't know why, but i look forward to the day when i can finish my job and go back to my family, especially PP, since it is really a pain being apart.. at the end of the day, when you get back to the hotel, there is no one to give you a hug, no one to lend you a listening ear when you have difficult moments to share, and more importantly, no one to give you assurance..

LINUS CHIA bear with it.. you'll be going home soon, and yeah, happy birthday to you too!

working on a sunday?!?!?

2009-09-27T10:50:00.004+08:00

i am at work now, but i feel so tired and feel like sleeping, i don't have the drive i used to have while working, lost through the long and arduous process of being treated like shit by the top management..

but i still love jobs of this nature, and i make it a point to learn at least one thing new everyday, regardless whether i can remember it for a long time or not..

people here are helpful and always care to share, except of course for the 2 fuckers with the same surname and boy am i going to miss this place..

taxi costs and surcharges

2009-09-15T08:46:00.006+08:00

Fares and surcharges, applicable to CityCab, Comfort, Yellow-Top Cab, SMRT Taxis. Different fares apply to other operators.

Flagdown fare:
S$2.80 (≤ 1 km)

Meter fare:
S$0.20 (every 385 m thereafter or less > 1 km and ≤ 10 km)
S$0.20 (every 330 m thereafter or less > 10 km)
Waiting: S$0.20 (every 45 seconds or less)

Booking:
S$3.50 (0730 - 0930 and 1700 - 2300 hours Monday - Friday)
S$2.50 (all other times including public holidays)
S$5.20 (advance)

Peak hours:
35% of metered fare (0700 - 0930 and 1700 - 2000)

Late night:
50% of meter fare (0000 - 0559 hours)

Public holidays:
S$1.00 (1800 hours eve to 2400 hours of New Year’s Day, Hari Raya Puasa, Deepavali, Christmas Day, first and second day of Chinese New Year.
Should public holiday fall on a Sunday, the surchage will be imposed till 2400 hrs on Monday).

CBD:
S$3.00 (1700 - 0000 hours, Monday - Saturday, except public holidays)

Locations:
S$5.00 (Singapore Changi Airport: Friday - Sunday from 1700 to 0000 hours)
S$3.00 (Singapore Changi Airport: all other times)
S$3.00 (Seletar Airport)
S$2.00 (Singapore Expo)

Higher flag-down rates for certain models.

All Electronic Road Pricing charges incurred on the trip are to be borne by the customer. An additional 10% administrative charge on the total fare is also incurred when payment is made on credit or charge cards. Higher fares apply for premium taxi services that employ premium vehicles, such as CityCab’s Presido and MaxiCab, Yellow-Top Cab’s Sovereign limousines, SMRT’s Prestige and London Taxi and Airport Transfer service, and so on.

Observation: Singapore must win the award for the most complicated taxi fare structure in the world.

finally its over..

2009-09-03T14:21:00.009+08:00

i'm glad that the worse chapter of my life in Keppel Shipyard (or is there another even worse period?) is finally coming to an end.. the fucking Bumi Armada's Derrick Lay Barge has finally been delivered..

to say that i have learnt nothing for the past one year is an understatement, in fact, i've practically wasted the past one year of my time, i have learnt nothing new.. although i am assistant project manager by designation, i am never included in contract discussion, never kept in the loop for most matters (except those that i needed to do follow up) and never allowed to make the smallest of decisions.. even meetings with owner, contractors together with trade foreman, i am never notified, and i would not know about it if i never happen to walk past the meeting rooms..

the project is conincidentally headed by two jokers with the same surname, both with selfish "i know" attitudes, who care for nothing about sharing information, first to blame people when things go wrong, shooting "arrow" king, never do proper planning of jobs and talking without checking thus causing people to get into trouble etc., just to name a few..

however, it's hard to deny, ironically, that i've truly enjoyed myself in the project, knowing personally most of the workers i've come across, where they stay, how many sibilings they have and what they do in their free time in singapore.. the camaraderie spirit forged with my foreman and supervisors, not to mention the help i've received unconditionally when i truly need help.. when the two jokers ask people to do things, it usually takes long time to be done or it never actually gets done.. but for me, with enough personal effort, it can be done quickly, whoo hoo..

i love it here in Keppel Shipyard (Benoi) becasue of the people, but sad to say, i am still determined to leave for greener pastures after the year 2009 bonus, to be given in january 2010, because i seriously hate the management and the top management here, fu*ki*g arseholes who never give a damn about the people resources here..

for now, dry dock world or sembawang shipyard, looks the best bet for me, as i can expect to do something similiar like what i am doing in Keppel, but i am also exploring other options that may include DSTA (research), Exxon Mobil or Shell, doing project management..

long time since..

2009-03-14T15:09:00.002+08:00

it's been a long time since i last blogged, now just finished my work and waiting for 1530 hrs to punch out, if not i lose by 1 hr overtime of a miserable $7.00.

$7.00 only, some may ask, heck, why not just leave first, but since i have nothing to do, might as well wait and surf internet..

anyway i thinking of changing jobs soon, anyone out there have any suggestions?

my job..

2009-02-11T17:08:00.005+08:00

4 june 2009, my bond with keppel shipyard ends, and after that.. woo hoo, i am free to go anywhere i like (Bosman Free Transfer), maybe i should get a change of working environment, and the sucky people too?

america's new president

2008-11-05T22:17:00.002+08:00

allow me to say a few words about america's prsidential election..

first, i would like to congratulate barrack obama on becoming america's president.. all i see on websites, news and probably tomorrow's print media will be 'congrats on obama on be coming america's first black president'.. but i feel the people shoudn't keep stressing the word 'black'.. they should use african-american instead, isn't it?

however, what i feel that brought awareness about obama to the people of america when he was running against clinton to be the democratic presidential candidate.. think about it, there are '2' firsts in that, an african-american, or 'black', as some people prefer it, and a lady! wow

but as my brother mentioned it, by america's people voting for obama, it shows how much america has progressed.. many years before, a 'black' president would definitely be unheard off..

let's look forward to the changes promised, and good luck america!

busy day??

2008-07-28T20:54:00.002+08:00

yesterday was one of the busiest day i had.. in the morning, my ex-marist friends had organised a game of soccer at a basketball court at serangoon north.. it was scheduled to start at 10am, but in the end, everyone was late and the game started only at around 11am..

after finishing the game at around 1pm, i rushed home to bathe, only to rush out again for a friend's house-warming.. the time we were requested to be present was 12pm-2pm, but by the time i reached there was like nearly 2pm.. i gave her a bottle of wine as a gift, but after 2 small cups of orange crush, and finding myself bloody lonely, as i was the "only" one there (i know totally no one else there), i left within 5 mins of reaching there.. what a waste of time, effort, petrol.. and WINE!

after reaching home, i rushed off to go fishing with my dad, for about 3 hours from 2.45pm till 5.45pm.. getting a good tan as a result, and more importantly, talking cock with my dad earned me some more insights to understanding him better..

dinner with my ex-uni friends was next, though the appointment was at 6.30pm, i was like very late.. only reaching around 7pm.. we had some beer, nice japanese food and a great time bitching about our respective companies.. arghh.. oh and boy was the jap food great, it is at a restaurant along mohamed sultan, just directly opposite dbl O, not sure the name though as it was very hard to pronounce.. and by the time the dinner finished at 11pm, i went home, totally tired out..

bye bye jester..

2008-07-26T23:02:00.012+08:00

about 4 1/2 years ago, on 25th dec 2003, i bought a forever friends plush toy bear.. it was a christmas gift to peipei.. he wore a colourful scarf around his neck, and to top it up, a multi colour hat.. here is his picture..

we decided to name him jester, for he looked very cheerful, always ready to bring a smile to everyone around him.. throughout the years, whenever peipei or i went, be it at uni (that time) or be it to work, either of us will bring him along.. whenever we feel tired or wronged, unhappy or disappointed, we will take him out, give him a little squeeze or a cuddle, and our day doesn't seem that bad after all..

however, one fateful day a couple of days back, on the 24th july 2008, we discovered him missing.. the last person to bring him out was me, and the only conclusion was that he most likely dropped out of my pouch while i was walking, maybe bumping into someone..

the sentimental value of jester was way beyond any amount of money could ever buy, and it is just so painful to lose something that you have grown so attached to.. i was sad, peipei was even more sad, but life still has to move on, and i still hope that one day i'll be able to find back jester, and NO, buying a new and similiar forever friends plush toy bear won't be the same again..

i thank jester for bringing joy and laughter to peipei and myself for these 4 1/2 years.. bye bye jester, but only for now..

worse day of my life!!

2008-07-07T23:12:00.006+08:00

today is an example of what can go wrong, will go wrong.. its is a bloody bad day for me, and i seriously hope such a day will never happen again..

firstly it all started after i ended work at around 6.30pm.. i walked to the car, getting ready to go down to town, bugis to be exact, to meet peipei for dinner.. i inserted the key into the ignition and turned the key, expecting, without a doubt, for the engine to roar to life.. however, i got a shock when after multiple tries, my engine lay cold and dead.. getting anxious, i tried again to start the engine, but guess this time, i turned too hard, and my key broke off from the controller (they were connected before today, those driving a mitsubishi lancer should understand what i'm saying)..

even until 7.30pm, my engine still could not start though i tried connecting the "crocodile clips" from my friend's car roaring engine to mine and turning what's left of the car key.. after making multiple calls to various 24 hr workshops, which charge exorbitant prices just for checking what's wrong with the car, i decided on one last resort.. another two friends and i pushed the car while a third sat inside the car trying to do a jump start.. having said that, special thanks to alagappan, fariq and izzad for helping..

no prizes for guessing, but i believe you all know what happened.. YES! i decided to leave the car at the carpark, and take a cab home.. wait for my mum to come back from hong kong before seeking her help.. luckily izzad was going to paya lebar to meet his gf, so i got a free ride to paya lebar MRT..

after alighting at paya lebar MRT, which by then, was already 8.15pm, i crossed the road to take bus no. 70 to near bartley, which i can then transfer to take bus no. 62 to a bus stop directly outside my house.. upon boarding the bus, and after multiple attempts to get my ez link card to work, i realised that i have no pre-stored value in the ez link card.. ah shucks! who can blame me for this, since the last time i took public transport was like a year and half ago, before i bought my car.. then, no choice, i used coins to pay for my bus ride (at least, luckily i had coins)..

after alighting bus no. 70, i went to a convenience store behind the bus stop to get a copy of the new paper.. just as i was walking out of the convenience store, bus no. 62 just arrived at the stop.. as there was only one passenger abt to alight, i had to hurry before the bus left.. hence i ran to the bus stop, as it was at least 10m away.. just as i reached the bus, i dropped my coin purse and the coins dropped all over the floor, shattering the quiteness of the night (it was already 8.45pm by then).. shucks, and i waved to the bus captain to carry on while i picked up my coins.. SADLY!

it was a cool 20 mins later before the next bus no. 62 arrived.. i boarded and thought aloud, WHAT ELSE COULD GO WRONG? well, one more thing.. i was so engrossed in reading the new paper, that cristiano ronaldo could go to real madrid, by the time i realised, the bus was at the traffice lights after my designated stop! arghh.. and yes, i stopped at the next stop, battered and beaten, and took a 10 min walk home.. how can my day be any worse? and for those wondering why i didn't take a bus back, i FINISHED up all my coins already, for christ sake!

CHELSEA SUCKS!

2008-06-07T01:00:00.001+08:00

STREET CLEANER LINKED WITH CHELSEA JOB! EXCLUSIVE. Joe Harris, a 54 year old STREET CLEANER from Harrow, Middlesex, is the latest in a line of people who has been approached by Roman Abramovic for the position of the currently vacant Chelsea manager. Harris is believed to have been offered £5 milion a year for the next 4 years to help the blues regain their successes of recent seasons.

Harris is a married man of 4 and has absolutely no experience of football apart from the odd kick around in the playground 40 years ago and watching Match of the Day on Saturdays. Abramovic sees him as a perfect replacement for Avram Grant who was sacked 2 weeks ago. However, Harris has publicly stated this evening that he is more than happy to continue his career cleaning the streets on minimum wage and besides, he has to hand in a months' notice so the move would have been out of the question.

It must come as a bitter blow to Abramovic who is fastly becoming the laughing stock of world football in his desperate search to find a suitable replacement before the start of the new Premiership season. Peter Kenyon has been given a blindfold, a pin and the telephone directory in an attempt to find their new Manager and this latest dismissal just adds to their frustrations. "If we don't find somebody soon, maybe I'll have to apply for the job myself!". Kenyon said jokingly. Jokingly? I think not.

food for thought

2008-05-01T16:15:00.002+08:00

to me, when you say really really hurtful things in the spur of the moment, but afterwards apologise half-heartedly with a, "sorry!", with a tone that you still think you are damn right, is that of any use?

let me draw an analogy to a similiar situation.. you knock a nail right into a piece of wood, thinking it is in a right position, an elder comes along and said, "hey! the nail may be in a wrong position!", but still refusing to believe the nail is in the wrong position, you take out the nail nevertheless, there will still be the mark left behind by the nail right?

think about it..

long time since..

2007-09-23T22:45:00.000+08:00

its been really long since i last blogged.. and within a space of about 2 months, many many things happen.. sorry to those who are waiting to read my blog.. but i shall write more when i have the time

lives are lost, just like that..

2007-07-14T19:07:00.000+08:00

Four motorcyclists killed in separate road accidents
By Asha Popatlal, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 14 July 2007 1743 hrs

SINGAPORE : It was a tragic start to the weekend on the roads as four motorcyclists were killed in separate accidents.

In the first case, just before 6am on Friday, a woman motorcyclist in her 60s, collided into an on-coming van along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1.

She suffered serious head injuries and was rushed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital but died later.

In the second accident near Woodlands Checkpoint on Friday evening, there was a collision between a car and two motorcycles.

Both motorcyclists ended up in hospital but one, a man in his mid-40s, died soon after.

The third accident happened along Tampines Avenue 7 at about 2.30am early Saturday morning.

A motorcyclist in his 20s was pronounced dead at the scene after he collided into the back of another motorcycle.

Meanwhile, another motorcyclist was killed at about 11am on Saturday when he was involved in an accident between a trailer and two motorcycles along the PIE at Corporation Road.

Police are appealing for witnesses to call the Traffic Police Hotline at 1800-547-1818. - CNA/ch

treasure life

2007-07-14T15:34:00.001+08:00

today i was driving along PIE, heading towards home after work, and there was a jam that stretches all the way to nearly the jalan bahar excit.. the cause of the heavy jam can be traced to an accident that occured before hong kah fly over..

moments earlier.. a trailer (which is parked at the site of the road near the accident scene) had probably slammed into a motorcycle.. the rider had no chance to escape, as when i passed there, TP used a blue tent to cover his body, and till now i could still vividly recollect seeing blood, and probably bits of flesh, and some of his internal organs on all over 2 lanes of the 4 lane expressway..

its sad to see such a scene, and as my dad puts it.. someone has lost a son, husband, father and / or boyfriend..

that's why they say, always treasure life..

irony??

2007-06-20T19:45:00.000+08:00

it’s funny how the body wakes up most reluctantly at 6.15am during working days, but clambers out of bed most enthusiastically at 7am on a non working weekend..

working weekday
the legs drag the soul to the washroom and the body drags the heart to shipyard..

non working weekend
the heart and soul sing to the body the awakening of the day

one million

2007-06-20T19:11:00.000+08:00

If I have got one million, one million,
I got one million, my whole life no worries,
Never say nobody knows, say already very shy,
Eat until so big, never sat on a plane before,

Worked so hard for so many years,
No car no house and also no lover,
See people get married and do business,
Got money and got success,

If I have got one million,
I wanna sit on a plane,
I wanna explore the world,
Hawaii to sun bath,
Japan eat sushi (treat you eat sushi),

If I have got one million,
I wanna buy car buy house,
Eat all the delicacies of the world,
Who got the good luck, be my girl

If I have got one million, one million,
If you need to borrow money,
Just open your mouth and ask and no need shy shy,

Never say nobody knows, say already very shy,
Eat until so big, never sat on a plane before,

Worked so hard for so many years,
No car no house and also no lover,
See people get married and do business,
Got money and got success,

If I have got one million,
I wanna sit on a plane,
I wanna explore the world,
Italy drink coffee,
Road side eat spaghetti (road side eat spaghetti),

If I have got one million,
I wanna buy car buy house,
Buy shop to collect rent,
Easy easy no need to work,
Bring dog go for a walk,

If I have got one million, one million,
If you need to borrow money,
Just open your mouth and ask and no need shy shy,

If I have got one million, one million,
Ten thousand eight thousand take go and use,
No need to pay back also no problem (pay back money not a problem)

If I have got one million, one million,
Wei friend, you think one million a lot ah?

great day today

2007-06-18T17:28:00.001+08:00

today is one of my most fufiling days in keppel shipyard.. why? i walked with one of the machinery engineers that i am attached to and we spent the whole day in the engine rooms of two vessels, an LNG carrier and a RO-RO (car carrier)..

i spent the time learning and trying to understand more about the 'three to four times larger than me' engines, and was greatly amazed at the sizes of the engines, its pistons and all the mechanics that made it work..

well today is the first day that i feel that i really really sweat it out.. and learnt the most things.. though during modular training is relaxing, i believe that when the time comes, i'll feel stressed out like anyone else..

what i want in life??

2007-06-13T18:08:00.002+08:00

today while undergoing modular training on hull structures, the trainer asked me a very simple question which set me back thinking, until now.. "where do you see yourself in another 3 years time?"

i thought long and hard and initially and after deliberation (like in a court of law), i told him..

i target myself to be in my first section, HULL section, for about a year at most (inclusive of the modular training i am going through now), then move on to MACHINERY section for another couple of years, and finally move up and get promoted, first to project engineer (PJE), then to project manager (PJM)..

i wonder if my ambition is too great, but i believe it certainly can be achieved.. however, i must work doubly hard, learn as much as i can, so that promotion prospects for me are not at all bleak.. jia you!

what is happening..

2007-06-11T21:24:00.001+08:00

i am so emotionally drained..

i am tired from guessing the hidden meanings of what you always say or DO.. if i don't guess it correctly, i guess i'll get it from you, either a black face or ignoring me, the whole day..

what exactly do you want? why don't you just ask or say? why?

results results..

2007-06-08T23:18:00.000+08:00

today has been a blurred for me.. first things first.. final year final semester results was suppose to be out.. i woke up early this morning at around 6am, and was surprised to see over 10 sms-es, from different NTU people telling me results are out.. with a half awake brain, and blurry eyes, i logged on to student link and checked results..

i thought i saw the wrong results, and rubbed my eyes clearly once again to see carefully.. again the same results stared back at me.. unbelieving, i woke peipei up to ask her to take a look, and she too confirmed that i wasn't dreaming..

my final semester results were amazingly good, 1 A+, 2A and 2A-, and finally i got the one distinction i was hoping to get before i graduate.. and the remarks there put i got a first class with minor in business..

note: i purposely deleted away my matric number cause i buy 4-D with it.. =p

my parents did not waste their effort, working hard to earn money to pay my school fees and give me allowances throughout my life till now.. i am speechless.. i am just simply lost for words at this pleasant surprise.. DAD and MUM, thank you for your support all these years! i'll work hard and will never let you both down! I LOVE YOU!

and also, i'll like to thanks all my friends who have given me the encouragements, advice, and the company during exams time to study together.. also the frequent quarrels we had while discussing about our subjects on who's right or wrong.. special thanks to jiewen, nikole, yonghong, yong seng (aka seng) and all others..

finished my third day of work..

2007-06-06T18:16:00.000+08:00

today was an interesting day.. i can't tell much details because i realised that most of the information that i access is classified and only made available to keppel employees..

this whole week i'm attached to the safety department.. in the morning i am attached to a senior safety officer and i accompany him to do walkabouts and identify potential safety hazards within the yard, and in the afternoon i spend the time reading safety manuals.. though next time i will not be in this department, but safety is important for everyone, so i don't really quite mind reading all those manuals (can waste some time too :p)..

actually i'm more eager to go back to my own department, the hull section, to actually start some serious work there.. but like all the others who have been in keppel for a long time, said the newcomers have to learn about safety first, then go for specified training before actually commencing work..

but well ships are so majestic, they are huge and magnificient that walking from one end to the other takes about 15mins.. averaged about 300m in length.. and i'm only a fraction of one of the 4 or 5 propeller blades, not to mention the very much bigger rudder..

now seeing so large ships day in and day out, i'm no longer fascinated by those large class 5 trailers anymore..

ended first day of work

2007-06-04T17:26:00.000+08:00

i just reached home after finishing work at 4.30pm.. boy is it tough being a marine engineer.. early hours and long hours at work.. i guess this is one of the few days i knock off on time after starting work at 7.30am..

today, whole day i did orientation, i.e. go to the various departments and learn more about organizational structures, safety, and security.. i must say i am totally impressed with the way keppel handles safety, they make it the top most piority in every situation..

for now, and i belive so in future, that i am proud to be a keppelite..

tomorrow, and for the following two days, i will be doing a fire and safety course.. great manz! looking forward to it..

new job

2007-06-04T05:55:00.001+08:00

today is my first day at work in keppel shipyard, benoi yard.. i'm so excited at my first job.. hope the people there are friendly and helpful.. i wish myself all the best in my new career..

linus, jia you!

back from my 2nd holiday..

2007-05-21T03:20:00.000+08:00

i just came back from chengdu, china.. i enjoyed the place there, especially in jiu zhai gou

commendation!!

2007-05-09T00:59:00.000+08:00

i would like to commend a MR JOE TAN from acer service centre at the international business park near juronf east.. he made my first time experience at acer very memorable..

my mum's acer desktop, which was bought during last year's IT fair in june, came crashing down due to a sudden influx of virus, for whatever reason.. and since today after my FYP presentation in school i was free, thus i decided to bring it down to the acer service centre to get it repair, if not, reformatted..

obviously, at the service centre, i was serviced by joe tan.. i told him that my mum's desktop had alot of virus, and what was the best way to get rid of all those virus.. not only did he tell me that a reformat was the most effective way of getting rid of any virus, he did a reformat with me on the spot with no questions asked.. i also enquired that since the desktop is under warranty, is there any was i could avoid the $50 reformat fee, which i was willing to pay anyway..

guessed what? he said that since we are acer's customers, he can waived the $50 out of goodwill for me.. i was like.. WOW!!

the turnaround time for any acer repairs is damn fast, as compared to my own fujitsu.. from the time i parked my vehicle, to the time i send in the CPU for reformat, and the time i sat back in my vehicle, fully satisfied, the time taken was only 41 mins..

well done acer.. the next time should i decide to get a new notebook or desktop, you can be sure i will choose acer..

back from my first holiday

2007-05-06T04:21:00.000+08:00

i just came back from my first holiday in cebu, philippines.. the experience there was great.. nothing but beach for 5 days, coupled with great diving and nice BBQ seafood.. wow!

Marine Corps!!

2007-03-28T22:36:00.000+08:00

"Marine Corps General Reinwald was interviewed on the radio the other day and you'll love his reply to the lady who interviewed him concerning guns and children. Regardless of how you feel about gun laws you gotta love this!!!! This is one of the best comeback lines of all time. It is a portion of National Public Radio (NPR) interview between a female broadcaster and US Marine Corps General Reinwald who was about to sponsor a Boy Scout Troop visiting his military installation.

FEMALE INTERVIEWER: So, General Reinwald, what things are you going to teach these young boys when they visit your base?

GENERAL REINWALD: We're going to teach them climbing, canoeing, archery, and shooting.

FEMALE INTERVIEWER: Shooting! That's a bit irresponsible, isn't it?

GENERAL REINWALD: I don't see why, they'll be properly supervised on the rifle range.

FEMALE INTERVIEWER: Don't you admit that this is a terribly dangerous activity to be teaching children?

GENERAL REINWALD: I don't see how. We will be teaching them proper rifle discipline before they even touch a firearm.

FEMALE INTERVIEWER: But you're equipping them to become violent killers.

GENERAL REINWALD: Well, Ma'am, you're equipped to be a prostitute, but you're not one, are you?

The radio went silent and the interview ended.

You gotta love the Marines!"

IDIOTS!!

2007-03-25T10:57:00.000+08:00

friends who drive out there, beware of the driver of this goldish colour toyota altis, SFV 5154, who most probably is an elderly man with one leg in the coffin already..

i was waiting for a carpark lot near the market at toa payoh lorong 8.. the road was quite wide, altogether having 4 lanes, 2 for going my direction, and another 2 for going the other direction.. then this van left the lot with a car beside it, so it lefts 2 lots empty.. as there was this mercedes who was in front of me, i let him parked his car first before attempting to park my vehicle..

then suddenly this car that i earlier mentioned just came from the opposite direction and park head-in first into the lot that i was so supposed to park.. i was so damn pissed, but after arguing, he insisted he was waiting already, i just decided to end the quarrel and let him have his way.. arghh.. what with these fu*kers?

careless driving?

2007-03-18T10:23:00.000+08:00

friday was a sucking day for me.. something happened which made me felt moody the whole day, and even yesterday, the feeling of being wronged has not gone away..

i was travelling in the CBD area, to fetch peipei after work, near one raffles quay.. i was on the extreme left lane, and at a junction near the building, this lane has an option to either turn left or go straight.. just as i was nearing the junction, suddenly a taxi on my right sped up, put up an impromptu left signal, and tried to turn left in front of me..

being at 80km/h on a 70km/h, i was quite fast, and checking the rear view mirror, the car behind me was quite close, so i decided against slamming the brakes.. i just let my foot off the accelerator and allowed the car to cruise.. off course my decision resulted in a near collision, but in the end after some intense horning, i continued straight while the taxi was unablt to turn left and remained on my right..

a TP then subsequently pulled up in between us and asked us to stop in front where there is less traffic.. he booked me for careless driving, $150 and 6 demerit points.. i tried to explain to him that it wasn't my fault, and that i had the right of way.. and he said that it was a very lenient charge already, could have been avoided had i 'slammed' my brakes.. what the?? and if there's one thing i leant from others' experience, never never argue with a TP.. so i decided to just accept my freaking fate and keep quiet while he copied my details..

while he wanted to book the taxi driver for reckless driving.. the taxi driver managed to reduced it to careless driving as well.. i didn't know how he managed to do it, as i was in a confused state of mind about my 6 demerit points.. sighz..

after details were copied, i sat back in my own car, pondered for awhile, curse my arse luck, and drove off..

death of somebody..

2007-03-15T09:09:00.000+08:00

i lifted this off a friend's blog.. i love reading his blog because it always contains these stories that make you put down your hectic everyday life, pause for a moment, and think about life..

OBITUARY

Today, we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: Knowing when to come in out of the rain; Why the early bird gets the worm; Life isn't always fair; and Maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6 -year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer Tylenol, sun lotion or a band-aid to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge set tlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.

He is survived by his three stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do
nothing.

updates..

2007-03-15T08:55:00.000+08:00

didn't really have time to blog recently.. its busy busy busy all the way for me.. though i took less subjects than last semester, somehow i feel that this semester seems more tough to me.. after working on my FYP for about 9 months now.. on tuesday i finally handed up my FYP first draft to my supervisor.. not after working through the night till around 6am.. yawnz~

i'm still trying to recuperate from my overnight work, something which i rarely do unless absolute necessary.. i always believe that sleep is more important than alot of other things..

anyway for those of you who likes to buy 4-D, try my lucky number 2021.. probably will strike first prize.. =p and share with me the winnings if you all win.. if you all are curious to know why this is my lucky number, you can pm me..

right now in library, waiting for my 9.30am lesson to start.. for all those in the final year of studies like me.. jia you! you can do it.. a couple more months only.. while for the rest, no matter what you do, jia you too! you can always look forward to better days ahead..

got a new car

2007-03-08T20:41:00.000+08:00

my new car was delivered today..

don't do things you may regret later on

2007-02-26T09:45:00.000+08:00

i came across this interesting article and it was all about having regrets in life.. in short, the article focuses on 4 things.. these are 4 things you cannot ever hope to recover, so whatever it is, live by this;

the stone, after it is thrown

the words, after they are said

the occassion, after the loss

the time, after it is gone..

new hobby

2007-02-17T04:12:00.000+08:00

recently peipei and i happen to take up a new hobby.. that is.. catching prawns, or in chinese 'diao xia'..

well i wondered how it ever happened but both of us have been to 3 places to catch prawns and so far, we feel that the one in marina south is one of the better few.. here's a look at the rates and catch..

east coast coasta sands - $26 for 3 hours
worst of all the 3 places, twice we sat there for 3 hours and on average, we caught only about 8 prawns per time, and all were very small in size

yishun bottle tree park - $40.50 for 4 hours
great catch, not many bites on the rod, but the prawns caught are very big.. worth a try for beginners

marina south city fishing - $36 for 4 hours
alot of prawns, ranging from small to big, but prawns size on average not as big as in yishun

Corporate Lessons

2007-02-10T10:10:00.000+08:00

Corporate Lesson 1:

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next door neighbour. Before she says a word, Bob says, "I'll give you $800 to drop that towel."

After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob. After a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 dollars and leaves. The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, "Who was that?" "It was Bob the next door neighbour," she replies. "Great!" the husband says, "did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?"

Moral of the story: If you share critical information pertaining to credit
and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.

Corporate Lesson 2:

A priest offered a lift to a Nun. She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg. The priest nearly had an accident. After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg.

The nun said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?" The priest removed his hand. But, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again. The nun once again said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?" The priest apologized "Sorry sister but the flesh is weak." Arriving at the convent, the nun went on her way.

On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It said, "Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory."

Moral of the story: If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss
a great opportunity.

Corporate Lesson 3:

A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out. The Genie says, "I'll give each of you just one wish."

"Me first! Me first!" says the admin. clerk. "I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world." Poof! She's gone. "Me next! Me next!" says the sales rep. "I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life." Poof! He's gone.

"OK, you're up," the Genie says to the manager. The manager says, "I want those two back in the office after lunch."

Moral of the story: Always let your boss have the first say.

Corporate Lesson 4:

A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A rabbit asked him, "Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?"

The crow answered: "Sure, why not." So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested. A fox jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Moral of the story: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting
very high up.

Corporate Lesson 5:

A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, but I haven't got the energy." "Well, why don't you nibble on my droppings?" replied the bull. "They're packed with nutrients."

The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree.

Soon he was spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree.

Moral of the story: Bullshit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you
there.

what's the price of honesty?

2007-02-07T19:56:00.001+08:00

recently i had this conversation with one my friends whom i've known since first year in NTU.. she was apparently fustrated with an issue which obviously i did not know.. so upon probing further this was what i learnt..

she's been mumbling, "what's the price of honesty" for a couple of days already.. what actually happened was she applied for a job at a tuition agency as a part time tutor.. when the agency asked for her "O" and "A" level results.. she truthfully told them she got B's and C's, and added that she has experience tutoring primarty and secondary students before.. the agency said they'll get back to her once the details of her employment are finalised.. but its been already many many months since she heard from them already..

she also told me that if she had told them she got all A's and B's, she'll definitely get the job.. because they did not bother to verify facts.. as like her friend who got the job.. but she didn't want to lie..

so "what's the price for honesty?"

asean football championship FINALS!

2007-02-05T10:36:00.000+08:00

well for the first time, my whole family (including our domestic helper) gathered in front of the television to watch singapore lift the asean football championship.. they held thailand to a 1-1 draw, to win 3-2 on aggregate.. in total, i won about $54 from singapore pools.. i bought $10 for the championship winner to be singapore (odds $2.05) and bought $10 for last night's game to be a draw (odds $3.35).. it was only the third time i betted, and i guess it was beginner's luck? but my mum did warn me not to get addicted, and i certainly hope so too.. but for now i have no urges to keep on betting, so i'm safe for now..

BANGKOK, February 4 (Asean Football Championship) - Singapore successfully defended their Asean Football Championship crown as substitute Khairul Amri struck a late goal to give the Lions a 3-2 aggregate win following their 1-1 draw with Thailand in the second leg of the final on Sunday.

Singapore went into the match at the Supachalasai Stadium leading 2-1 on aggregate but their advantage was cancelled out in the 37th minute when Pipat Thonkanya levelled the tie.

However, Thailand's hopes of a fourth Asean Football Championship title were snuffed out with nine minutes left in a hugely entertaining final when Khairul Amri's shot from just inside the box flew past goalkeeper Kittisak Rawangpa, who was wearing the captain's armband in the absence of Kiatisuk Senamuang.

Singapore looked to have extended their advantage when Sharil Ishak prodded the ball into the Thailand net from close range with just eight minutes on the clock.

However, Indonesian referee Jimmy Napitupulu ruled out the effort as the striker and tournament MVP and top scorer Noh Alam Shah were deemed to be in an offside position.

Fahrudin Mustafic, scorer of the controversial penalty that gave the Lions the first leg victory and the recipient of the loudest boos when the home fans jeered the announcement of the Singapore players, became the first to go into the Indonesian referee's book for a crunching tackle on Pichitphong Choechiu in the 14th minute, just 60 seconds after the same player - one of three changes to the Thai starting 11 - had Thailand's first real effort on goal.

Datsakorn Thonglao stepped up to take a 17th minute free-kick from a similar range to the one he scored against Vietnam in the semi-final and while the midfielder struck it with similar aplomb, Singapore keeper Lionel Lewis was equal to the task and flew across the goal line to keep the ball out.

Lewis, MVP at the last edition of the tournament, denied the Thais again six minutes later with an equally impressive save following a powerful shot from Pipat Thonkanya.

However, the Singapore keeper could do nothing when the BEC Tero Sasana striker opened the scoring with eight minutes of the first half remaining.

Datsakorn, who is set to move from BEC Tero Sasana to Vietnamese side Hoang Anh Gia Lai, played a delicate chip over the Singapore back line and in to the path of his former team-mate, who poked the ball past Lewis to level the tie on aggregate.

The Thais sniffed blood and laid siege on the Singapore goal in the second half, with the defending champions needing a last-ditch block from Noh Rahman to prevent Suchao Nutnum from putting the home side two up.

But Singapore remained firm, with their defending both stubborn and scattergun, and caught the Thais with their goal on the counter-attack, their only real chance of the half outside of a tamely hit scissors kick from Alam Shah 18 minutes after the interval.

my proudest moment as a singaporean..

2007-01-31T23:56:00.000+08:00

today i experienced my proudest moment as a singaporean.. the cheers and the jeers together with the other fans at the kallang stadium.. when singapore took on thailand in the first leg of the finals of the asean football championships.. whenever the referee makes good or bad decisions, or whenever the thai players fall upon minimal contact with any singapore players.. it was like re-living the old malaysia cup days..

till this day i still remember my first malaysia cup game in many many years back when singapore took on sarawak.. where we won 1-0, no idea who the scorer was back then, but all i know is that the team in red is the one i am suppose to cheer on for..

fast forward to today.. i am quite lucky, as for the past couple of years, i watched singapore played 4 games and then won all for.. the first was against myanmar where we won the then tiger cup 2004 semi finals 2nd leg 4-2 (aggregate 8-5), after that we were up against indonesia, where we won tiger cup 2004 finals 2nd leg 2-1 (aggregate 5-2), the next was last sundays game, against malaysia in the asean football championships 2006 semi finals 2nd leg, where we were held to a draw 1-1, and won after a penalty shoot out 5-4 (aggregate 2-2)..

and before the national stadium is to be demolished, i watched the last game the lions might have played.. against thailand in the in the asean football championships 2006 finals 1st leg, 2-1 winners, though they played lousier.. the thais also displayed poor sportsmanship, threatening to boycott the game after a controversial penalty decision was given in singapore's way, which led to their 2nd goal.. for those who missed the game.. here are the match reports..

SINGAPORE, January 31 (Asean Football Championship) - Singapore ended their long winless streak against Thailand, grabbing a controversial 2-1 win in the first leg of the Asean Football Championship final at the National Stadium on Wednesday.

The Lions had not beaten the Thais in a competitive match since 1977 but a second half penalty by Mustafic Fahruddin settled the match in favour of the home side.

The penalty was awarded after Noh Alam Shah went down in the Thai box under challenge from Niweat Siriwong and sparked a furious reaction from the Thais who walked off the pitch for 15 minutes before finally being convinced to return.

Alam Shah had earlier opened the scoring for Singapore with his 10th goal of the tournament in the 17th minute but the Thais got back on level terms five minutes after the break when a superb through ball released Pipat Thonkanya, who rounded goalkeeper Lionel Lewis to equalise.

The return leg will be played at the Supachalasai Stadium in Bangkok on Sunday.

As expected, Thai skipper Kiatisuk Senamuang was ruled out by a knee injury and replaced by Pipat, while Singapore made three changes with captain Aide Iskandar returning from suspension to replace Baihakki Khaizan in central defence, while Mohamed Noh Rahman and Fazrul Nawaz came in for Isa Halim and the injured Hafiz Osman.

A capacity crowd of 55,000 was present for what was likely to be the final competitive match at the National Stadium and the majority were on their feet after 17 minutes when the home side took the lead.

The ball was played to Indra Sahdan, whose effort was blocked by Niweat Siriwong and deflected outside the box to Mustafic Fahruddin.

Fahruddin's shot was poor but fell nicely at the feet of Alam Shah, who controlled the ball with his back to goal before turning and firing a right-footed shot into the lower left hand corner of the Thai goal.

Apart from that one bright moment, the opening half was a frantic and physical affair which saw four players booked by Malaysian referee C.Ravichandran - Nirut Surasiang for Thailand and Fazrul Nawaz, Fahruddin and Muhammad Ridhuan for Singapore.

Two minutes into the second half, Singapore had an opportunity to extend their lead when the ball was lofted into the box to Fazrul, who was denied a shot by a brave challenge by Thai goalkeeper Kittisak Rawangpa.

On 50 minutes, the Thais were back on level terms with virtually their first opening of the game after a superb through ball by Nirut caught the Singapore defence square, releasing Pipat.

The Thai forward coolly rounded goalkeeper Lionel Lewis before slotting the ball into the unguarded net for the equaliser.

Singapore had a good shout for a penalty in the 56th minute when Khairul Amri was pulled back by Jetsada Jitsawad in the Thai box but referee Ravichandran was not interested.

Buoyed by their equaliser, the Thais proved far more effective in attack and Nirut went close with a long-range drive from 30 metres that was nervously pushed out for a corner by Lewis.

The Thais stepped up the pressure and had chances to take the lead with Pipat scooping the ball over the crossbar following a corner in the 75th minute and Datsakorn firing in another long range effort two minutes later which was kept out by a flying save by Lewis.

The match was plunged into controversy in the 82nd minute when referee C.Ravichandran pointed to the spot after Alam Shah tumbled in the box under challenge from Niweat.

The Thais protested by walking off the pitch in protest and refused to return for 15 minutes.

Thai team manager Thavatchai Sajakul spent several minutes discussing the matter with match commissioner Mohamad Ameen before finally convincing his team to return.

When the action finally resumed, Fahruddin kept his cool to fire the ball into the top right corner of the Thai net.

With seconds remaining, Singapore's Shi Jia Yi crossed into the box but Amri failed to get his header on target.

and with that, it sums up a beautiful day for me.. thanks to all those who were there with me at the stadium to watch this truly amazing victory.. cheerios to the lions!!

a bored afternoon..

2007-01-24T14:30:00.000+08:00

i'm tired and i'm hungry but i'm happy.. currently waiting for my next lesson at 3.30pm, but after that, i can go home!

life has been kind to me.. alot of times, i think to myself of how lucky i am to be born in singapore.. as compared to some other poverty-stricken african countries.. one of my friends, bbear, also asked me to live my life to mother teresa's final analysis..

that's why no matter how i'm physically feeling (e.g tired or hungry), i always try to keep myself happy.. that's the way to go to a much happier and fruitful life..

dinner last night..

2007-01-18T08:44:00.000+08:00

as the title mentions, this post is about my dinner last night.. after craving for tons of salmon sashimi for like the past 3 weeks, yesterday i went to triple 3 to have their dinner buffet..

the restaurant only opens at 6.30pm for dinner, but peipei and i reached there at 7.00pm, as we initially thought it opened only at that time.. but nevertheless, we had hell of a good time there.. the salmon and tuna sashimi, together with the live oysters, was very fresh.. there was no fishy smells as compared if serve by other local restaurants.. the medium-done beef steak there was fabulous, so was the boiled black chicken soup, asam fish and many many other more that i cannot recall.. haha.. the food there was simply too good.. yummy yummy!!

mahjong..

2007-01-14T19:53:00.000+08:00

last night while playing mahjong with a couple of my friends, my friend and i got ourselves a new nick name.. haha it was a fun game, though i lost to peipei some money (which i always do)..

during one of the rounds, when the banker throwed the dice, after some mental calculation, without the banker taking the tiles, i took my tiles first, causing everyone to be confused (FYI, i took the correct set of tiles)..

then robson commented.. "hey your name linus chia leh, not flash chia you know? not everyone like you, can count so fast leh.." and so, the nick name flash chia emerged, and it had been used the whole night.. lolz~

then in another round, peipei had 'eaten' 9 cards of the bamboo suit, and so for people who knows how to play mahjong, it is called 'bao bamboos'.. robson also had a very good suit too, 'ping hu' waiting for cards to game already.. thus whenever he took a card and it was not the one he wanted, regardless whether it was bamboo or not.. he still threw it out..

alex, my other friend commented, "eh robson.. you not scared huh? she waiting for bamboo cards leh", to which robson simply replied "you mean you didn't know my name? i am called huang da dan".. haha the whole table erupted in laughter, in the end, it was me with a "chicken" game, or 'ji hu'..

wakeboarding

2007-01-12T12:40:00.000+08:00

yesterday i tried my hand at wakeboarding.. it was overall a fun time, except that i spent most of my time lying in the muddy water in the canal near punggol (beside TPE).. altogether i took 6 tries before i could stand up straight and properly wakeboard, but due to my incorrect posture, i was back into the water very soon again..

at least i did better that one of my other beginner friends, bruno, who took a total of 9 times before he could stand up straight, but due to his experience in sailing, he could stand up straight for a much longer time that i do.. arghh..

my other 2 friends are quite good at wakeboarding, particularly boon, who is a part time wakeboard instructor every weekend at punggol marina.. he could do 360 degree flips, change leg effortlessly and wakeboard with either hand.. jason, who wakeboarded before, was also not bad as he had some experience in wakeboarding before..

well we'll be probably trying wakeboard again the week after next.. except for the high cost, i don't see myself not trying it again..

condolences..

2007-01-04T01:02:00.000+08:00

my sincerest condolences to my close friend who lost her grandfather on new years eve (31/12/06).. and who will be cremated later in the day.. may you have the strength and courage to face all things that will be coming your way..

happy new year 2007!!

2007-01-01T03:50:00.001+08:00

today has been an eventful day.. let me tell you the details..

at 9am, i was woken up by 2 friends, alec and olsen, when they kept calling me (like a morning call).. you see, i was suppose to play soccer with them.. and so, at 9.40am, i hopped into alec's car and we went to tampines together to kick some balls..

after around 4 hours of playing soccer, i hitched a ride form alec again and headed back towards yishun again.. but on the way back, we saw a major accident along yishun road (along the reservoir), in which a red car collide with a motorcycle.. the red car smashed head on into a tree at the side of the road, and the motorcycle laid badly smashed on its side, not far from the red car.. i didn't see any puddles of blood around, and neither did i see any ambulance (it may have already left).. so i was happy (hopefully) that no one was seriously injured or died in the accident..

after lunch with peipei, i made my way down church for the new year carnival, held at the church compound.. i was actually suppose to help to man a stall selling indonesian curry, but i came down an hour after the carnival started, and by the time i reached, the stuff was nearly sold out.. thus i just bummed around eating food and having drinks with $50 worth of coupons that i bought..

then its off to DXO at esplanade with the same group of friends that i played soccer with, early in the morning.. we went there to drink, as well as for counting down the new year..

however in the midst of clubbing, i recieved an sms from my close friend, who said that she will end the year 2006 on a sad note.. upon bugging and bugging, she finally revealed that her grandfather passed away in the morning.. here am i enjoying myself, and there, my close friend is mourning the passing of a family member.. am i such a friend? thus i decided the next best thing that i can do is just to visit her at her grandfather's funeral in the next couple of days, as well as pay my last respects..

what a way to end the year, with both sadness and happiness.. all i can say now is.. tomorrow will be better!! ('ming tian hui gen how')

how do we look at others??

2006-12-31T01:41:00.000+08:00

A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after having fought in Vietnam. He called his parents from San Francisco. "Mom and Dad, I'm coming home, but I've a favor to ask. I have a friend I'd like to bring home with me."

"Sure," they replied, "we'd love to meet him."

"There's something you should know," the son continued, "he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mind and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us."

"I'm sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to live." "No, mom and dad, I want him to live with us."

"Son," said the father, "you don't know what you're asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own lives to live, and we can't let something like this interfere with our lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. He'll find a way to live on his own."

At that point, the son hung up the phone. The parents heard nothing more from him. A few days later, however, they received a call from the San Francisco police. Their son had died after falling from a building, they were told. The police believed it was suicide.

The grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of their son. They recognized him, but to their horror they also discovered something they didn't know, their son had only one arm and one leg.

The parents in this story are like many of us. We find it easy to love those who are good-looking or fun to have around, but we don't like people who inconvenience us or make us feel uncomfortable. We would rather stay away from people who aren't as healthy, beautiful, or smart as we are.

Thankfully, there's someone who won't treat us that way. Someone who loves us with an unconditional love that welcomes us into the forever family, regardless of how messed up we are.

Tonight, before you tuck yourself in for the night, say a little prayer that God will give you the strength you need to accept people as they are, and to help us all be more understanding of those who are different from us!!

There's a miracle called Friendship that dwells in the heart. You don't know how it happens or when it gets started but you know the special lift it always brings. And you realize that Friendship is God's most precious gift!

Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always want to open their hearts to us. Show your friends how much you care.

back from indonesia..

2006-12-28T16:17:00.000+08:00

diving was great in manado.. however, ALL dive sites in manado are vertical wall diving, which i really quite dislike.. let me tell you why..

i love dives which i can see the seabed, because no matter whether the current drifts you, or you get disorientated, you can only go as deep as where the seabed is.. however, in wall dives, though you are expected to go along the allowed depth, sometimes you can go deeper than usual, and this can be quite bad.. in manado, once i was observing some puffer fishes under a rock, when suddenly there's this slight passing current pushing me away from the place.. i never thought of it seriously until i decided to look for my divemaster a minute later.. i looked up and got a shock of my life! he was as small as a large fish.. i checked my depth gauge and boy i was at nearly 50m! arghh.. i immediately did a slow ascent and stayed at 8-10m throughout the rest of the dive for decompression purposes.. haiz.. i didn't enjoy the rest of my that particular dive!

but well there are the advantages of manado though.. when you glance at the deep blue.. you occassionally see schools of tunas, trevallies or snappers swimming.. and the nudibranches i saw were nothing like i've even seen before!

all in short, the marine life was like.. WOW!! (p.s. damn it i got stung by fire corals when i tried to hold on to some corals when there was a freaking strong current)

next stop: egypt red sea or maldives.. yee hah!!

holidays..

2006-12-21T22:15:00.001+08:00

MANADO!! here i come!!

last saturday..

2006-12-18T18:13:00.000+08:00

last saturday peipei and i went in to JB for some movies and seafood.. we watched "the holiday" at city square cinema.. it was a good show, never did regret watching it.. though i would have prefered to watch "the game of our lives".. but peipei loved watching shows with a love story line.. so we decided to go it..

after that we walked around city square, where i bought a nice looking pair of bermudas (dark blue) and a nice polo t-shirt.. it looked really nice on me when i tried it on in the fitting room..

in the evening, we went to the side streets behind city square for some seafood dinner.. boy was it good! we had a very large slice of sambal stingray and some sambal squid for only around RM 28.. if it was in singapore, i think we would have easily paid at least SGD $20, judging from the proportions we had..

but one thing i have to comment is that at the time we entered and cleared the JB customs at around 2pm and the time we left and cleared JB customs at around 9pm, the queue was just simply madness.. on the averaged, we queued at least for an hour per time.. the custom officers were not sympathetic of the sweltering heat in the enclosed area where we had to queue, and took their time!! arghh.. it just sucks manz!! and i used to think that long queues in and out were present only on friday nights and sunday nights respectively..

updates..

2006-12-11T17:53:00.000+08:00

its been quite a while since i last updated the blog about my everyday life.. been too busy with FYP, and on top of that, i haven't been exactly emotionally stable.. too many things have happened that distracted me from my normal routine..

this evening was suppose to go running around yishun park, followed by swimming at safra, but suddenly the skies opened and it rained heavily.. thus all plans were cancelled.. it seems that even the people up there also do not want me to exercise.. hehe :p

anyway got to go back to do my FYP now.. will update as and when i have the time.. till then.. tata

tag board

2006-12-08T08:57:00.000+08:00

hi all.. tagboard is finally back.. thanks seng, for recommending me to use cbox.. yee hah!

problems problems..

2006-12-06T08:41:00.000+08:00

recently alot of things happened at home, sadly to say, i'm thought to be the one ALWAYS at fault, and i shall not try and change this view..

is it true that your 'zhang bei' is always the one in the right, no matter what happens?

friends close to me know the true story of how some people can be real idiots and become man of a thousand faces, and they too can't help but take sides..

exams exams..

2006-11-16T12:37:00.000+08:00

i just finished my 2nd paper of the week, and one more coming up tomorrow! sigh.. i used to love studying alone, but over these few weeks, group studying, which i used to shun, have become part of my life..

i had so much fun discussing past year exam papers with my fellow uni mates, talking cock over lunch and dinner.. phew.. the stress of exams all seem to have been taken away..

life is good! live it once, live it good! most importantly, cherish it!

what happened to the tagboard??

2006-10-22T22:50:00.000+08:00

hey people, does anyone know what happened to the tagboard?

a nice and touching article from TODAY newspaper..

2006-10-19T09:33:00.000+08:00

She fed us, clothed us, raised
us, set straight our paths in life;
now she has left us with a
void in our house and hearts

By Desmond Chua

IT HAS been a month since Mother passed away, and all of us are still adjusting to this sad change.

Growing up in our old kampung home in Hougang, Mother had taught us to be strong. In the 1960s, life in Singapore was hard. The country had just gained independence; everyone was part of this young nation struggling to grow.

Our family was very poor; my father did not have a stable job and his hawker business never really took off. It was Mother who carefully managed our family finances. She made a resolution that, no matter how difficult things got, every one of her children would get an education.

She tried never to be too heavily in debt, fearing that the family would not be able to break out of the poverty cycle. And so she would make us live within our means. My elder sister remembers fondly having to share a single egg with four siblings at dinner.

Our family culture was such that the older children looked after and made sacrifices for the younger ones. But when Chinese New Year came, Mother would reward the older children with new clothes and pass the old clothes to the younger ones. This was Mother’s idea of fair play.

Father, who worked hard, was not home most of the time. It was our mother and grandmother who took care of all seven of us.

Mother was especially firm when it came to discipline, and she taught us integrity. She did not accept any form of charity despite our poverty. She also did not encourage borrowing.

When I was in primary school, she would never allow me to borrow books, stationery or money from my classmates. No matter how short on money she was, she always tried to give me enough.

The years of hardship paid off when every one of us found good jobs and started our own families. Mother loved family gatherings and always looked forward to her birthday, because no matter how busy we were, most of us would make it to the celebrations.

In her later years, she suffered from severe osteoporosis and high blood pressure, and could walk only short distances. We bought her a wheelchair — and had to get her to swallow her pride to use it, so she could join in activities with us.

Once she started staying with my family, our weekends were planned around her and my daughter. Being her caretaker at times was not easy — because of her pain, she was quick-tempered and we had to learn to understand her illness.

My wife and I had to sacrifice our own social lives, with my mother trying to get our attention. But I guess this was all part of looking after elders in the family.

In August this year, I was lucky to get four tickets to the National Day Parade at the National Stadium. Mother was really looking forward to it, as this was the first time she would be watching the parade in person.

On the day, she was especially moved when she saw Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew enter the VIP gallery. She told me the last time she saw Mr Lee up close was in the early 1960s, when he visited our old kampung house during an election campaign. He was young, energetic, full of charisma, she said, and she trusted his vision for building the nation.

Singing the National Anthem as a family, I was overwhelmed with emotion. I knew that what Mother and us had struggled all our lives for was worth it — Singapore was truly our home. I saw the smile on Mother’s face as she watched the fireworks light up the sky. It was a moment I knew I’d never forget.

As we drove home afterwards, she reminisced about how Singapore was in the old days. She repeated a Hokkien phrase she often proudly said: “Singkapo siang ho” — Singapore is the best.

Two weeks after National Day, Mother’s health suddenly took a turn for the worse. She was hospitalised following a mild stroke, with an irregular heartbeat and difficulty in breathing.

I contacted everyone in the family. Mother was barely conscious, but when told that my elder brother was returning from Hong Kong to see her, she smiled contentedly.

Our hopes for her recovery were dashed when she had a heart attack. The doctors advised us to prepare for the worst. I could not accept it.

As the youngest child, I had been showered with all her love; I could not bear to let her go. Mother’s condition remained critical for another day before her heart gradually stopped beating, and she passed away peacefully on the morning of Aug 30.

She was 81, and left behind seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

After her wake, I would very often wonder where she was. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her gentle smile as she watched the fireworks at the stadium.

The first few weekends after her death were the most difficult for the family; the house felt empty, and when I drove my car, I could feel her next to me enjoying the usual weekend ride.

I miss my daily routine of giving her medication before leaving for work and greeting her when I come home.

My daughter, Vanessa, misses her Ah Ma every time she looks at her grandmother’s bed. We will have to learn to move on.

I will always remember Mother for all she taught me, and I hope my daughter will learn the same important principles of life from her Ah Ma.

I will try my utmost to get tickets to the National Day Parades from now on, knowing that Mother will be there with me to watch the fireworks in the sky. Mother, I love you.

back from the hospital!!

2006-10-17T12:34:00.000+08:00

i just recovered from a bout of dengue, of which i spent about 6 days in CGH ward 25, bed 21.. it wasn't a really great experience staying in hospital, but as one of my friends say, maybe i was working too hard (am i?) and someone up there obviously wants me to rest..

firstly, of course i'll like to thank my family, namely my mum, my dad and bro.. thanks for coming everyday to see me and helping me 'clear' fruits that well wishers brought along with them =p

next, i'll like to thank peipei for spending ALL the days there with me, taking great care of me, even thought she had to take leave.. thought i told her not to come, she still inisited.. and brought me out for breathers on a wheelchair (i wasn't suppose to go out of my ward at all!)

and thanks to all these people who took time and visited me..

aunt janice and uncle andy
aunt gina and uncle robert
aunt tina and david
aunt suzanna and kelvin
aunt sharon and uncle boh
kenny, sujing, jiayi, lianna and bo
zhikai and kimm
junxiong and momo

a hectic week finally over!!

2006-10-06T09:58:00.001+08:00

this week was very hectic for me.. considering that i had 2 quiz and whole of of assignments due next week.. well finally my 2 quiz are over and i can breathe a sign of slight relieve.. at least feel a little more relaxed now..

tonight will be spending mid-autum together with peipei playing lanterns that were leftover from last year.. and i will be looking forward to it..

weekend.. here i come!!

many many thanks!

2006-10-03T08:20:00.000+08:00

i hardly have time to give me thanks and wishes for those who knew it was my birthday as i spend the weekend playing real hard and monday catching up on quizzes and assignments..

first i would like to thanks my family and girlfriend for making my birthday so wonderful..

dad
mum
my bro les
peipei

for giving me nice presents and having a great dinner with me on saturday night..

then i'll like to thank my friends for their birthday wishes too..

lianna
bo
seng
kenny (tay)
*alex
*sherrie
*edwin
*peter
wynn
florita
dixi
desmond

and special thanks to alex, sherrie, edwin and peter for their nice present.. and for the rest, to be optimistic, i believe you all didn't give me a present because we didn't have time to meet up? hehe.. :p

and once again, another year older.. and in time to come.. great responsibilities.. and as they say, when you grow older, you grow wiser.. i certainly hope that is true for me..

birthday wishes!!

2006-09-30T11:12:00.000+08:00

its seems so exciting when your birthday is approaching but.. it doesn't seem that exciting afterall when you are in it..

happy birthday to MYSELF! hehe..

a father's love

2006-09-18T20:30:00.000+08:00

i would like you all to take a look at all these clips before reading on..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwPOPDkKg4c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXipk9yEtaE&mode=related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AcsQ-NUPJQ&mode=related&search=

[www.youtube.com (search words: touching story + triathlon)]

a very touching story of how a dad brought his disabled son on a triathlon.. all throughout, you can see the determination in the dad's eyes, on how determined he was to bring his son to finish the race.. the true mark of a champion.. both of them have really earned my fullest respect..

first with the swimming leg, he swamed, and at the same time, towed a inflatable boat with his son in it.. then in the cycling leg, an additional structure attached to the front of the bicycle to allow his son to sit in it while he cycles, and lastly, pushing his son on a wheel chair while he completed the running leg..

i teared on 3 different occassions today, and even after watching it so many times, i still feel really touched when i see this clip..

Dick and Rick Hoyt! epitome of strength and courage for all!

my dream..

2006-09-11T08:32:00.000+08:00

last night i had a very frightful dream.. i dreamt of my own death.. and YES! i did indeed dreamt of my own death.. i can't remember the exact details but.. it was really quite frightening to me! the fact that the night was cold make it seem so realistic.. i woke up in cold sweat, and because tiredness quickly overtook me again, i quickly drifted off to sleep..

i wonder if its the pressure of school and FYP that make me loose good sleep, and to top it up, dream of such amazing things..

somebody.. SAVE me! =p

updates..

2006-09-09T09:29:00.000+08:00

i was so busy with school work recently that i didn't have time to blog, so when i have the chance to, i would like to make some wishes and some apologies..

first and foremost, i would like to wish my brother happy belated 21st birthday.. many you enjoy the legal age to do alot of funny stuff =p

next, peipei and i would like to apologise to gillian.. sorry girl! we didn't mean to miss your birthday party yesterday night.. but i was too pre-occupied with my FYP that i forgot to tell you.. though i could make it, but by the time i realised i forgot to rsvp to you, it was too late.. nevertheless, happy 22nd birthday to you!

last night, peipei and i initially wanted to go to sakae to enjoy the $20 birthday voucher they sent me, but because there was no sakae in town (orchard), in the end we went to triple 3 to have a buffet dinner.. boy was it good! though it was very expensive, about $65 per pax (including service charge and GST), i really enjoyed the thick slices of sashimi, the free flow of lobsters, the fresh oysters, the chocolate fondue, countless pieces of chocolates with amazing fillings, the roast beef and the 'chatterbox' chicken rice sushi etc.. there are just too many good stuff to be all listed here! yummy yummy!

life is short.. enjoy it while you can =p

in the library..

2006-08-25T10:14:00.000+08:00

i'm now in LWN library, trying to study for my subjects.. try as hard as i may, i can't seem to get anything in.. some of the topics are too complex for a layman like to understand.. arghh.. i certainly do hope things go better as the semester wears on..

i'm looking forward to better days ahead! and to those reading this, i've learnt something all these while.. never give up no matter how hard your task at hand may seem to be, for when you conquer it, you'll feel a great sense of satisfaction.. as for me, i hope that satisfaction will come soon!

CHEERS!

pressure

2006-08-17T09:12:00.000+08:00

i know final year was never easy, but i didn't know it was that tough.. i thought i was going to buckle under the immense pressure presented to me by my FYP and final year subjects.. but luckily i managed to pull through, thanks to peipei who has been with me every step of the way, accompanying me.. =p

blogging..

2006-08-10T23:01:00.000+08:00

school has kept me busy for the past 2 weeks, with fyp meetings with prof, following up of these meetings and lectures taking up majority of my time.. tomorrow is friday, and for the first time in 6 months, i'm looking forward to this weekend to relax and enjoy..

now a flashback of events that happened over the past week.. on sunday (060806), i went blading with peipei, alex, peter and sherrie at east coast.. of the 5 of us, peter, sherrie and i were first timers to blading.. it was interesting! of the 3 of us, i had a really bad and spectacular fall.. about to answer a call, i did not notice a small hump (near the cable ski park) in front of me.. and being a first timer, i did not know how to negotiate the hump properly or slow down to a decent speed, i entered the hump at a relatively fast speed.. i went airborne momentarily, and landed with my arse cushioning the full weight of my body.. boy was it pain! i lay on the ground for about 2 minutes while the pain caused by the fall got to my head! the rest all laughed at me while i was lying on the ground to shrug off my pain! overall, it was a great experience blading and i really hope to try blading again some day..

tuesday (080806) night was mahjong again! peipei, alex robson and i played mahjong, from around 11pm till the next morning at around 10am.. slept for 3 hours and after that went to settle some diving stuff at my friend's place..

life is sure to get more interesting as the semester progresses.. hopefully things go well as i embark on my final year of my studying life.. cheers!

i am an idiot!!

2006-07-27T23:23:00.000+08:00

today, because a few cars will lining up behind me to pass me, i got 'kan cheong' and i backed into a lamp-post while doing a reverse parallel park! my dad's car got slightly scratched at the back bumper at the left side.. arghh! i feel so dumb.. after driving for more than 3 years, yet i can make such a silly mistake..

sorry dad, for making your car so ugly!

FYP..

2006-07-26T10:05:00.000+08:00

here i am today, in the NTU LWN library, embarking on a feeble attempt to give a headstart to my FYP.. searching for books related to my FYP was never going to be easy but i didn't know that it is much more difficult than i thought it to be.. this is one of the first few times that i am using the library's OPAC to search for books..

the only reason why i am here today is because my FYP tutor requested to see me tomorrow.. and not wanting to show him nothing, i thought it is best to start a little research on my own today.. at least when he talks about the FYP tomorrow, i at least (i hope) know what's going on..

i hate it when my freedom gets compromised, when i have to do anything else other than enjoy myself, but this time looks like i really have got no choice.. i hope things get better when school starts, hopefully by then i will get into the studying mood, and not complain so much..

soon..

2006-07-25T23:38:00.000+08:00

on sunday, after investing about $16 playing time crisis 4, i finally managed to finish the game! it was not only the first time i managed to go all the way to area 3 of stage 3, i also managed to complete it, with no life deducted! i think it is because i told peipei, who was with me, prior to playing, that i will try to complete it for her! wow!

today i spent 2 hours in the arcade playing an assortment of games, time crisis 4 included, and enjoying the freedom i have now, and soon going to lose due to school and FYP..

i am back..

2006-07-18T00:27:00.000+08:00

whew! finally reached back this afternoon.. its great to be back home! really enjoyed myself on this bangkok trip, shopping and EATING like there's no tomorrow.. have been jogging regularly before the trip, but now guess i've to work extra harder to shed off the kilos i've expectedly gained.. haha

off to unpack now.. hopefully i did not miss out buying any souvenirs for my friends..

oh yah and mum, though i was not there to celebrate it with you yesterday, happy belated birthday..

holiday-ing in bangkok!!

2006-07-14T23:23:00.000+08:00

peipei and i are in the midst of our 5-day bangkok shopping trip!

i'm currently now at a internet cafe in bangkok, relaxing myself after 2 days of carrying shopping bags! mind you, i'm not weak at carrying shopping bags, but i'm amazed at the purchasing power of girls, especially peipei!

yesterday we went to mah boon kroong, or MBK for short.. its a shopping haven for people, especially tourists like us.. i saw many singaporeans along the way, and at many shops, and though the prices quoted by the shops for their goods are already quite cheap (relative to singapore), they still had to bargain, just like us.. i personally think it is already been a norm for shops to jack up their prices, only waiting for the tourists to bring it down with their power called barganing..

this morning, we woke up early and went to chinatown.. it is certainly very reflective of the old chinatown of singapore.. people living on top of their shops (shophouses), and these shops squeeze side by side in narrow and packed lanes.. while motorcycles stacked high with goods riding along the lanes.. the people traffic is continuous.. stuff is generally very much cheaper and there is really no room for barganing and even i felt 'paiseh' to bargain..

after chinatown, we went to siam paragon to have lunch in the food court.. we proceeded to SIAM OCEAN WORLD after lunch to take a look at the marine life there.. i saw many different kind of fishes that i have never seen before.. angler fish, a grouper as large as me, or maybe even larger, bull sharks and garden eels etc, just to name a few.. wow! we were also so tempted to have a dive with the sharks, but the price alone put us off.. it costed SGD$250 for a 30-min dive.. add another SGD$50 and you can do 6 dives at pulau aur.. arghh..

after that we went for a 2 hour bone breaking and skin tearing thai massage.. though it nearly killed me, but it was the best massage i ever had.. my whole body felt much more relaxed..

we were off to suan lum night bazaar after that and it was business as usual for both of us, as we were back to shopping and of course, barganing.. =p

world cup final 2006

2006-07-10T04:49:00.000+08:00

italy wins the world cup 2006 on penalties with a score of 5-3 after drawing france 1-1 even after extra time was played..

as i was watching the game, it started to rain heavily outside my home.. the hot and humid night suddenly became cool and windy, it was as though up there knew we needed some 'showers of blessings' for the biggest soccer game the world is going to witness.. =p

zinedine zidane, after an illustrious career with famous clubs, with the likes of bordeaux, torino, juventus and real madrid, is finally going to end his club and international career, at the biggest possible stage, the final of the world cup.. he has won numerous awards like FIFA player of the year award in 1998 and 2000, together with champions league medals with real madrid in 2000 and 2002, but tonight, he ended his wonderful career with a red card for a shameful headbutt on italy's centre back materazzi at 110 mins..

these 2 players seem to be in the centre of action for the whole night.. france went ahead through Zidane in the 7th minute when materazzi was adjudged to have fouled malouda as he made a clumsy challenge inside the area.. however, to me, it looked as though malouda fell clumisly as contact between the 2 had been minimal..

the french skipper cum attacking midfielder stepped up and audaciously chipped the ball to the left of gianluigi buffon's goal, the ball hitting the underside of the bar, spun half a metre over the line, and then spun out.. back into the hands of the italian keeper..

it was an exciting and breathless start, and materazzi made more than amends for conceding that penalty when he climbed above patrick vieira to level the scores in the 19th min following a superb pirlo corner kick..

the rest of the game was as per normal, with substitutions made on both sides.. luca toni had the whole stadium of italian fans when he headed in a goal from from yet again, a good pirlo free kick, however, he was slightly offside when pirlo delivered the free kick.. credit to the linesman for a correct decision..

in the 2nd period of extra time, zidane almost repeated his 1998 goals with a flashing header that forced buffon into a finger-tip feline save; two of the best players in the world at the world cup raising their game and finding each other up to the challenge with razor-sharp reflexes..

italian players no sign of distraction from the curruption scandal that rocked their domestic football.. we could see the likes of juventus relegated to serie C, while ac milan, lazio and fiorentina could see themselves in serie B..

italy were deserving winners!!

back in ntu..

2006-07-06T09:14:00.000+08:00

after i hardly returned to NTU in the past 6 months because of my industrial attachment (IA), except for the only time when i came back to hand in my IA report to my tutor.. even then, i only stayed for less than 10 mins before i was off again..

many things have changed, and most distinctively i can obeserve is the many changes in the library.. for example, the printing room, where we usually buy our lecture notes and queue for prints at several centralised printers, has been renovated to make it look more 'high class' and give it an executive feel to the students.. also, most of the common computers have been changed.. from don't know what brand to acer.. it definitely is better as there is no more lag time in logging in and opening of documents (the previous brands of computers take nearly up to 2 minutes to open a word document or a pdf document, but the acer computers now opens these same documents instantly!)

most of the buildings that have just started building when i left school for IA seems nearly completed now.. and there is also less construction works going on around..

ok time now for me to go visit my prof to find out more about the FYP i've chosen, but not necessarily get.. cheers!

genuine concern??

2006-07-04T10:08:00.000+08:00

mum recently went to shanghai for a holiday with dad and bro.. but it seems like she told the WHOLE world (i'm referring to her siblings) that she is away.. it really irritated the hell out of me, and i wonder if you all feel differently.. here it goes..

my mum left at midnight on a early thursday morning.. for more precise understanding of the timing for those who may get confused, it is 2359hrs on a wednesday night.. after peipei and i bid them bon voyage at the airport.. we went home to retire for the night..

when i woke up the next morning, i was surprised to find (i think) 3 missed calls from my grandmother's place.. i thought what happened as my grandmother has never called me before.. only i have called her to send my regards to her.. thinking something might have happened to her, i immediately called back, only to be greeted by her cheerful voice asking me whether i was free to have dinner over at her place.. arghh! its so fustrating.. in the end, i agreed to have dinner at her place the next day, which is friday, the next day..

over the weekend, i had church lector duties, so i was pretty occupied.. however i did find time to pick calls on my mobile phone.. there was my mum's second sis, inviting me over to her place for dinner on sunday, together with my mum's youngest sis, also inviting me over to her place for dinner on sunday.. arghh! i rejected both of them, not because i was irritated, but because i was really tired after duty in church.. and besides, i had prior appointments to keep.. somebody save me!

after surviving the weekend without any peace, my grandmother called me again on monday, and luckily this time i was awake to pick up the call.. she again asked me over for dinner..

i appreciate their increase in concern over me, but i really need my own time and space..

if the frequency of calls from my mum's siblings inviting me over for dinner was periodical, i wouldn't have minded the calls from them whilst my mum was away.. however, when my mum left for overseas, the frequency of calls significantly escalated.. arghh! did my mum ask them to keep a look out on me while she is away? are they showing concern for me just because my mum is away? or are they just worried i might feel alone because my mum is away?

no matter what, i would still like to say that on the whole, i appreciate their concern (no matter what the reasons behind it).. and they'll always be family to me.. i'm just complaning that i have no freedom, which i am suppose to have, when my whole family, especially my mum, is away.. :p

world cup 2006

2006-07-02T01:53:00.000+08:00

england's hope of a world cup semi-final 2006, and a possible showdown with either brazil or france ends with the penalty shootout..

10-man england once again, lost their world cup quarter-final match, with portugal running away with a 3-1 score line.. wayne rooney was sent off in the 62nd minute for either stamping on ricardo carvalho or pushing cristiano ronaldo after the latter tried to get him booked.. frank lampard missed the first penalty, steven gerrard the third.. and the nail in the coffin was sealed by jamie carragher.. who missed the fourth..

a dejected wayne rooney walking off the pitch after being sent off..

why has england, who hogged all the headlines before the world cup started with talk about having the best team in the world, always show no results..

back from diving!!

2006-06-22T09:49:00.000+08:00

i haven't had enough! 6 days at perhentian diving and 2 days at KL shopping seemed to pass by me in a flash, and before i know it, it was over! no one seems to be able to have enough of fun eh?

us in the train, while peipei posed for a picture, i prefer to laze in the bunk bed, as can be seen in the background =p

altogether 7 of us went together, some taking courses, while the rest, me inclusive, just went there to purely do fun diving.. we had much joy having fun.. as not all of us did diving together (some were on courses remember?), while some of us did diving, the rest played daidee and vice versa..

on each dive trip.. i always see the usual stuff.. trigger fish, banner fish, angel fish, blue-spotted ray, puffers and porcupine fish etc.. but on this trip, the highlight was that we saw a really really huge bumphead parrot fish and a napoleon wrasse at a dive site called T3.. whew! never seen them before and it was really an eye-opener.. and also, at another dive site, seabell rock, one of us got bitten but a really huge trigger fish, and she got a really big bruise on her left leg! what memories for us to have!

peipei and myself after a dive.. notice the stainless steel spoon stuck into the right sleeve of my wetsuit.. used as amake shift ball banger, to attract other divers' attention whenever i spot something.. even my dive instructor uses it..

all 7 of us.. from the girl in red going clockwise, that's sherrie, followed by hanxing, or sun, then his girlfriend, peixi, then peipei, then the two alex, alex chow and alex chiang, and lastly.. its me!!

while in KL, we stopped over the petronas twin towers to visit the skybridge.. wow! the view was very nice..

posing a shot onboard the skybridge..

and finally..

we all lazing in the hotel room playing some daidee and watching world cup 06 after a heavy day of shopping..

tentatively planning to go aur in august (after the national day) with the same group of people.. which is a good time to dive there, as in late august and early september, people have told me it is the whale shark and manta ray passing season.. really excited at the prospects of meeting them!

end of IA..

2006-06-14T11:08:00.000+08:00

though i was looking forward to the end of my IA, somehow when i walked through the main glass door of motorola for what may very well be the last time, i felt a sense of loss.. not that i will miss the perm staff or work there, but i will miss all the new friends i've made over the last 22 weeks.. guess we'll only get to meet up again when the new school term starts on 7 august.. wow!

my motorola employee pass.. looks handsome right? =p

the main gate at the glass door right behind the bus stop..

the main glass door of motorola.. where i walk pass every morning to get to my office..

pelepah waterfalls!!

2006-06-12T10:07:00.000+08:00

over the weekend, peipei and i accompanied 4 other friends (can't say 4 friends, should be 3 friends + 1 extra idiot, who came uninvited) to go trekking in kota tinggi's pelepah waterfalls.. it was also to sort of celebrate one of my friend's birthday..

all of us met up on a late saturday afternoon at woodlands mrt and made our way to kota tinggi from larkin bus terminal, where we had a sumptuous dinner of RM$0.30 satays and very cheap food.. yummy yummy! after that, we still had time to catch the first half of the england v/s paraguay game (which started at 9pm), before going on to a firefly cruise and subsequently retiring for the night in hotel seri kota..

the next day we were suppose to meet at 8.30am in the hotel lobby, but, that idiot not only woke up late, he took his own sweet time to wash up and change, and in the end, we only left the hotel at 9.15am for our breakfast..

we reached the base of the falls at around 10.15am after which we took a slow and easy hike up.. it was a water trek, which means most of the time we had our legs submerged in water! yeah! the trip could have been made more memorable if not for the fact that that idiot, who is a newbie in trekking, not only did listen to peipei and my advise on taking it easy and going slow, he also chose to clear some of the vertical cliffs in his own and un-safe style! arghh! as a result, he fell most of the time due to the fact that he wore army boots for the trek, which did not allow him to have proper friction and a good toe grip on the slippery rock surface.. but nevertheless, the rest of us truly enjoyed ourselves by mostly ignoring him!

it was a memorable trip for me, and i think i can say so for the rest as well (except for him).. and last but not least.. happy birthday to lianna!

office politics??

2006-06-05T08:20:00.000+08:00

friday was quite a happening day,i was in quite a bad shape due to a very heavy bout of flu, and to top it up, i experience first hand office politics, which was to me, very dirty..

first things first, after an afternoon meeting about a soon to be exhibition for our projects, which most IA students didn't bother to attend, not because we chose not to, but because we didn't really know what is going on as no one bothered to brief us..

a lady, a student from temasek polytechnic, who is the chair of this event, in her email to all the IA students and their supervisors..

"My details are:
******* Choo
DID: +65 *** ****
Email: ******@motorola.com

My vice-chairperson will be **** Wong, the guy from SMU with amazing initiative!

I have spoken with ****, who's been very helpful. He's a smart guy and he is very spear-headed - he will be key to getting things done."

well, i wonder what made her carry this SMU guy's ball to such an extent?

this SMU guy then took the initiative and sent out an email to all IA students and their supervisors.. below is an excerpt of his email..

"1) I shall propose a meeting everyday during lunch hour, to gauge the progress of this exhibition project. Means everyone has to come down and meet during lunch time, I assume everyone's lunch time is at 12pm. It would serve also as a networking environment for us all.

2) Please do not clog up the emails, as I am receiving countless number of emails from other countries' financial managers which is directly important. We have this web messenger thingy, please use that instead. IF NEED BE TO SEND EMAILS, do not CC to your supervisors or managers, just to XXX and YYY will do."

first, which idiot will meet everyday during his lunch time for this ambiguous stuff.. next, don't sound so high handed if you need volunteers for your project, you'll only put us off.. lastly, if you do not want us to CC to our supervisors, show it to us by setting an example! damn it!

a MAE engineer, who graduated from NTU some 8 years ago, also wanted participation from some of the MAE students for this exhibition, and wanted us to volunteer our services.. after getting disappointing participation, we now have to email him AND CC to our company supervisor AND our NTU tutor to say that we can't VOLUNTEER for the exhibition.

then this same engineer who called another meeting for IA students this morning at 9am, and mentioned that if we are unable to turn up, we are supposed to ask our NTU tutor to call him and let him know! what the heck? since when did our NTU tutor become our secretary, and in any case, i have hands and legs, and do not need one! how ridiculous!

me: morning sir! i need your help!

NTU tutor: yes linus! what's up?

me: could you call one of the engineers in motorola? there's a meeting at 9am and i can't make it as i got work to do for my own supervisor..

NTU tutor: why me?

me: because he said so..

its amazing when people need your help and they are so arrogant.. wow! and from the emails they sent, they managed to pissed just about everyone in the emailing list in less than 10 mins.. i certainly believe that they deserved to have a platanium award for being such as asshole..

true friends are indeed hard to find..

2006-05-30T08:37:00.000+08:00

sometimes, friends only find you when they need your help in some way or another.. other times, these same friends only find you when you can give them certain benefits..

i always believe a friend is not someone who looks for you only when they need favours or say nice things about you.. i believe a friend is someone who is always willing have fun with you, always include you in his/her planned activities, who's there and dare to criticise when he/she knows you are in the wrong and are always there for you when you are in trouble...

how many of you have these category of friends? i simply wonder.. is it just me that have little of these friends or what?

painting house..

2006-05-28T01:41:00.000+08:00

wow! today, my family had an enjoyable time painting my room and the master bedroom.. we had quite some entertainment.. first and foremost, my messy room before painting..

then, in the master bedroom, my brother and his affinity with tortoises..

also in the masterbedroom, for me, a proof that i was there before..

lastly, while painting the last wall in the master bedroom, do i seem like i am scolding profanities? muhahaha..

too bad there is no picture of my dad, who woke up the earliest, painted the most, and slept the latest to get all of our rooms done.. cheerios dad!