Blog. Blog. Blog?

The meaning of Ramadhan

2011-08-08T20:16:00.001+08:00

Each year I am left to answer this question. Although the answers have vaguely different forms, the primary essence of it remains: to purify oneself, submit wholly to Allah s.w.t, and to understand the meaning of having nothing.

More than often, Ramadhan has been said again and again as a holy month, a month to be respected by all Muslims. There's even a once-popular song (& still a popular song to me) that goes

"...bulan Ramadhan bulan cabaran, bukan bulan untuk menunggu perayaan..."
And I translate it as, "this fasting month (Ramadhan) is a challenging month, it is not a month awaiting celebration (Hari Raya Aidilfitri/Puasa)".

As it seemed, hordes of people welcomes this month with celebratory. The mosque will be full and chocked within the first week. Then subsequently, they will converge to one place for shopping and the likes. It is not wrong, but at the same time it doesn't feel right also.

I look at the massive amount of food cooked everyday and I get shocked too. It seems everybody is better off someone else's. It became like a race of who is the better cook with the better menu. The pure harmless thought of sharing with neighbours somehow have twisted the edge of the knife hasn't it?

Whilst I seek, I never have found the answer to the same question thrown to us every Islamic year. All I know is that I do my very best, within the circumstances that I have and within my limited abilities, to fulfil our obligations that were asked of us by Allah s.w.t.

May this be the bestest Ramadhan we all have. And may we be blessed to witness another Ramadhan again next year. Amin...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Ramadhan

2011-08-01T05:44:00.001+08:00

The first day of fasting starts today. Back to putting doing good deeds first and foremost, making it more special in this month, to be a better Muslim, to prepare yourself when our time is up.

To many, it could just be a new beginning. Their first fasting at a new home, as husband and wife, or with a new child, at a new work, or as a retired person, or even at a distant land. It would be a significant point in their lives.

Ramadhan is the time for compassion. To remember the less fortunate, assist them, help them. For each goodwill that we do, He shall reward us umpteen times better - as long as we are sincere.

Hopefully, this Ramadhan will be a blessed period for all Muslim comrades. We shall emerge victorious against the tempts of syaitan. Amin ya rabbal 'alamin.

Marhaban ya Ramadhan.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Work

2011-07-10T00:22:00.001+08:00

Working life. You remembered those great times you had? The wonderful colleagues aka watercooler chat buddies, bitching buddies, joke buddies? Something happened and it breaks all of you up. Then you wished for it back.

I asked from God that the next working place I go to, I hoped it'll be a more relaxed environment - and true enough he gave me. I really think my wish has been given. But there were trade offs. My boss is unpredictable, my colleagues are boring and communication between working partners were mostly through emails.

I would think that we humans needs more face-to-face interactions. I really find it stupid for you to send email to ask a simple question when the person is in front of you (unless you are gossiping! hehe). People also pickup the phone to call someone else from across the cubicle. Sigh...

It's so different from the likes of my previous employments. I kindda miss it now. Oh well...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I Can't Get No Satisfaction

2011-07-08T13:09:00.001+08:00

The title is from a song actually... haha and its reminisce from that movie White Chicks - catch it if you have not.

Now back to topic.

It has been written somewhere and spoken many times: humans are never a satisfied lot. When we have something, we seek to achieve another and the crave goes on. Given the technological marvel that we have achieved so far, it would be apt to say this human trait has been advantageous thus far.

Until you see the other side of the coin.

This unsatisfaction that we have may rear its ugly head one day. People comparing with others and then leading to unhealthy level of competition. I'm surprised myself during the times in the previous employment. All that I was looking for after I signed the letter was the fat bonuses that I always hear people get. Then it hit me, no bonus for me during both the performance bonus and mid-year bonus period. It was afterall a bad economy. But what changed after that was a simpler expectation - of nothing. I told myself if I have no bonus at the end of the year, I'm still ok because I've been working without bonuses anyways. Then it came at the end of the year. And it came again for the performance bonus, and again and again. I must say I was really thankful for all that's been given. But I resigned slightly after because working there had reached unhealthy levels.

Coming into this new place, people have also been telling me that it will be exactly as how I've experienced in my previous employment in terms of bonus payouts. However, this mid-year I've yet to hear of any announcement about it so far and its baffling to the others maybe of how late the announcement is this time around. I must be the unlucky virus carrier.. haha.. everywhere I go, I bring the no-bonus virus with me.

But I've resigned knowing even if I won't get it, I am still ok. Must be lah.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Another step forward

2011-06-28T18:30:00.000+08:00

Being scared of the unknown is a common flaw amongst us humans. Seldom we venture out of our safety line and seek out what lies beyond. And when we past that moment, we wondered what would've it been if I had...

I think I've done my best to venture out as far as possible, within means and ability. I've made choices and even if it turned out bad, thankfully seldom do, I never look back upon it again. Given the next leap towards adulthood, there should be more to explore and experience - to open your eyes and understand, appreciate the world, the community and the surroundings.

When I ended my National Service duties, I told myself that by 28 I shall have a stable job and time to concentrate at that. And by the time I am 30, it would be time to get married. Though the latter might be a bit harder, the former may be within grasp - may, I shall enforce. Who knows... I may actually like the job and stay on till my mid-life crisis comes about.

Given the opportunity and time, I wanna adventure physically and beyond. Wanna try new things, wanna meet new people and make friends and to venture out to unknowns and things that I may have ignored and refused before. Have done it just this week and hopefully can do it somemore.

I'm needing to remind myself that I am contented and blessed with what I have and have been given. A good family, a good life, good friends and acquaintances. Thank You God for these past 28 years, through laughter and pain, tears and joy.

I wouldn't have it done any other way.
(except maybe to have a little more money to buy me a car? hehe... but nah I can't maintain it). Yah, ok I'm done.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

2011-05-11T18:24:00.001+08:00

Whenever I am supposed to go on a long leave, something will happen to screw up the joy of looking forward to the leave.

I remember my time in previous workplace. Everytime I go for a long holiday, means the last workday will be spent till the wee hours of the night, even once in the early morning.

Seems that curse is here to stay. You tell me when does connecting a monitor to a laptop takes hours to resolve? Blooody tiny dots of LED... how come its so hard kanasai ah. Yes, till 6pm just now I was still trying to figure out why the fish does the monitor not showing its resolution correctly. Still no answer. Feel like blaming the old laptop - but its not that old!! Even when I used that kindda laptop in my previous workplaces it worked.

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!?!!!?!

2011-05-09T08:15:00.001+08:00

Ok so the General Elections are done with for this time. The next one will be in 5 years time. Climate might have just changed by then. PAP goes into Parliament with 81 seats of the 87 avail. Worker's Party managed to hold on to their SMC in Hougang as well as grasping hold of Aljunied GRC from the ruling party. Potong Pasir has fallen back to the PAP under Sitoh Yi Pin.

Congrats to all. Let's work hard for this island we call home.

While they were showing the election results, I too lost... My wallet. Sigh... All gone ahh the cards I need. :(

2011-05-06T08:49:00.001+08:00

Next time, don't help.
Especially lame people.

Because your assistance can get you in trouble.

Not my fault that they are dumb enough to not know what they are doing before doing it.
Not my fault for wanting to help them on their request.
Not my fault for trying to be careful and seek their inputs for the next course of action.
My fault for just wanting to help.

Full stop.

Of taxis and such

2011-05-06T06:41:00.001+08:00

I've given up on flagging a taxi on this last day of my Ops duty. To hell even if the company pays for my cab fare. I'll rely on the trusty old bus. Who knows I might even be faster than waiting and eventually getting a cab say in 15-20mins time.

The perennial issue about these taxis/cabs (yea we are Singaporeans afterall... so both meant the same to us) is that it is not around when you needed it most, it comes when not many are in the queue and then they had the taxis queued up long one after another waiting for passengers which will only come in drips and drabs.

And my angst with the Transport authority is that this issue will never be resolved. Or they choose to ignore it. Just like the overcrowding of the trains, roads, buses, slowness of the buses, fare hikes etc. Hence, it leads back to the government. Hence, a clear message will need to be sent - to hell of we need to repent or not. At least, in talking terms, the gates of hell is waiting for you and creeping closer than it is for us. That xia-xue dumb fake blondie should be dragged into with the afore-mentioned. Nonsense.

For many years people have been saying that there is a need to distinguish the COEs for cars and taxis but do they listen? For every new taxi that sits at the taxi company's depot, there is one less quota for the normal cars. And as they rake up more taxis, yet unable to find drivers for these taxis, the number of cars goes up and then they blame it on Singaporeans being affordable to buy cars - that some even have more than one. *stranggle*

Then when you talk about the wonderful taxi drivers, whenever the news reports, 85% of these drivers will say "yah, business is quite bad. We wish the government can help... yadda yadda yadda... Taxi company should blahblahblah". Guess where they were when the passengers were a plenty? Hide lor. Wait for the wonderful peak period surcharge, midnight surcharge, airport surcharge. And they still dare!

2011-05-05T22:47:00.001+08:00

Life is never fair.

While you struggled to have enough to pay your bills while schooling, your classmates are happily splurging their allowance given by their parents. You sit and starve, only waiting for lessons to end so that you can finally go home and eat. Once in a blue moon, you have just enough to afford that singles burger meal from BK - and you still need a coupon to get that low price. Often, close friends will bring those coupons in case the moment comes unexpectedly.

You get the cable channel so that the whole family will be able to enjoy their free time. You share your Internet for all to use. You voluntarily take over from your married siblings the bills because you know it should not be their burden.

Does anyone really care?

That's why I always tell myself, life will never be fair. Even after the arguments, you know nothing will change. So I give up. In silence, just let me suffer.

070511: A New Political Landscape?

2011-05-02T13:14:00.001+08:00

They say it will be a world...
They say change will be made...
They say they are unanimous...
They say that it is high time for more opposition voices...

All these have been said before, and again.
In 2006, there were widespread angst amongst Singaporeans and although not as evident as it is now, they seemed to be rallying in the opposition end. Many hold with debated breath when the results were announced.

PAP controlled all other wards except Potong Pasir and Hougang.

2011 is here and now. With the opposition rally getting more attendance from the mere folks (yes, the PAP ones were mostly peppered with their own cheerleaders), will this election be the one where the tsunami comes in, sweep its changes and leaves us with a whole new land to begin planting with? (Yup, I'm putting the tsunami concoction in a more positive light - too much negative news from Japan I guess :)).

The contested ward of Aljunied GRC seems to be a hotspot.
Hougang and Potong Pasir will see its fair share of punches there as the strongholders have both moved on to contest in GRCs.
It remains to see if the Ang Mo Kio GRC which voted in the last poll with a small majority win for the PAP will remain contented with what their PM has done for them and for Singapore.

With all the sentiments on the ground right now (even the former MPs agree and I quote) "...former MPs and observers tell The Straits Times that they are witnessing a rise in levels of dissatisfaction being voiced towards the ruling party not seen in 20 years...", who knows what will happen in a few days time.

2011-04-23T17:58:00.001+08:00

I made 2 purchases recently, within a day. One was a collection of short films, but mainly was to get Keluar Baris - a short film by Boo Junfeng. Then, Sandcastle also by the same director. Both are local films by a local director. Both concludes with an NS enlistment of the main actors.

I believe the latter was building on the short film storyline and added with a few other elements like family, love and growing up while the short film's focus was q-merely on the main actor coping with the reality of going to NS.

Like another review I read, I too am less critical of local films. Then again, I am not that critical to any movies. To me, you just need to take it at face value, understand it and appreciate it. Why do you to analyse so much anyways??

It was a worthy purchase these 2 films on DVD. But I recommend those who wish to see a full feature local movie to buy Sandcastle. Keluar Baris is only around 15mins so you might feel shortchanged unless you appreciate short films.

Have a great Easter weekend y'all! Toodles...

2011-04-18T15:33:00.001+08:00

Waiting is a chore. Seriously depleted everytime. Feel like sleeping.

Appointment at 2.30pm.
1hr later now queuing for Xray. Doc says if tendon something, xray also won't help.

Oklah doc, then why you don't suggest a better way? Im mere mortals.

2011-04-17T21:26:00.001+08:00

Someone once told me that swimming is relaxing - in a sense, therapeutic. I screamed back saying that applies only for those who actually KNOWS how to swim.

Fast forward to yesterday, I realised that it was indeed ok. Just need to let go of yourself and not to to rush through it. Surely it can be done. It helps that the surrounding was lush greenery also and not many people there.

And the best part about the weekend was I sprained my arm... Yaay! It like literally snapped out of alignment and when I tried moving it, it miraculously snapped back. But it hurts and still hurting.

A nice weekend and things of thought

2011-04-16T08:59:00.001+08:00

Have loads planned for this weekend. Am at Larkin's McDonalds while blogging this. Come to think of it, I was at Mac's yesterday too - West Coast Park... loved the place. Yeah, it's the ambience thingy.

Just let mom and aunts out to do their own marketing. Since gramps is not with us today, it should be slightly faster. So while they do the shoppe, I tap on Mac's WIFI to do this post.

Life has been good to me. In fact its been surprisingly good and just on Thu got an sms saying they got my CV from someone for a SysAdmin job. It's an oil and energy company. It was enticing considering the bonuses that they pay might push me off my debts haha but then again, that has not been established yet how much they are willing to pay. Then I looked at the JD... and it occurred to me that it might be a position that will make me busy all over again. That was something I was not willing to take given the big space I have at the current job.

The pushing element for me to that new opening was it is a big corporation and I would gain to benefit from that in terms of experience of handling the IT aspects. Then also it is based in Aussie and globally they have their prescence made me think of the possibility of going overseas for work. So other than the might-be-booms paycheck, those were the points that were pushing me. Not forgetting I just found out it was on a 4.5days work week....

The drawbacks though... like I said, might be too busy hence no time for school. The current job is a quite slow haha and therefore I can afford to juggle work and think of school.

But the thing is current job is stagnant... it being a charitable organisation (with civil service bonuses), their emphasis on IT was more of need to instead of want to. So instead of IT being the complementing factor, it was more of we-have-no-choice factor. Hence, it is not up to par to industry standards. But it might be a permanent job and secure as long as there is still a need for the main business. Hehe.

Oh well... so I passed this on to my friend and hopefully he can get it and stick to this job and make loadsa money and settle his financial issues, be a better person and make a difference to the community. Haha... How noble my intentions eh?

Missed one train... But it might not be for me. Hopefully as I accomplish my degree, more trains will stop by for me to ride on.

Gday everyone. Shall blog again when I chillout.

Being a Malay

2011-03-31T19:04:00.001+08:00

A community of drug addicts,
School dropouts,
Pre-marital sex thus wedlock child(ren),
Sickly, obese, stupid, poor, lazy...

The notorious days, some people lamented, may have passed. We can see Malay children getting good grades, graduating from universities, have good job and family, can afford condos and cars... But what is the truth? What can you see in real life underneath the sheltered waters no one bothered to dive into?

Has my community really progressed?
Really?

There is a big divide between the have and have-nots. What we like to highlight are always the rosy figures. Truth is, as we developed our community away from the negative influences, 1 out of 5 will be the forgotten ones. I am not quoting any figures, merely out of my own experiences.

The impact to the overall community outlook is not big and therefore we will not notice this. Or perhaps we choose not to. The better ones seems snobbish to even care. And the ones who needs caring wouldn't even help themselves.

So even as we hear the progression card being played again and again, whenever I look out of the window of the bus or MRT or even the car when I am in one, I sigh to think we still have a loong way to solve this.

Sadness leads to ramblings

2011-03-30T08:27:00.001+08:00

It's true right?!

Haha... Now that I am no longer that sad, I have scaled down my ramblings here. And on top of that, I seldom go out also so there isn't much to notice and ramble again. Of course, I think most importantly, I need to record down my trips here...

Work has been ok... Sleepy at most time, sometimes due to late nights, sometimes cause there's nothing to do, and sometimes - actually most of the time - cause there's no one to talk to. It's a quiet office! It would've been the perfect situation had it been the case for my previous job, the quietness would've enabled us to work better. Then again, maybe we had to make the room noisy to avoid being sucked into work too much, or the evil people who just wants to make life difficult, or just external dumbers who refused to support hence making work even more difficult.

Anyways, it is Week 3 Day 3 and it's already my induction programme today! So fast huh... My coming out day at the previous place was during our Corporate Retreat, not Orientation/Induction mind you! Ahhh how that always brings back great memories. I don't foresee doing anything like that here at the new place. Culture-wise maybe they are not prepared yet.

Oh well... Wish myself luck hopefully it can at least be a bearable time later. My eyes are getting groggy already. Lol.

2011-03-23T08:36:00.001+08:00

I've long heard from SingTel mobile users of erratic data coverage. It was never an issue with Starhub until recently. But really not sure to blame the phone or coverage. It just gets the full bar signal but unable to connect to the data network. So calls will go through but say goodbye to surfing the net and the apps that needs the net.

Angels in Disguise

2011-03-18T18:36:00.001+08:00

Corrine May has a song that goes

"...Take a look at the ordinary
Don't need to look for Paradise
You could be next to an angel in disguise..."

Don't you wonder sometimes why a kind soul would do something good for you out of a sudden? And even better, the person is a stranger.

It happened just last Friday. I was waiting for the bus going for prayers. Was a cool day as the morning was drizzling. Then out a sudden, this taxi driver was horning at me then waving frantically to get on. Yes, my disclaimer here is... If you are a sweet young thing and the taxi driver has noooo legitimate reason for him to give you a lift then please for God's sake decline his offer. As for me, it's a kind gesture and I took it up (yes, I have some insurance that my family can claim should I be found dead).

It was then that the song just blurted out in my mind. I used to imagine the song to have an accompanying video that depicts a dark rainy day and some destitute (sp?) drenched in the rain and the human-like angel gives the destitute an umbrella, the destitute returns a smile and then the angel takes out her halo, spreads her wings and fly to the sky. While she does that, the gloomy weather dissipates (sp?) and it became a sun shiny day. Hmm but then no need to use umbrella already what?! Sigh, never think in advanced.

Anyways, to the kind soul who believes in doing a good deed on a Friday, thank you for the lift. May Allah bless you. Amin.

End of Day 1... The verdict?

2011-03-14T18:30:00.001+08:00

Verdict: I need more time

For what?
EVERYTHING!!

1. To learn the names of my team members because they are all Chinese names with the exception of my reporting supervisor

2. To understand the whole infra better and firmly knows what to do in a case where parts of the infra goes down. The brief overview can give you this very slacked vision of how the whole thing is but surprised you will be when you understand the environment better

3. To make friends - especially. I don't think I managed to find close friends in the former place within the first 2 months, even worst one of my closer friends initially thought I was an irritant. Hehe.. brings back good memories, who would've thought eh?

4. My former boss told me to give my former position sometime and that usually people can only decide wisely after being in a place for 6-mths. I heeded his advise and worked there for 2 full years. :)

It's a brand new day, brand new story...

2011-03-14T08:30:00.001+08:00

The words from Corrine May's Song for Singapore never fails to be repeated everytime I'm on a new path in my life.

But truth be told, it syncs nicely with a new journey doesn't it. It could have been any other normal day. I could've been on my way on a train to City Hall where my former place is. Or in the too recently case, still hugging my pillow refusing to budge even if the chilling winds tears into my skin. Hmm ok this point of time I wonder if I got the correct spelling for tear, as in rips apart kindda tear, not the eye watery tears thingy... they both have the same spelling huh? Wow...

Anyways back to today... will be the start of a new workplace. It will be different, work-wise, but nothing that I've never done before hopefully. Back to supporting users as a technical helpdesk person.

And on top of everything (oh no I didn't bring my notepad to write everything that I will be briefed on), today will also be the beginning of the school term at a new place instead of previously at MDIS. Praying will be a hassle unlike MDIS which is so near, the mosque is just across the road.

Oh well, here's to a good new start hopefully. Luqe is also going for his first day today. Lyn might just start new position in April and Terry has recently been shuffled into an office job environment. Looks like things are ok with my pals... So I hope this works out for me too.

Hwaiting!

2011-03-07T20:28:00.001+08:00

My iPhone just got a new layer of skin! A glossy one. Hehe and damn it made my screen brighter and it shines! Hell yea it shines!! Haha... Eat that!

Just plain simply

2011-03-01T23:29:00.001+08:00

There is a story some colleague told me. A particular someone if given something that the person don't like will actually give it back to whoever who gave it. I just thought its plain rude.

Same goes today.

When someone gives you something, you either reject it on grounds which you have to justify yourself or you take that damn thing, smile and say thank you. What you do with the thing next is up to you but you better jolly well not let the person who gave you know.

Those who takes and then returns back have no basic respect. You never know the effort put in to get the gift for you, of sore feet, of endless hours, of headaches, who knows near-death experience... and through all that, you simply brush it off and say "it's okay, I give it to you as a gift..."

OFFENSIVE!!!! argh the world... Shortening my life!!!

2011-02-28T23:22:00.001+08:00

If anything I have regrets during my poly time was 2 things.

The fact that I decided to forgo the Mendaki subsidy - which means I could've saved 7k plus to pump into future spendings, and the choice of Info-Comms as my course.

The money without a doubt could've assisted me during this time to pay forth my university education fees. But then again, if I didn't, I wouldn't have the discipline to keep aside 1/3 of my pay for a whole year which goes to wiping out that debt. And it was through that, I continued to save the same amount even after the debt was settled which then paid for my driving lessons. In a way, I can say I PAID FOR MY OWN TERTIARY EDUCATION. W00t!

As for Info-Comms, it was supposedly in demand and StarHub was the idea that pushed me towards choosing IFC... with the end in mind, to work for StarHub when I graduated. Fast forward 11 years later, I am nowhere close in going to StarHub. I have applied for numerous vacancies there but there never seems to be anything. But I'm still a supporter of StarHub because I still share their dreams. What dreams? Dunno. Lolz.

This time around, another family member will be filling up the forms for Poly education. He will apply for the subsidy and he is going into Aerospace Engineering. I really think kids these says have all the opportunities and avenues to make it big. While I stare at the eroding payscale of the IT newbies no thanks to the ever burgeoning supply of lower-cost labour, I always wonder why had I not pluck enough courage to pursue what I really wanted. And given the second chance, I still stuck to the one thing that I know will make me stagnant.

Sigh. Oh well, it is a done deal after all.

2011-02-25T11:16:00.001+08:00

Whenever I finish an interview, I feel so tired. I think age have caught up with me - sadly. The journey back from the interviewing location would have me asleep on the train or bus.

Not sleeping now cause it's supposed to be a few stops away so I decided to blog instead. So far, it has been a hard journey finding a new job. Ya lah young man got no patience just leave without a care. Life was supposed to be carefree and I took it literally. *smiles*

Nevertheless, pursue on. Jiayo!

SWARMing

2011-02-24T19:02:00.001+08:00

I take the MRT, where possible, from Pasir Ris - in all honesty so that I can get a seat. Some peeps from Simei and Tampines bounce back to Pasir Ris before heading their way wherever it is, for the same reason as me.

I just noticed how wonderful the crowd in Singapore can be when it comes to MRT seats. Just try taking from Pasir Ris, or any of the ending stations like Joo Koon or Marina Bay. Because these stations are usually not so crowded and their successive stations are, you will notice a swarming kindda effect when the MRT reaches those stations.

When the door opens, the piranahs outside will charrrrgee their way in and find the most available victim (seat). Just look at their heads when they do that. If those in a family, even better. The bigger it is, the more excited they get. Add in the kpo auntie or typical kiasu uncles... Power lah the scene.

If I need to explain network swarming activity next time for my lessons, I'll just record them in action. Who knows, A just for the effort! Damn, hell you gonna give me a HD!

UN

2011-02-23T23:25:00.000+08:00

You know what it is right?
United Nations lah.

I think it's run by a buncha idiots.

Libya got demonstration - "...we are monitoring the situation... stop excessive force..."
Iraq with Saddam - "... we condemn the acts of evil... innocent lives must not be sacrificed ..."
Palestine bombed by their "neighbour" - "... ..."

Whatever lah...

Untitled Tuesday

2011-02-22T07:25:00.001+08:00

"It's a brand new day, a brand new story... I remember how it used to be..."

Yeap... A new morning all cool and breezy. All the kindness the world have shown. There's the cries of the baby. There's the rushing of the working adult. The water gushing off the tap. And an old man.

An old man who bitterly says things without consideration. Every word that comes off from his always feels like darts on the skin... It just shoots. From the tiniest of mistake mankind can see to the smallest faith that one can feel, he points it out the mistake and crushes the faith one ever had. He's mean. And he will probably stay the same till the world ends or his life ends - whichever cometh first. May God forgive his sins to people around him, for the people are not willing to forgive him.

Forgive him for abolishing his duties.
Forgive him for all the sins that he has committed before.
Forgive him as what he believes often changes from day to day.
Forgive him for all the negativity that only he himself spreads.

And with forgiveness... the rest of the story he shall continue.

Note: This is not a poem. It is a prayer for the soul who don't see the sins and problems he himself creates but yet can point out the lackings of the other individuals around him.

How things have changed

2011-02-21T13:45:00.001+08:00

Things have changed. In fact the constant change that we go through each day as this place grows might just diminish all memories of yesterdays.

It is until you travel though a familiar, though lost in the ever changing environment, that you are being recalled of the times that you have spent there.

That familiar shop.
That bridge.
That long grass swaying in the wind.
It is similar, most of them.

Then amongst it, a bench? A garden? A road? They were never there in the first place weren't they?

Ahh. How things changed. Lest I forget about it, I shall note it down.

The place I once always go to in Hougang.

Packed day today

2011-02-12T15:10:00.001+08:00

Was at Sengkang attending a Chinese New Year get together with an ex-colleague's place - just a small affair thingy. Her husband invited his NS Buddies (yup NS really bonds guys together for a long time I tell you)...

Now at a friend's wedding in Pasir Ris. So many people getting married hehe. Just don't get silat part.

First test of video embedded post from iPhone

2011-02-03T13:11:00.001+08:00

Disclaimer: This is a test posting from my iPhone app. If this does not work, I will not be liable for any legal or non-legal suit directed against me. Have mercy and move on to the next best richer person who you know.

Happy Chinese New Year to all!! My little fren here wants to say something to you...

YouTube Video

1st month done-d

2011-01-31T08:36:00.001+08:00

Wasn't it like yesterday that I was counting down at the top of Imbiah Walk to a new start of 2011? No? Oh you mean a month has gone by so quickly?

Yeap, that's the reality of life now. Another sign of the coming of qiamat where a 1000 months feels like 10 months (ok the quantity comparisons of months is something I made up).

Today got a few events - firstly one of my farewell lunches with the engineers, then farewell dinner with some Malay folks and then karaoke, then Kumar nite for Lyn's birthday.

Packed rite?
Well, in a way letting
My hair down for the last time till school and or work starts whichever comes first.

I went through my blog and realised that at its heydays, my max entries per month was ard 10 and it was during my last few months in NS - not during Poly. Interesting fact eh...

The last of ... Friday prayers

2011-01-28T14:09:00.001+08:00

It has been my place of worship the past 2 years. Now, I've done my last Friday prayers at Al-Falah mosque. Saying goodbye to my long time Friday prayers buddy and occasionally lunch time companion.

There's just so much goodbyes. And nice people who gave me gifts for my help... Though I really did so little. Must prep thank you card.

Traffic Police in action

2011-01-25T09:08:00.001+08:00

Its another round of catch-the-jaywalkers here in City Hall area. Lest you are that dumb, you'ld be better off crossing at the correct place.

They are watching you.... Hehe

Countdown to nothingness

2011-01-25T08:21:00.001+08:00

While someone else is striking the days off while awaiting whether the crossover would be successful or not, I shall strike off the next 6 working days with nothing to look forward to. A repeat of December 2008 - only different is no holiday while waiting for job. :(

People say wait for after Chinese New Year. Don't think I got much choice also.

Flavour of the ...

2011-01-22T00:18:00.001+08:00

I've never worry about being accepted. To me whoever who don't like me - to hell with them. Quit thick-skinned right? But seriously, I give no heck bout it.

Unless you are one person I wanna know. Haha... there goes the exception.

*buncha pizza hut riders got stopped by traffic police lol*

Suddenly now I'm wondering is there really someone out there that thinks/wish ills for me. It gets scary from here on.

14 days into 2011...

2011-01-14T09:08:00.001+08:00

... And I don't see any hope of a better future in here. We look at signboards and banners that screams at you "tomorrow will be a better day"-ish and that hope just dashed around 8am today.

I've given up on this job, pretty much literally threw that sealed envelope to the management (and my guess is as good as yours that they were delighted to get rid of that sticking rod of CIS).

So the history of CIS - a short but fulfilling 1.5yrs - have closed and will (maybe not) live on in the books of a certain organisation. TKP went ahead to throw hers on Wednesday the 5th. So mine went after her on 7th.

Most people have a carefree life after this but apparently not me. Yay... Nothing new lah. I'm squeezed to the very last drop of blood there is in me.

Here's cheers to hopefully find a new job and obviously a better one at it. Yammmmmmmm seeenngggg....

After that wonderful eve

2010-12-31T08:47:00.001+08:00

Which Eve? Nah, not the Adam one. Eve of Christmas.

I know that I'm not supposed to celebrate Christmas but i'm sorry, it is just Christmas! The time to be with close ones, friends or family. Given the occasion, one would think somebody would come on in to the office and spread some spirit around.

Apparently, Santa thought that we've been naughty and therefore no presents under the Christmas tree. Boohoo.

It is pathetically sad to see in the distant view of nice people having a Christmas like we all know of - food and drinks, singing and smiles away. Take a level up and the whole community is having a communal gathering.

It is lost to us what Christmas brings as a unity of workforce people. Even more saddening recalling how it was said that "... We will need to inject fun while we are working, it must start with us and then spread to the rest of others". And how did that turn out? Our first Christmas under a new helm... This is soooo the moment I shall in memory. The day the grinch stole Christmas.

And so how would I think this next eve will happen? Eve of New Year. Rumours has it that there will be some celebration today. Trust me, I have given up any miracles that can happen.

Yup, a bitch I can be.

Nevertheless, may the year come in beautifully, may better opportunity presents itself and may 2011 be great for all. Happy New Year everyone...

"should all acquantaince be forgot and never brought to mind..."

Relieved

2010-12-28T22:05:00.001+08:00

Now that assignments are *poof* from my mind, hopefully to go back to normalcy.

Firstly to ensure that work is brought down back to a stable level - a very big big big issue this thingy. I have to admit it is my problem but can't help it to point fingers at everybody else who is bringing to this pointing fingers mode. If only they really really know how bad this SOE thingy.

Next, to clean up my room for the new year. Many many nonsense stuff have been making their home in my lovely room (ok la so it is not lovely but it is my room lor so how?!).

And then... keep my finances stable. Everytime I get a bonus I will be this uncontrollable spender who doesn't know where his ka-chings went to. To indulge oneself when there's the room for it... I bet you it is mandatory for the girls. But I deserve it too you know.

Neways, it seems that this jump I wanna make from the current place is really really hard. Keep on getting rejection emails. Nothing positive yet. 2 years ago around this time, I signed my life out to the current company. Soon, the 2 years will be up and my 3rd year will begin. The desire to leave is getting more and more vocal but unless there is any job offers out there, it pretty much dimmers my hopes.

So, my wish for 2011 is to be patience and hopefully find a good opening to jump to. I wanna conclude my degree program according to the schedule and hopefully no retakes etc.

Lerrr aku bau taik plak.... Sapa sak kentot ke tercecel dalam sluar. Lol.

Okay... Tomorrow to face my first challenge.

The Countdown... to a new beginning

2010-12-27T09:21:00.000+08:00

Christmas has gone quite swiftly. And next will be a new year. It just whizz past us isn't it? The end of the 1st year, of the 2nd decade of the 21st century. Yea when you think of it, officially a century should have been 2000-2009, 2010-2019 so on and so forth.

I will blog more when I have succumb to the mood. Currently just rushing out one thing after another. Nope, it is not a good time. Hopefully it is for y'all. Enjoys!

Another new week eh peeps

2010-12-06T07:56:00.001+08:00

Alritey. 2nd week of December 2010. 3rd last week of 2010. A blissful week ahead? Hell sure won't let me be...

So now... The weekend was a unity of 2 lovely people - my cousin her her now lawfully wedded husband. Have a great and long, memorable life together. May you be blessed with future offsprings and that peace and harmony will always accompany the both of you.

Toodles kids... Toodles!

December can't come any earlier issit?

2010-11-29T08:34:00.001+08:00

People might have been shocked at my emotional outburst on Facebook. Oh well, in respect to the current $h!+h()|€ that I am in, I honestly think I am entitled to it.

I'm not picking cherries but why issit that I have to do manager's job when I signed up for admin job? Aren't you being unfair to me? I don't care what is coming in the future, that's for future discussion. As of now, I resist all the shit you are passing over to me.

Urghh... Why God why? Why can't December come any earlier? Dying already!!!

Of bonuses and repercussions

2010-11-25T08:20:00.001+08:00

Yup. It shall be known that the public sector will be getting a maximum of 4 mths for good performing officers. 2 mths this coming year end, up to 1.6 mths in Mar 2011 and of course the already given 0.5 mths in Jul 2010.

For a person who has not tasted bonus for a very long time, what came last year (the small 13th month only) was an amazing gift for me. And to think they are giving a little bit more this year - I am just grateful.

People don't really know what we smaller division officers have worked for. The 1001 things that were never part of our work we sometimes (or for me, mostly) have to do because of the lack of manpower, incompetent (or mostly lazy) bosses, even more incompetent colleagues especially ones who are considered managers that do nothing but yet get paid each month (thank god he's released from duties) and other stories. Mind you I actually experienced all these.

So no matter how little or a lot we are given, contrary to popular rationalism that public servants are lazy and slow, we deserve every penny. And I'm saying this for the thousand others who are in my shoe - exploited by bosses, higher ranking colleagues, and those who face the public; of the inconsiderate manner they are often treated. Yes, to hell what you read about the floods, the millions embezzled, the overbudget of YOG. WE DESERVE EVERY PENNY.

Look at those higher management if you want to blame and scrap these bonuses. For they are the ones who talk so high and returned so low. Wonders why we keep on paying them the highest and withstand the most blunders of their actions. Oh I know. So that we can blame them for everything - THERE! My theory still stands. WE ALL DESERVE EVERY PENNY!!

Haha.
This article is in no relation to any government entity and reflects personal views and ramblings which if unscruptulous and evilicious people would like to report to the authorities, will have no bearings at all and you are obviously too free so you belong to the bunch of people I detest. Again, haha!

Of sleepless nights

2010-11-23T07:34:00.001+08:00

People have difficulty sleeping at night. It's weird isnt't it? I never seem to have that issue - either I choose not to sleep or head-hit-pillow and lala land for me. So maybe these people have a more stressful life than I am having currently.

I just thought of the most ridiculous way to turn things around. Quit without a job, borrow from daddy to pay for the remaining months that I'm not working while using my bonus and savings to pay my bills. Honestly, I've been working hard to make sure the family is prioritised but now I'm feeling the burden. So why not family help me first... Just a small favour for me? Hehe.

Will be great if that all turns out well. But no spending power, rotting at home and bestly... sucking out parent's money - soo not me. But I will pay back... Yes.

Working and studying is a tiring option currently. Can't take it anymore. Shall seek enlightenment.

Its Another Day ... Another Story

2010-11-22T07:35:00.001+08:00

Heyyyy.... it's me again on a shining Monday morning. Say goodbye to all the blues because hell has more fury. Wahhaha. What nonsense.

Aight. With the help of my trusty iPhone, hopefully I can blog more often. As for today, I don't think there's much to look out for although it's close to end month so the end year bonus announcement will be out soonest. Now shall wait for that won't we.

Looking out across the harbour

2010-11-21T22:43:00.001+08:00

Wondering when was the last time I took time to appreciate the views that surrounds this tiny island. It isn't magnificient unlike what we see maybe on the coast of Cape of Good Hope... haha, I look so far.

Anyways, like I said I took the time just now to look and admire at how much have changed even with the relatively short period (last I was there was in May this year). Sadly, I'm still me, same job, same unhappy times though people might question this seeing that I am still happy-go-lucky, and still so short of time for everything.

Hopefully, 2 months can change all of these. Pretty much crossing my fingers now. Need all the luck I can get.

PS: Typing this off while I'm on my iPhone. Sooooo fun!!

I must be crazy...

2010-10-09T07:19:00.001+08:00

and pretty much so. Went onrampage to clear all my invoices n yet i still cannot fully finish.

Let the spirit of visiting finally start

2010-09-30T00:43:00.001+08:00

2 weeks...
3 test papers...
1 In Camp Training...

finally i managed to celebrate hari raya. Started on last sunday and expected to cross into post-raya mode of next week with today being the no 2 time i went out -- with my close friends from sec sch.

Pengertian Ramadhan

2010-09-07T23:22:00.000+08:00

This night, marks the 2nd last night for the fasting month. With the end of the terawih prayers just now, there is exactly only 1 night left to perform the night prayers. And it is during these last few days that many would reflect on the significance of their Ramadhan.

To be truthful, this isn't my month. In between work, school and my own personal space (if any in the first place), there is pretty much no time left for me. Work without a doubt is always and has always been taxing. Being an all-in-one person does take a toll on me now. School is taking up a lot of time this semester because there is 3 modules in total. One of the modules is a tough one - asking for a Workshop assignment to be handed in each week. Good thing the lecturer is flexible but I don't think many of us managed to finish everything.

The time spent with the Creator went from minimal to nil while the assignments were rushed out. Even during the lunch break, work still goes through for fear that it could continue to pile up if left the next day. Every night is a tiring night - even as I am typing this, I'm feeling sleepy already. But lest the assignment will not be done, I need to sacrifice sleep.

So if anyone were to ask me, this is really not the best of my Ramadhans. I have not done much nor done well in anything. The act of fasting is just that - for hunger and thirst only. I hope there is still a chance for another Ramadhan next year to renew and re-devote myself again... more properly in that time around.

Selamat berpuasa semua... and Selamat Hari Raya, Mohon Maaf Zahir & Batin.

Getting lazier by the day

2010-05-02T13:03:00.000+08:00

Since the last update (god knows when), many things have had happened. Yet, I did not even put up anything here.

But since I'm in, just wanna do some ramblings.

I wonder how come clever people talk in a weird way and thinks about non-important things. They use bombastic words and interlinks all sorts of issues. Sometimes, I think they do it to look clever so when those words gets to me (being the non-dictionary-infested person), I will give them the confused I'm-dumb-you-know look. They are in their own world.

Then... there's another bunch of people who study in the league of extraordianary schools and you would think they are clever enough to get into that school and they score well for their exams and all... but yet when you ask them to do real-life work or tasks, they get crippled. Their brains will not work. Their hands refuse to move. And they get it done (not!) disastrously.

Why oh why oh why do these people exists?

No Post?

2009-12-10T06:55:00.001+08:00

Yah, no post.

Haha...

Story for the Week

2009-10-16T19:05:00.003+08:00

Currently on the bus, so felt like blogging in a bit. Yea... suddenly I'm alive and blogging eh? Entahlah knapa. Anyways...

One of the day this week, I went to the loo - getting some minor business done. So there I was lepaskan air terjun ke Gua Tongtaik when the Samseng Kampong Longkang datang menghadap aku. Dah lah masih tengah lepaskan air... nak buat apa pon aku tak tau. So I just shifted myself and hoping that bloody thing doesn't come to me. And it din't - cause I managed to kick it away further.

The next conversation I had with the cleaner auntie yang took care of our toilet goes...

Me: Sorry.. Auntie... got cockroach ah inside the toilet. Got Ridsect not? Can spray.

Auntie: Har? Where? *disappears into the ladies*

Me: Ah ah... inside the other toilet got cockroach. Just tell you lah. You got spray can spray ok.

Auntie: *emerges from within her "shelter"* Aiyoh... *laughs* waaaaa... got har? I aso very scared ah.

Me: *smiles and fake laugh* Got spray not?

Auntie: Don't have lei... *went out to tie up the garbage bag*

Me: Ok lah...

Kau takot abis aku nak buat apa? Selamat kan kau? Knapalah korang takde spray semua. Tak paham aku. Semua plak tuu cleaner sama.

Patience... running out

2009-10-15T20:40:00.003+08:00

Kesabaran aku diduga...
Haha...
Goodness lembab sak nak install ini bendala... so aku blog dulu lah.

I did an announcement in Facebook that my account will be closed at the end of the month. Then started the spamming (haha)... asking why and of course the speculation adrift and buzzing on and on - like Ris Low says "BOOMS!"

Oh.. wow. After waiting for 10mins doing nothing, now then the installation ends. Wahaha. Stoopid lah ini benda.

So to cut things short, why did I close my account?

Like one reply said and nicely sums it up - "wanna live a private life eh?" - yupps... exactly!

So now you know why I ignored all your Add Friend requests. Yea... shoo!!

The Real Meaning behind Hari Raya visits

2009-10-13T00:41:00.002+08:00

Hari Raya visiting this time really opened up my eyes.
Year in, year out, each time the visiting period knocks on our door, we embrace it happily not knowing the real meaning and lessons to be learnt.

When we were kids, we went about houses to houses of friends and relatives, neighbours and even sometimes to the extend of people-who-just-happen-to-be-unlucky-to-have-their-doors-open. And in the end, when we leave the house, we expected to be given the customary duit raya. That, was 15 years ago.

My sister made it a point this year to cover as many houses as possible of people and places of the elderly, of grandmas and grandads - of familiar faces whom have been part of our lives since small. It is significant because she is to embark on her next phase of growing up - to be a wife and later on, if God wills, a mother.

This brought us back to the days when we were young and carefree and these faces were the ones who took care of us. With each laughter they let go, was a memory long forgotten and was only etch on the back of their minds. It was only until now it has been released to us to pass down the stories back to the next generation.

This Raya also brought me into unchartered places. Alas we have been blinded by the concrete walls and staccatoic mundane paths we only took, never venturing out. It was only until now that we set foot into the shadows of the Earth. A life lesson to teach us that the sun isn't always shining, that setbacks are awaiting, that a single mistake could detour our whole rosy plan we had since young. Of how families are torn. Of how arrogance within showed completely on each facial look. Of how a dry cemented floor can not only be found on our old school classrooms.

In the end, of the set backs that we come across, do we stay there exclaiming we are stuck? Or do we move out of harm's way and seek better and proper paths that will hopefully bring us back to a road that has a brighter future.

Only next year's visit can tell me the determining answer.
We all hope for the best.

All's well that Ends Well - HK Quarantine over

2009-05-09T12:27:00.004+08:00

7 days. Approximately 168 hours. And at 8.30pm, all 283 guests who were quarantined at the Hong Kong Metropark hotel in Wan Chai finally got to taste their freedom. As you know, they were all locked up to prevent the spread of the H1N1 Influenza A virus which came from a Mexican who developed the flue symptoms on Thursday last week.

It puts a negative question mark on my HK Trip initially. All warning lights were on and news bulletins - if any about HK - goes into RSS feeds mode.

But with recent developments, can now let out a sigh of relief - at least for the moment.

And at least for now - thank you to the Mexican who came forth to declare your illness, for the 283 who followed instructions and complied with the lockdown, for the Metropark hotel staff who dealt with the quarantine with as much friendly gesture as they could ever manage (knowing the customer service in HK, I'm not much surprised that they did well), and right down to the Hong Kong people who played their part and warm gestures to bring relief in terms of food and etc to the people who were quarantined inside. Though the measures were considered draconian to many, it is the warmth that they feel for the past 1 week that will bring them back to Hong Kong and with flocks of their friends with them another time round.

It is at this time also I wondered if and should Singapore have done such drastic measures, will those locked down in the rooms leave shouting to the cameras like the South Korean businessman Jimmy Hong "I'm happy! I love Hong Kong people!" he said, hugging a policeman as he stepped out, or will the inverse happen.

It is an episode to remember and for us to learn from Hong Kong should it happen to us.

Countdown lei...

2009-05-06T00:51:00.007+08:00

I must learn how to blog using my mobile. I must learn how to blog using my mobile.I must learn how to blog using my mobile.I must learn how to blog using my mobile.I must learn how to blog using my mobile.I must learn how to blog using my mobile.I must learn how to blog using my mobile.I must learn how to blog using my mobile.I must learn how to blog using my mobile.I must learn how to blog using my mobile.I must learn how to blog using my mobile.I must learn how to blog using my mobile.I must learn how to blog using my mobile.I must learn how to blog using my mobile.

Yea.. no fair. Copy and paste.
But really ah. Need to force myself to start blogging from my mobile since I can't seem to do it when I'm free. In the words of a colleague "No good... no good".

Topic for today... countdown. To. My. Maybe. Maybe not. Happening.
The word is dejected. Haah.. I am dejected. Hopefully everything will turn out well this time around. Usually by this time, I would've been excited at the very thought of leaving the nest to explore new horizons. Up to now, I'm still very much into work and not thinking much, other than the going?-not going? question ringing in my head. Really really crossing fingers and eyes for this.

What drove me to blog in today? Cause I see people's Facebook's albums. So fun huh your lives. How comes mine isn't? Maybe when you all start working then lah you'll be as "committed" as me till no time to have social fun. Or I think I'm just drawing myself into the shell. Not that I got no time, more like I don't prefer to go out. Then again, every week I always have some thing to do lei. Conpused lah boboi.

Ohh OHH!! Tomok won the One in a Million competition last Friday night. Shocking isn't it. His voice was ok, no longer the sengau2 Tomok we knew during his premature NewBoyz days. His VTs before any songs he sang was more of him telling his side of the real story when he was in NewBoys and during the decline of the sengau-rians. It was actually sad to hear that they pelted stones at him and such. No wonder he's back with a vengeance. Oh well, good luck to you k. Maybe this time around, it will be better off for you.

I'm leaping back to K-Dramas and anything Ks (yea... I would buy that KIA Cerato Forte if I have the money). Current tele-favourites are Golden Bells on Friday nights and 2-hr Marathon of Boys Over Flowers on Sunday mornings. Ringtone's doing Paradise from Boys Over Flowers OST also. Wahahaha. Ok, outz.

2009-05-03T00:21:00.002+08:00

After the last post closes the year 2008... many things have come and gone by. I was supposed to have given up on blogging. It always came to my mind to write something just to say goodbye to this so-called diary.

Just as I've neglected my diary book-gy, same goes for the blog. Didn't have time to even look at it. And personally so, cause I purposely removed the tagboard and also all "shortcuts" to affliated blogs. Now, I don't even know where to find those links. But not a big deal. Won't have time to religiously go into them anyways.

Dunno where time goes. It seems to be going faster and faster each day. No control over it.

So why am I here then?
Cause I felt like putting something in.

Going through someone else's blog (by chance usually), either I wll be impressed by the way they fill it with every little detail about their lives - right down to the food or even a one-liner phone call. Impressed. Really. You must be so free. I envy you. Then there's those who fill it in with one-liners and twos - them, they have either no content or no time, possibly the former, but they just wanna tell people they're still alive. Good... good.

Me... for now I'm just deglected (yea, I checked onto Dictionary.com - no such word). Anyone who knows the correct word for me to use, please SMS me. I'm looking for a word which explains a feeling of I-give-up-cause-I'm-so-destined-not-to-get-what-I-wanted. At the same time I can roughly figure out if anyone is even reading this. Pandai - pandai...

Too much to handle but still stuck with handling too much of everything. It's overwhelming. I'm just glad there are people who can understand what I'm going through. In a way, helps to calm these flames that flares up once a while.

I need to revamp this place. Anyone knows where I can host files like Geocities does last time? Geocities is closing down soon. Been my hosting palace all these years since the day the blog got started. Oh well, we all have to move on some time in our lives - just that my turn is now.

Guess What Car Advert

2009-02-11T10:33:00.006+08:00

Did you pass by an advertising billboard over at those bustop and they ask you "Guess What Car" is this?

I did. And I was curious.
But it took me 3 days and finally I went to the site.

"Scroll around to take a good look at the car"

Ok! So I did... scroll up, down, side, side.. front
then SCREEEAAMMMS.

I think I know... that car is KIA. THE KIA! THE KIA I'VE BEEN RAVVING ABOUT. How did I know? Front grille. I still remember they saying the "H" front grille which will make up part of the asthetics display for all new KIA cars starting from the 2009 Cerato.

So now, that my wish for
1) KIA CERATO 2009 to come to Singapore
2) KIA CERATO 2009 to have a 1.6L version
3) KIA CERATO 2009 to come in sooner than later of 2009

how about some rich daddy come by and gimme some luurve (and money) to get me-self this car?

This is assumingly my prediction is right (which I really believe is, DIE DIE!). Well, if I really wanna know, I gotta go and see the sneak preview at the Heeren (13-22 Feb) or Vivocity (16-22 Feb) or Chevron House (16-25 Feb). Very excited now.

If only... if only... if only... the car is as affordable as the Cerato currently. Haiz... Wish me luck.

[Update: 22 Feb 2009] KIA launched the Cerato Forte (aka Cerato 2009 in Australia) at Ngee Ann City on Fri, 20th Feb 2009 with pricing from S$41,000 on a special promotion 2.58% interest. KIA Cerato Forte comes in 1.6 and 2.0 variants.

2008, In Memory

2009-01-03T21:42:00.003+08:00

Playing for Change

2008-12-30T15:13:00.003+08:00

The header? Yup, as such. It refers to a group of artistes and musicians who wants to inspire and improve communities in need around the world through music. Their link is http://www.playingforchange.com. Do support them.

So... why Playing for Change? Other than the link that I've just discovered (Thanks Samuel), know it or not, we have reached the pivotal point where change is acoming. When 2008 draws to a close, 2009 greets us moodily. Not that it is any of her fault being all moody. Blame mankind for his ignorance and bad jugdements. But alas... 2009 will come.

Talk of the Town: COE for < 1600cc is $2

2008-11-21T06:30:00.003+08:00

I dare you. Go to any forum and you'll confirm to see the hottest topic around is the COE price of 1600cc car or less has drop deep down to $2. And the last such things ever happened was years ago when the close bidding system was in and someone bid for 50 bucks. That was when they went into chaos and implemented change to the system for Open Bidding.

The reason for the fall I'm sure is due to the weakening economy coupled with the inflation and worries about job losses. DBS has alread fired a few hundreds, Citibank is firing some thousands worldwide, but by the way, isn't Merill Lynch declared bankrupt? How come there's still job openings in Singapore for the bull?

Now I really wonder if anyone is going to go flocking to the car showrooms this weekend to get a car. It'ld be a joke to be honest. These people would be those who are either too rich that they don't mind their car worth to be that bad, or just plain stupid to know much bout car sales. All in all, I'm just gonna look for Saturday's or Monday's Straits Times. Confirm got all these kiasu people whom can be gladly declare bankrupt in the next few months.

OBS "5-days" Adventure Trip

2008-11-18T23:18:00.008+08:00

Alas the 10 of us spend the wonderful part of our release from work at an isolated island off Punggol Beach - Ubin that is. All in the name of adventure. Adventure kpala hanggok kau lah. hahaha...

By the time we reached it was raining heavily - and no end in sight. It just kept on pouring and pouring. Even the umbrella was no shelter from the torture. See...

We managed to safely get to the island, thankfully and proceeded to our Base Camp - like literally it's called Base Camp but it's actually the staff lounge lah. First impression: WOW... it's so not like normal campsites. Then again, it's not a campsite. It's an adventure-team-building place. Really well kept and of course the people there are really friendly. After a quick change, we set up the BBQ "pit" and cooked dinner which comprises mainly of the main course - Nasi Goreng (hehe) and BBQ of so many things like mashed potato, otak², hotdog, satay etc. Seems little at first but turns out, we didn't manage to finish it up. Guess most were pretty tired to eat.

I turned in around 11plus. The rest, last I vaguely heard, went out to explore the OBS ground. Yea, was dead beat with the BBQ charcoal stench on my shirt - guess it puts me to deep sleep.

Next morning's breakfast was to be at 8.30am. So said the event planner. But as we know and have come to expect, it wasn't until 9am. Breakfast was Nasi Goreng (yes, and you wondered - AGAIN!?) with some side munchies which I have no recollections on. First activity for the day - Kayaking! Wee... we split into solos and trios and duos (which by luck happens to be just me and Luqe) for the kayak. Pedalled from OBS Camp and into the swamp area then out to the next camp for the Jetty jump before heading back to our camp. No pictures for this though.

The jetty jump was fun. Initially I thought I wouldn't jump cause I've promised Mom I won't do anything that endangers my life. Well... that was before I am informed that when you do a Jetty jump, you will WEAR THE BLOODY LIFE JACKET. So, I jumped. Haha... Not endangering myself whaaat. Got life jacket, got thousands of lifeguards watching me so jumped for my life. So fun.. really, I wouldn't have thought I could do it. But I did! I did! Ok moving on...

We went off for lunch - which was also a chop-chop affair. Lunch was Nasi Goreng (and you go WTF??) and some side munchies also. Filling lah so no issues. I won't complain considering I'm paying only 5 bucks for both meals. Hehe.

After the chop-chop meal, we went for the final activity - rock climbing. Been a while - more like years hahaha - since I last did it. That too was fun. Initially the fear of heights got to me and when you are up there and the brain freezes, you tend to go ballistic up there. Thankfully after a while, I managed to go up and up and up. Then the instructor went on to open the intermediate/advanced wall which I took a try but ended up losing my grip and slipped. But they got me hanging there to continue. From the earlier activity, the kayaking, it kindda killed our hand strength and then now rock climbing. I just went to what-I-call end of Level 2 and stopped there. One - for fear of slipping again if I decide to go up, and two - for God's sake my hands are numb. Then I tried relaying, which is to support the ropes and ensure that the guy climbing will not fall should he slipped. We ended the activity at 3pm with 30mins left to rush to the ferry ride back to mainland.

After a quick clean up of the Base Camp, which amazingly looked like it was before we conquered the place, all of us headed to the main entrance of OBS for a final team picture infront of the crest. And looking back while heading to the jetty, it was time worth spending in the midst of the hectic lifestyle that we have now what with the recession and problems at work.

So you are wondering where's the remaining 4 days?

That's why it's called OBS "5-days" Adventure Trip.

The Demise of One so Dearly Loved

2008-11-12T22:23:00.003+08:00

11 November 2008.

As I stared out to the afternoon sky, as rain started to drizzle down on us on that fateful day, as I think of the moments in the past and present leading to what might have been the future.

As he caught his last breath and laid silently in his sleep. As his body withers away and his soul returns to peace - to heaven it may be.

As the fragrant smell fills within me, as the prayers were uttered, as the earth within which we stand on covers him and "Amin" was the last that could be heard.

As I watched him sitting there, was it regrets or was it prayers and my tears started a-falling, I held back as much as I could.

It is from Him that you have come from, it is to Him you shall return. And when the day falls unto you, only your good deeds, your faith and the prayers from whom you have left on Earth will follow you here after.

In memory, of a person so Dearly Loved, a father, husband and family friend - the Late Abdul Wahid Bin Osman - dad to Md Ariff, my close friend.

Moga Allah mencucuri rahmatnya atas beliau, diterima segala amalannya, diampunkan dosanya dan digolongkan dalam orang-orang yang bertaqwa di dalam syurga Allah s.w.t. Amin, ya rabbal aalamin.

Idols

2008-10-29T22:00:00.003+08:00

All through my life, there's a 1001 people I idolised. But many a times, for so long, I always have my uncle as my idol. I've learnt stuffs about computer from him. His purpose and roads travelled, I wished to emulate since young. Come this adulthood world, I'm trying to figure out my own purpose and then my next course of action.

There was no one to emulate in the earlier parts of my life. When Spiderman, Captain Planet, Superman were your facination and your world revolves around it, there is nothing much that you want other than flying out in the open and saving the world.

As you grow older, you start to think about the more important things - from money to the luxuries of life, say games, electronic products, etc. You wished for the same luxuries that others have. Envious of the things that they have, your idol is the next person who lets you have a go at his games or walkman/discmans.

Knowing that the future you mould starts right now and then, studies took a front role towards achieving goals that can take years to be fruitful. The circumstances that surrounds you, the lack of attention of your peers and the hard work of the striving few, in a way allows you to leap far and work as diligently hard as them. Thankfully, while others fall failing to make it, the few of us set ourselves apart to make a mark on the next step of life.

Character became the next criteria in seek of an idol. The perserverance. The humility. The outgoing personality. The friend for all. Once you find all these traits, suddenly you find a person to hold up high in yourself. Characteristics that you would try to follow and uphold. Then, without knowing, the many things that you can do and will do that goes out of the normal way you ever did before. It is then you have found the ideal.

Why the long so-chim post? Cause along my way, I found different people to idolise. To hope to follow in their footsteps and be like them. Childhood friends who tells you that the years long of friendships means more to them than the pennies and cents. A beng who inspires you to take the next step to better your skills and knowledge. Even the smallest of things as you walk down the road may inspire you to take steps and do things you never thought you will.

Ending of an era

2008-10-05T10:50:00.004+08:00

2008. It seems to spell out Ending for every single thing.

I wanted to change the song from this year's NDP song to something else. But everytime this song comes in, I think back on the last 9 months. It has been an eventful one. Many new people came into my life amidst the many things that I have done.

But then, I also had to say goodbye to these people.

The wonderful bunch of Group 4 people in NDP. 4 months was short. But we bonded so well it was a pain to say goodbye. But I have told myself a decade of NDP is enough. Postponing my departure again would not make it any better. And to say goodbye to something you keep coming back for each and every year, it does feel like a part of you is dead and will continue to be missing. That's why I had to soak it all in on August 9th and remember my glorious days. That end had come.

The wonderful bunch of Hi-5. In the beginning, there was 3. Then came 4. And finally a 5. What started out as gossip clan developed into a group of colleagues hanging out after workday ends. To places we've gone, sharing our time for each other. Ema has left. There's only the 4 of us left. And if I remembered correctly, it was Ema who got us bonded. And that glue which sticks us togther is gone.

Ema always believed that Hi-5 wil always be Hi-5. I've gone through life far enough to know when someone moves on, they usually will move on. And the ones left will be fighting to live it through. Seldom will reunion happen. Although I also wished and hoped for the best but each time I just get more disappointed.

I told myself not to cry when Ema left. I didn't. But now I am. The era has gone. Of course I hope we'll still meet up the bunch of us. Or at least just us, you and me. Same goes for you all friends out there. My time is limited. Whatever spare time I have other than work, I need to divide them between hanging out with family and friends and maybe for my other work/engagements. It is always a delicate balance. Not to mention that financially, I'm always unstable.

An era may have passed us, but people you know will always be your friends - whether you liked it or not. So in honour of all the friendships I have, past and present... I decided Dionne Warwick and friends have the message I wanted to say.

Another day, another farewell

2008-10-03T23:36:00.004+08:00

Like my life isn't full of sadness enough... I had to say farewell again. This time to my colleague, my friend and my mentor - the girl who got me started. Ema bid her farewells today. Tears were flowing everywhere. Amidst those sadden eyes, mine stood there defying all emotions and only a tinge of droplet formed up. I vowed myself not to cry because I know her departure is only to bid her well and success in life wherever she goes.

We had our last lunch-in with Ema - me ordered Canadian Pizza for all. In all honesty, I still liked the Rite Pizza. Thin layer of dough with a mouthful of ingredients on top of it. Feels light and easy to gobble down. Then presented Ema with her farewell gift - all 2 of them: a CK Summer One fragrance and one a frame with an edited image of all desksides within my tenure period that I know of, in a boat bidding farewell to Ema. Even then, her eyes were teary.

At the end of the day, we went to Swenson's at Changi Airport for a treat from Weiloon. If you ask me to list them menus we ordered, I got no clue whatsoever. But we talked and laughed and had such a nice time there. Ironically I told Ema, "Hey remembered one point of time we were sitting here eating Chocolate Fondue and someone said she got a secret? 'Eh don't tell anyone ah but I got a promotion.I'm the new Team Lead.' And guess what, 6 months later we are here again, eating Chocolate Fondue and saying byebye to you lah Ema!" Joked around until plus minus 9pm before Weiloon sent us all back.

Saying Goodbye

2008-09-03T12:59:00.003+08:00

There are times in life you don't think much.

There are other times, you won't feel much.

And then there are times you just have so much.

Today, I say goodbye to 2 people I know and have come into contact with. True they are not close to me by blood but there is always a part of you that feels when someone you know leaves. To God they have returned.

Yesterday, after Terawih, I left just in time to hear the Ustaz say "Look around you. There might be people you know and have seen before.. you praying together with them last year. And now as you look again, they are not here with us. To God they have returned."

It's a repeat of what they will always say each year and each time around. It is sad. But it is life - that's what I always say. Now that it hit you right in the face, then I know how sad these people might have felt when their loved ones go.

I can only pray. And in my prayers, like all other prayers, I pray that Allah s.w.t will eternally rest them in the Heavens of Firdaus be with the ones he loved and care for. Amin ya rabbal alamin.

In memory of Hafiz - a friend I only got to know 2 mths ago. So quickly you had to leave. Thank You for a wonderful and truly honest friendship that I've ever made.

NDP 2008: Celebrating the Singapore Spirit

2008-08-25T22:22:00.004+08:00

Saying goodbye. My tears just came down on its own. All 10 years just flash by. The familiar song from yesteryears...

"... we reached out our hands, to friends of far-out lands, a bridge dividing streams. Together we can build, a world which is filled, with hopes of a Singapore dream.

This is home, a home that's grown. From a little room, to a country of our own. Now we welcome everyone to see, Singapore - a city for the world ..."

The nostalgic call of dayung sampan - 1998
The rush towards the grandstand - 1999
The multi ethnic drums - 2000
The bridge called Benjamin Shears - 2001
The We Will Get There dance - 2002
The Deyians - 2004
The Heartland Celebrations shouting and screaming from Marina to Yishun - 2005
The last NDP at the National Stadium - 2006
The first NDP at Marina Bay floating platform - 2007
The last NDP for me - 2008

10 years. Yupp... and finally, truly, I am done. All's left is the Thank You Party to say goodbyes to all and that's the final chapter of my NDP involvement.

The weird thing is that while I wept away, people came to me and comforted me. Then suddenly, everyone was in tears. I guess it was a moving moment. The months together as a group, all 12 of us. The fact that one of us got sacked on the day itself. And the frustration of the negativity that falls upon our group as we head for our final show.

We went with gusto. We screamed our lungs off. We danced like there's no tomorrow. I know we are proud of ourselves. For Amirah too. And when the curtains came down, we took our bow and let our hair down. For once, I don't need to care about other factors including the Big Boss saying don't dance.

NDP08 is itself memorable for it's my last. What made it more significant is the wonderful group of girls (yes, all girls - I'm the only guy in the group) I was given the opportunity to work and to get to know. Thank You all for the wonderful times. And for the best ending I could have ever wished for.

The Day When Singapore and a Pinoy celebrate together

2008-08-09T09:19:00.004+08:00

9th of August.
It is a day all Singaporeans know very well.
Why?
Ok... if I have to tell you this then seriously there is something wrong with you, yup, provided you are not a Singaporean.

This year, Singapore turns 43.
And at the stroke of midnight a few hours ago, my Pinoy (or Pinay as they call the ladies) colleague celebrated her 28th birthday. And she started off with saying, "Waaa... I'm soo old!", which by the way makes me feel I'm so young. heehee.

Went to Fig & Olive VivoCity for Ires' birthday dinner.

** Just a side note, I logged on to MSN just a few secs ago, no one in my list is online. Wow! It's a first!! **

Ema ordered Maghribi Chicken with Olive Rice. Edros ordered too many things for me to remember. He had 3 plates!! And he said he hadn't had lunch. Oookay! Ah Loon, Ires and Me ordered the same thing - Chicken Pesto Carbonara - only I took the rice set and them the pasta set. Thing is, one set came first - the pasta one. Since Ah Loon is at the gents, I told Ires to take it first. So she happy-happy ate it. Mine came... unappetizing as it looks but never mind. And lastly Ah Loon's came - same as mine. Lol. So I asked him if he wanted to change, he said ok. Went to waiter to have it changed. They took it back and when it came back, it became spaghetti bolognaise. I didn't know of the mistake until Loon told me. Haiz... that guy really suay. Dunno why lah.

It was filling though the whole dinner. Which is good, considering we've spents quite some bucks on it. Thank God pay just came in. Haha.

Then parted ways with Ema, who went home. And Ah Loon, cause he's got a date. So just left the 3 of us to go and hang out at Ben and Jerry's. That's another story. Came there, it was packed, as expectedly. The place is ok but not enough definitely. So at 10pm it was confirmed full. The band were to play at 10.30pm. Hanged around for seats till it was about time for the band to play. That's when we got ourselves a couch seat.

Ordered ice-cream for them while the band was playing. It was cool. Those acoustic bands with chill out songs. Heard them on Wednesday celebration for my birthday initially so I wanted to go again and had the chance yesterday. Then the moment came, they asked who was celebrating their birthday. I shouted out loud and pointed to Ires and told them she was celebrating at midnight. And as per normal they go... WWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! So we all sang a birthday song for 2 people, Ires and CJ (or something... God knows!)

My Belgian waffle came. Ires' one-scoop ice cream came. Ed's smoothie came. Sat there and hanged around. The band even played Jason Mraz's I'm Yours. Awww... so sweet of you all. Haha... Then finally we left at 11.30pm cause someone said "I have to go home by 12 midnight!" Oooookay.

Neways... Happy 28th Birthday Ires!!! You are OLD! Haha...

Pics from Ben and Jerry's:

Updating Sequence Commends

2008-08-04T23:46:00.004+08:00

NDP 2008: Celebrating the Singapore Spirit...

NDP will be this Saturday. Many things have been done, countless number of hours practising for this very day and a whole new experience with the stage for this year.

4 months. That is how long we have practised since the first day we met up in April. From then on, little by little the pieces of puzzle come together to form the whole show that is NDP.

It was a fun experience being in NDP this year particularly being with a small and close-knit bunch of people with you. This time around, was picked for the Stage Dancers group. In many a sense, usually the Stage Dancers would be the privileged
lot. Quite true actually. We get many things first, from tickets to food etc. But so far, the cameras haven't been closing up on us. Haha... hopefully it will this coming Saturday.

2008 will be my "fat lady sings" moment. My "bon voyage". With 10 years of participation in my hands, it is time I call it a day. Did think of a possibility to return in 2012 when the new National Stadium is ready. That is still pending.

Meanwhile, cam-whoring for all.
Happy National Day Singapore... Thank You and farewell NDPians I have met so far in my long years.

The story so far...

2008-07-15T12:53:00.002+08:00

one thing is NDP. Other things, no idea.

Basically my life centers around work life, and NDP life. And on Sundays, I try to just finish up whatever errands I need to. Monday will be work life again and the cycle continues.

I didn't write about my birthday celebrations. That will need to but maybe in another time. Haha... just like my Bintan trip (another time that did not even materialised). So all I can update now is, work life is getting routine and irritating at times, although the companions are great. September is coming up so we'll see then how it'll go. As of now, NDP is keeping me busy. Will post up some pics soon. As of now, I think my online self is soo soo very BERTERABOH... meaning mismanaged.

Will find a time soon for all blabberings and maybe another holiday that's pending for soo long.

Aku tengah bingit

2008-07-01T13:41:00.001+08:00

Aku nak gi sembahyang tapi nak kena tunggu ini bahalol. Aku nak gi kat bahalol ni tapi ade orang lain pon tgh tunggu untuk aku gi kat tempat dia kul 2.30pm. Habis kalau bahalol punya tak habis-habis yang lagi satu tergendala. Kalau tak gi kat lagi satu, cukup masa kena complain. Habis dalam queue aku ada lagi satu secretary pon nak kena gi. Habis macam mana. Hidup, hidup. Kangkadang, aku pon tak paham lah kau eh. Skejab kau kasi aku susah, skejab kau kasi aku senang. Skejab kau tak kasi aku apa-apa pon.

Pakal aku tak kenal kau. Kalau aku kenal, aku bantai kau. Baru kau tau siapa aku Jebat. Haaa, kan dah bual konek bila hidup membosankan. Gini lah.

Euro 2008 - Spain 1 Germany 0

2008-06-30T04:40:00.002+08:00

Fernando Torres' only goal in the 33rd minute sealed Spain's victory and denied Germany the victory it had hoped for.

The start of the game was kindda boring with neither side forcing any viable attack. It wasn't until Torres' goal that the momentum finally picked up. It was a close call for Germany earlier in the game when it almost conceeded an own goal from a deflection by Christoph Metzelder. For most of the time, both sides were mostly trying albeit not hard enough to score.

The 2nd half saw more actions and attacking as both sides tormented each other's half and in turn produced more scuffles than goals. Ballack, at most, threw his fit at the referee's decisions for many occasions.

Though the Germans tried hard to force an equaliser, the day ended with Spaniards bringing back the silverware to Euro 2008.

More news coverage and photos: Euro 2008 Official Website

i'mE - A Quarter of A Century

2008-06-28T00:04:00.002+08:00

Happy me birthday... 25th year already. Nothing has changed actually. Still me. That's the reason I choose i'ME as my tagline this year. Why? Like I always stressed on, no matter how old I get, I hope to stay the same jovial and fun dude that I've always been - and to some extend an irritant to all.

i'mE - is a combi of the sentence "I am me" for the uninitiated.

When you blow out the candle, people will always ask you what you wished for. Then for some, it is considered taboo to answer and the rest just shrugged it off. I did think about what I've been through the past quarter. And I then decided to wish for everything to stay the same. The way I like it.

Well, just hope no activation tomorrow. Maybe that should be my utmost wish for my birthday. Happy Birthday, J.

After so long

2008-06-12T12:57:00.002+08:00

It has been long hasn't it?
No time lah to blog. Work lah, gym lah, NDP lah... this and that.

Next week's reservist week liao. For a whole week. See the same familiar faces. Nice to see them again, as usual. But after the initial "hi hi" and "missed you", I bet ya I'll blow my top off. Thank God it'll only be a week. Even that also can die halfway.

NDP08 PA - Movida Nights

2008-05-11T08:53:00.004+08:00

Today, we're going to Movida @ St James Power Station as part of the NDP08 PA - Mother's Day Celebration. Yes, including Moms. As in those Moms in NDP. Surprise, surprise! Anyways it's just for tea-dance.

According to Movida's page, the music they play there is of Cuban, Carribean samba to African to Brazilian hip-hop etc. No offense but I already think this will be a boring day. Fingers crossed hoping for the best but who knows what it'll be. It could be like the non-affair MOS we had last year. Booboo host, booboo programme. Everything's the typical nonsense. Music was bad, real damn bad. Haha.

So anyhows, been a long time running since the last update.

Since then, I guess my colleague have already left for a new job. And NDP have already reached its 6th practise. So we are resting this week and working hard the next.

My dreams of a vacation to Krabi is on-hold pending further discussions. My bet is it'll pend till forever.

On to better hopes, trip to Seremban for an old schoolmate's wedding is on. Plans have already been cemented and all's left is to push to GO button. Yay! Roadtrip 1 Non-decision 0. Then KL for Hari Raya Haji also have been confirmed. Details still pending as it is still a long way. Lastly, department's making another trip off Singapore. Planning for it to happen in late August. Details also pending.

So for now, my life is full of pent-up schedules. Keeping myself beezy so I won't get bored or get hanged up in the miseries of my life. It's a new year, it's 2008. Soon will be 25. Not a lot of years left ehz. Time to live it.

An Inconvenient Truth

2008-04-22T23:12:00.003+08:00

When all the people of the planet have already watched the documentary by Al Gore - An Inconvenient Truth - I am but one of the last ones to catch it today. Today coincidentally is Earth Day.

I've watched Discovery Channel many a time to realise enough what the Climate Change can bring about. The documentary from Al Gore puts a human face to all that have been said before. People just do not realise that the environment has already deteriorated enough. And even if they do, they don't care. For the world that we're in now, will not be theirs to care in the years to come. The only ones to suffer is the future generations.

There's a little red dot from the TV. It is sucking up what they call phantom energy - energy not properly utilised and is wasted. Put it down to the green light from the PC. The motor guzzling from the fridge. The smoke from the exhaust. The trickling of water from the air conditioner.

Like he said... we have all the resources, the knowledge, the know-hows to make this change. If only we realise that by using energy efficient equipments, we are helping to curb the carbon emission. If only we realise that there are better and safer as well as environmentally friendly substitutes. We can do so much for so little changes that we make.

I like the part where it went "... and when possible, walk or cycle".

Let's just switch off our PCs when it's not in use.
Let's walk to the next bus stop.
Let's take public transport where possible.
Let's use hybrid or natural gas fuels.
Let's recycle.
Let's do the little things we take for granted, for our future, for our children's and generations to come.

So what will you do today for your own future to come? I will start little by little. It doesn't matter to anyone. But it will matter to me. I hope everyone has that mentality.

NDP 2008 - Session 1

2008-03-23T23:54:00.000+08:00

Pardon the pirated pic but until the official logo comes out, I will just bear with the current one I snapped outta the monthly mailer.

NDP 2008 is in full swing. PA has just started our first practise session after one round of briefing and audition. Went through a strenous list of movements which were waaay off from the previous week during the audition. My brain and legs once accustomed to one set of movement will find it difficult to change and that was what happened the whole day. If it wasn't the leg, it's the hand and if it isn't one thing, it's another.

Practise was at an army way in the west/northen area with no transportation provided, all the more reasons we can use for coming in late... hahaha. Sadly, the quadro team is down to a trio this time round as Roz decided to pull out due to family commitments. Sad news. It would've been our final swansong, me and her. 10 years of NDP, it had been a wonderful time and would've been a wonderful goodbye show. Thanks Roz for the friendship and time. Will be missing your presence this NDP.

And for a bidding swansong, me and Sis plus Siti, including Roz if she was still in NDP, all were choosen to be amongst the group of 14 to be showcased on the stage - a rare opportunity in the history of my years in NDP. Not to say it would mean that we get to be featured more on TV cause that is almost close to a zilch. But I am confident, it will be a great experience. And it's all happening in my final show. How good has this turned out to be. Did I tell you, I'm the only guy in the 14 people. Horrors! Stay tuned for more NDP newsies weekly.

P/S: Don't expect pictures until we finally stepped into the floating platform. It's stringent checks entering the army camps nowadays.

Holiday = Karaoke time

2008-03-22T00:38:00.001+08:00

There was no mention of it. Just planned to hang out the buncha us. Irwan drove his Dad's car - yes, we are that lazy - and we just went to Sim Lim, had lunch at Bencoolen Street then finally without no idea of where to go, went Marina Square for maybe pool or bowling.

Then when we passed by K-Box, me had to open my mouth and say "Eh.. karaoke ah" and I laughed walking pass the place.

"Eh... orait jugak pe. Aku dah laama nak karaoke."

My mouth was wide open. Kidding sak korang nak karaoke. At this point in time, karaoke?? Dah kul brapa dah.

"Orait ah.. aku anything".

Quick one two phone calls and a booking brought us to Kampong Chai Chee an hour later after maghrib. Never would I thought these people are into singing. We had fun those 3hrs. First time for anything is fun but of course. Ended the session at 11.30pm.

Karaoke eh? Lepak sak.

My First Drive

2008-03-18T01:30:00.001+08:00

Today goes in history as the day I first drove a car with my full license. So fun! Thanks to Lina and her car and her P-Plate signs, dunno whether it is intentionally for me or what. Haha... get over it!

Went to Changi Village for supper all 4 of us and I drove from Istighfar mosque (sent Mom and Sis earlier) to Changi and then they taught me how to park, which I must add is a miserable failure at most. But can lah for a first timer without poles to guide.

That's it!

2008-02-28T21:55:00.002+08:00

There is this air of superiority over the Singapore security forces. Be it the army, police or navy or even the air force. It reeks even more in the army and police forces. The recent news on a JI Member's escape shows a lot. Even more alerting is the faith the people have in them. Confidence is one thing. Complacency is another.

From the tone of those interviewed, I can tell you it is complacency. It is an attitude of "aiyah they sure can one lah because we succeed in everything we do" clearly. Yeah, so far we are living in a safe environment. Yeah, we can succeed in getting hosting rights for the Youth Olympics. Yeah, we can weather through storms when others just collapse. And until a lapse occurs, we will still be in this little bubble of ours.

Again, look at the security lapse that just happened. They can go "I'm sorry it happened" but the reality lies in complacency on our part as individuals. We need to get ourselves prepared and alert at all times. I sure do not want anything drastic to happen to wake us up from this dreamland.

Singapore 2010: Ours to Share

2008-02-22T00:57:00.004+08:00

Youth Olympic Games 2010 - Singapore

The Olympic Committee president announced on 21st February 2008 at 7pm (local Singapore time) that the hosting rights for the first Youth Olympic Games in 2010 falls to Singapore, a young nation vibrant and full of youthful vitality. With that, the crowd in thousands jumped out in joy to celebrate the nation's success in its sole bid to host the inaugural event. Singapore beat the more experienced Olympic hosting state of Moscow.

The games will be held in various parts of the island in August 2010. A multi-billion dollar Olympic Village will be built on the grounds of National University of Singapore campus. This will be the home of the thousands of youths who will converge here in 2010.

Now that we have won the bid, it is time to focus on building the facilities and other preparations for the games. To showcase to the world what a small country can do. Which is why I personally named it...

Singapore 2010 - Ours to Share

Congrats Singapore...

I'm off to be a driver... a driver in the city of Singapore

2008-02-20T22:54:00.004+08:00

the paper to end it all...

Sorry this came late... haha... but last week I took my driving test of course with the hope to pass. And I passed albeit the wonderful just-passed 18 points. But who cares eh? As long as first time passed, you're idolised. Haha. Ok... too much of myself. It was a real treat to sit there infront of the tester and he goes "you did this and that and I can go on longer than you expect but since you've passed, I spare you". Nah, he was pointing to my mistakes which majorly was because I am slow. Slow for traffic condition. Slow to move off. Bamm! That gave me the high marks. Thanks.

* Just to tell you, the tester said to tell anyone who's in for the driving test -- "Over here, driving slow will fail you. Driving fast won't. You want to pass, you drive fast. Tell all your friends that." Sir, I've done my part now. By the way, thanks for the pass. Appreciate it, honestly.

Now that I've passed, I will not drive anymore. Haaaaa!

IGA BBQ @ East Coast

2008-02-02T10:53:00.000+08:00

In case anyone thinks I have no life.. just sit and rot at home, please eh!

So anyways, my department had our own BBQ last Sunday (and to think 1 week later then I blogged this down) at East Coast Park. As usual, supposedly to come by noon, the latest to arrive was at 2plus I think.

Was a long journey for me and Gabby (a colleague). We cycled from Pasir Ris to East Coast via Simei, Tanah Merah, Bedok and Marine Parade. The last I ever did that was before NS when I asked the whole Greenview Gang to do it. It is definitely much faster with just the both of us. The best part of the journey was in Bedok where we were told off by one of the pedestrian. Note that we did not blocked her way, nor even shoo-ed her off the pathway. She said "This place is not for cycling". Gabby just replied "God Bless you Auntie!"

Once Ema's family arrived, we started out the BBQ fire. And making myself useful, I helped her husband and assisted wherever I could. To be honest, I've officially only helped to start out the fire like ONCE. Every other time, some other people will do it. I only help to EAT. That one I confirm can fulfill.

Dunno about Ema's husband but from my experience, you are supposed to start the fire, let the fire burn the charcoal and then when the fire burns off left only the amber, then you start to cook. But since he's the chef and I'm just the tester, I don't say anything. Which is why I have to eat the chao-tar (overcooked, but more like very overcooked) hotdogs and chicken. But it's just the skin though. The chicken meat has yet to cook. Haha... so feedbacked to chef and he said "Ok, just go with the otah, crabmeat and hotdogs first. Let the fire die off". Phew...

And in between cooking and manning the other stuffs (like closing the lids of the container once they've taken the food like umpteen times I've said "close it once you've taken the foood!!"), I put myself into every other people's shots. That's Shirley (Asst. Team Lead) and me.

Then there's the Pinoys, my colleagues from my department...

And lastly. the whole buncha us, IGA Deskside team minus the manager, and 2 desksides who went home earlier - Junkai and Arun. Oh yah, also our engineer - Benny.

Went to rent the rollerblades to try out after so long I have not done it. Thankfully still can blade. Haha... shared the rental with Gabby. He wanted to learn how to blade. In the first place, he started off it at the ice-skating rink. I'm the opposite. I started off with rollerblades then went on to ice-skating. The method is all the same so no problem there.

Left at 5plus to return the rental blades and then head off to a loooong journey home again. By the time I reached home, was dead beat. But managed to catch Anugerah Juara Lagu. Haha... hey, that's the entry before this. Maaan... I'm lagged.

And if you think I've got nothing this week, nyeh... got NDP briefing ok... yea yea... NDP again I know. 10th Year leh. I'm celebrating my decade. Haha. And with a big bang.

Anugerah Juara Lagu 22

2008-01-27T23:08:00.000+08:00

Berikut adalah pemenang-pemenang di Anugerah Juara Lagu ke-22.

Vokal Terbaik:
--- Jaclyn Victor & Rio Febrian/Lah Ahmat (Ceritera Cinta)

Persembahan Terbaik:
--- Mawi (Angan dan Sedar)

Juara (Etnik Kreatif):
--- Nora (Samudera)

Juara (Pop Rock):
--- Estranged (Itu Kamu)

Juara (Balada):
--- Kaer Azami/Sahri (Izinku Pergi)

Juara Lagu ke-22: Estranged - Itu Kamu

Final Review of Nokia N810 Internet Tablet

2008-01-27T08:18:00.000+08:00

Here's the review I submitted to the HardwareZone team for the trial use of N810...

The Nokia N810 Internet Tablet trial set comes in a brushed metal look which is a good thing for those who go for looks as much as the functionality of a device - simple and very minimal.

The most evident about the tablet is the large 4”inch widescreen display. A large screen is a must for internet browsing and the occasional rare moments one can catch a movie on their handheld. This is no different from the predecessor N800. It is bright enough under the sunlight too and there is an option for you to turn the brightness up or down.

Sliding the bottom half of the phone down reveals a QWERTY keyboard, an additional improvement Nokia tried to make from the N800. It is a often frustrating to type out anything in a moving vehicle using the virtual keyboard therefore the QWERTY keyboard helps to enhance typing speed. However, users need to get familiar and comfortable with the keypad as the keys are placed close to each other.

There is a VGA camera on the front bezel for video calls on the chat software and if you do download the Camera application, it is possible to use the camera to take your own pictures – face-front. Quality-wise is pretty average. The chat software supports Jabber, GoogleTalk and SIP. To extend this functionality, you can also install Skype into the N810. For Instant Messaging, Pidgin Internet Messenger does its job well to tie up with MSN, Yahoo and IRC amongst others.

Wireless LAN plays a huge role in this device. Connecting to Wireless@SG was a breeze. It is just a matter of searching, connecting and authenticating. It works outdoors as well as with my home wireless, a Linksys router. Connection Manager will remember the list of wireless points that you have connected to before and it will help you to reconnect to any available ones that is already in your list. A nifty feature to have.

Considering the N810 is a Linux-based device, it was a letdown that applications for add-on are limited. A quick browse through the website shows up a few more applications but most will not add significant upgrade to the device. Nokia has done away with offline PIM and bundled a Mozilla-browser with Bookmarks to Google Apps for office suites. In other words, the device relies highly on the connectivity to the Internet. Without the Internet, the only thing I can do was watch a movie, browse pictures or just listening to the music.

Sound-wise, the loudspeaker did not disappoint. It was very loud. However, the earpiece that came with the trial set was soft at the loudspeaker’s loudest settings. Listening to my MP3s on the MRT, I had to strain my ears. It got worse when the train went into the tunnel. I also installed Canopia as an additional media player. The thing I liked about the application is swipe-scrolling, just like how Apple did it on its iPhone/iPod Touch. Just swipe and the list will scroll up or down. Note though that there is an application called FM Radio available but it only works with the N800.

The N810 does not come with Java, a disappointment to many. Having Java built-in would have enabled the device to support more applications and games. However, I believe the Linux community will get behind this device and build up support for it soon.

Worth mentioning also is the embedded GPS. Maps can be downloaded for Singapore and a few other countries from the Maps application itself. The maps included points-of-interests (POI). I could not communicate with the satellites though so manual search was needed. Navigation can also be activated with a simple purchase from Wayfinder.

The 2GB Internal Memory should be sufficient for audiophiles. One can still add on to the space with the miniSD slot. The startup is fast, typical of most Linux-based devices. Response however varies accordingly to the application used which left me to think the culprit might be the application itself. Menus are easy to navigate. But if one is asking where to activate the Bluetooth, try going into Applications Menu > Settings > Connection Manager. Click on the drop-down menu > Tools and then Bluetooth comes into sight.

Overall impression of the N810 is relatively good. The over-dependent on the Internet limits its market though for now but as more applications come onboard, it could finally find a place amongst other smartphones and PDAs. The bad point would be its response time as I find it sometimes too laggy for a device which is supposed to be light and fast.

A First for the blog

2008-01-20T17:31:00.000+08:00

I'm trying this for the first time in conjunction with a review I need to do for HWZ Singapore.

The source of this entry is from the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet (www.nokia.com/n810).

This is just a test entry. The full review will be up hopefully before the end of this week. As you can see it is a hassle to do any proper entry using a small device. The N810 has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard but the positioning of the keys are slightly awkward. Or it might be due to the long fingernail I have. God knows. Personally, I prefer to use the virtual keypad but it also proves to be a hassle say on the moving vehicle.

So far, it has been an enjoyable ride with the device but I would say this isn't something essential that one needs to have. It is yet another device thrusted to everyone saying it would be the next big thing. But they always fall short of being amazing.

I've yet to try the others. So far it has only been the messenger, mail application, internet browser, and music players. The radio application would've been a nice feature to have but alas it did not work. The website did say however that it only works for the N800 tablet. Again, full review will be up by next week.

Happy New Year 2008!

2008-01-01T21:41:00.000+08:00

Here's wishing one and all a great new year for 2008 and thanks for everything that has happened for the past year.

I've had a wonderful countdown and now, I look forward to continue this life journey and see what the year has in store for me. Many thanks for those who've been a shoulder and companion throughout 2007, will not forget the times.

As we look forward, I always will say... take a look back. A wise man once said...

" I will only walk this way once. So any good I can do, let me do it now. For I will not go through this road again. "

IGA End-Yr Dinner 2007

2007-12-16T00:42:00.000+08:00

Time of the year for dinners by the company. Even my friend has his company dinner on the same day. By the way it happened on Friday night. This year we had it at Siam Kitchen, Bugis Junction. So if you happened to pass by the place on Friday night and you're pissed off that there's a lot of people there and you can't simply find a seat for your entourage, that'll be us you're pissed at. Our bad ek!

Dinner was to assume itself at 7.30pm but by the time I came back, some 10mins over the time, everyone's still awaiting. Well at least we got the early bird gift! Haha... Finally we consumed our food when the DPE (whatever it means ek!) arrived. One thing bout dinner there, I guess there's a whole list of food as in a course meal like that. But for some reason it's as if it's rushed. One after another the dishes were shoved to our faces and within a minute another comes to the table. Which only means after one period of time there won't be anymore food right? Right.

Moving on to the fun part, the winners for the "Teasure Hunt" game. We were each emailed a clue to find a part of the story. So using the clue, we're to hunt the location where part of the story is hidden. So the whole deskside actually collaborated to find the clues, pieced them together and solve the crime. And when we found the clues, we also took extra so the other people can't find it. WAHAHAHAHAHA. Evil laughters in the room. So basically, the only 2 team who won was mine with my team lead as the "leader" and another of my team lead as the 2nd team's leader. The rest I assumed couldn't find the clues and gave up. So we cheated... yea.

2nd game was Crossword Puzzle. I think I sucked at that. We're all helping each other out trying to claim all 10 prizes. Surprise surprise, we had 2 winners from our table. Both didn't do anything. We helped them to circle the answers and hand it in. And the "judges" actually picked winners by the neatness of their papers. Anyone with extra circles anywhere were disqualified. So nadda prize here.

3rd game... Pass The Rubber Band Using only a straw held with your mouth. There's no name for the game lah so I had to make up one. Objective is to.. well as said.. pass the rubber band using the straw which is in your mouth to the next person who also has a straw in her/his mouth and all the way to the back. The team with the most number of bands wins. Clearly we sucked at this also. But it was fun. At the front, they were fast but it was slower to the end. So while the back was still passing, the front is already jammed. Then my team lead #1 was like errmmm ermmm ermm (cause there's a straw in our mouth and we can't talk due to that) and when she's passing to me my colleague to the front was like ermmm ermmmmm ermm to her also. Goodness... the things we do for presents.

4th game... Form Words with Letters Given. Say they give you 6 letters, you're supposed to make up words from that letter ranging from 3-lettered words to 6-lettered words. By this time, we were bored. My team lead was asking if she could just give up and skip the game. Right! In the end, she was the one flipping through the 2 pages coming up with all kinds of words. And I'm just copying from her.

Horrors of horrors, when we didn't think we could win, we sweeped the top 5 prizes with Jaclyn announced as the "Ultimate Winner" not before the controversial "who's handwriting is this?".

Here's the prizes I stashed home:

Lastly, my attire for the dinner - all thanks to stylist, designer, accomplice, friend - Ariff:

Bored with a capital 'B'

2007-12-06T12:42:00.000+08:00

Ya that's how I feel now... haha... towards the end of the year, you have no idea how bored it can be. Unlike last year, I was just hoping for the next year to not come. So many things undone. Need more time.

This time around, nothing's going on. Nothing to look forward to also. Boredz eh... very much. Ok... back to work.

All the Petty Things

2007-11-24T12:24:00.000+08:00

Blink 182 once sang:
All the small things
True care, truth brings
I'll take one lift
Your ride, best trip
Always, I know you'll be at my show
Watching, waiting
Commiserating

Say it ain't so
I will not go
Turn the lights off
Carry me home

(na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na....)

I like the na-na-na-na part. So like lazy to think of anything to fill up... go na-na-na-na. Ok, so the Blink 182 song gave me the source of inspiration to my topic for today.

Ever so often, in our life story, we get worked up over so many small petty things with our friends. Here on, in this part of life the so-called matured age of 24, when you look back at it, you just find yourself smiling over it thinking... KENTAL JUGAK EH AKU DULU. Here's my list, one for each period of my life.

Kindergarten:
Still trying to think if there's any. Can't really remember. But I think there's this person, who kept on calling and hanging up. I was clueless but I tell you my mom was so fed up she thought it was this friend of mine on the 9th floor. Sorry no names will be mentioned ok (but truthfully I got no idea what is his name now). The calls keep on coming daily. If I'm not wrong, mom went to serbu his mom. We never talked since. And even if we do, it's just some stacatoic words full of pauses. Then again when I think of it now, maybe it is not his doing ek? Haha... whatever lah. At least I got a story to tell...

Primary School:
6 years of schooling, there's maybe hundreds of instances that I go into petty mode. But there's this weird fight in Primary 5 with a friend. Haha... pretty stupid. Reason for fighting: NONE. But we just don't talk to each other like suddenly and if I do go and try speak to him, he'll just ignore me. Lasted for the whole of the year. I even came up with a plan with another friend, to eliminate that guy-I'm-not-speaking-with and wipe him from the face of the earth. Yes, I used that phrase. By next year, we actually went out for Raya together with the rest. Petty, yes.

Secondary School:
Lemme count the times.... 1, 2, 3, 4... erm maybe too much. So the story goes... this group of girls and me supposedly wanted to study for POA (Principle of Accounts). Last minutes, one of them couldn't (or didn't) wanna go so cancelled the whole plan. On why we didn't just continue, I dunno. But the other party was quite furious over it and I guess was scolding the other girl and saying she bastard us and all. So this girl who was lashed at dropped me a voicemail saying sorry and all and told me that the other girl was pissed at her. So when I replied back, I was apologetic but at the same time bitched about how petty it was for the other girl to be scolding her for something so small.

10mins later I got a voicemail (the era of the beep beep pagers... duh) of a woman screaming shits at me. Yes, you guessed it, it was from the same furious girl. Apparently the both of them are sharing voicemail passwords. Haha... my BAD! Which is one more thing I don't understand about girls - WHY THE BLODDY HELL DO YOU NEED TO SHARE EVERYTHING EVEN YOUR VOICEMAIL PASSWORDS? Why don't you just let yourself get robbed in the daylight? This share, that share. Don't be surprised if they share coli also. Back to story... So in the end the girl on girl fight got me involved and it kindda deteriorated our "3-party talks" going by the way US is engaging North Korea. I'm talking politics here so sorry if you don't get it. It was over after 3 weeks thank god. Believe me, from experience, fights with girl-friends lasts shorter than guys, especially when their ego-boosters are raging.

Tertiary aka Polytechnic
At 20plus, yes, we're all still petty. Wait till I go to my next phase... even more nonsense. Haha... ok... for this I will highlight again 2 stories both of guy friends. Like I tell you, guys when their egos are raging, do NOT EVER agitate them.

Firstly, this older person in our group. I don't recall the details but I think we were chatting on IRC (again, yes... those were the days). So we were discussing about a few topics the whole gang and maybe something I said ticked him off and he went into swearing mode and all then suddenly goes offline. Being the timid person, I don't dare to speak to him until he makes the effort to. Good thing there's a girl friend I can count on to check if he's still mad or what. Best thing is she said he wasn't angry. UWOW...

Another one is not my encounter but a story from another person. If I recall correctly, group of guys stayed back for soccer or projects. Then one of them wanted to go somewhere but the rest didn't want to. Then he kicked up a fuss and went off by himself. The next thing you know, the rest were chasing after him. Our Poly has 3 different busstops you see. So instead of going towards the middle one (which is the nearest), he went towards the far most stop. Then when the rest caught up with him they asked him why he went to that bus stop he just replied "Takda... aku saja je". UWOW...

NS
This also got a lot.

We are given a few copies of newspaper daily and we're supposed to go to HQ Company to retrieve it and sign for it. Some bugger started the trend to collect from the Guardhouse so instead of the allocated amount, they could have more. Since the bugger started it, the rest follows correct? So there were days when we didn't have a single copy of the papers. So me and my buddy got enough of it, we also joined the crowd. Surprise! Surprise! The assistant Chief Clerk actually came up to our office and was asking who and why did we take the papers from the Guardhouse. The next thing you know, 2 CPLs were arguing with this 3SGT over some newspapers. The best part is when the 3SGT gave up and left the office with this parting words: "You all better do something or else..." and these 2 CPLs goes "Yea, you better do something to your S1 people also or else..." --Dust hands off--

I believe I will get in trouble for this one because this for sure I know the person involved does read my blog. So if you don't talk to me again, at least I know it does bother you. Still, hopefully with age and space, we all have matured. Yea right.

Ok... it was a hard, long and tiring night for everyone and we're all awaiting for the bus to go back to camp. Everyone was scattered all over the place in groups talking and all. Being the irritating me, I went around to disturb whoever I please. Then came to this friend I saw him alone... like standing there by himself. Good target to disturb. Went to him and asked him where his buddy is... to which he just told me "Aiyah, I'm a loner whaat". I looked around and saw his buddy. Then I said loudly "Wah you so pity... come come I accompany you. Never mind. Your buddy no use leave you alone. I accompany you. We leave him alone." Trust me to keep my mouth shut. The friend then burst out scolding me when we board the bus. I kept apologising saying that it was just for fun, no harm intended. For a week, we just avoided each other - hard as we're in the same room. Haha... pretty obvious right? We're ok now, I believe. Tell me if I'm wrong.

It was a tough period for me on all these occasions. Once you fight, there's a high chance you'll never talk to each other again. It was a good thing that after our petty fights, we managed to reconcile. I don't mind losing friends who gives negative vibes to me. But the rest I treasure eventhough it might be a long time since I last contact them.

And even if my parents discourage me from making friends with some groups of people whom they do not approve of, I still keep them. To me, we ourselves control what we do. If you were to blame your friend for habits which you picked from them or things you did, I think you need a hard knock to your head - I'm happy to do that, please call me (think of the mocca.com advert).

Apologies to all affected by this post but it's all in the past. Hopefully by now we all have moved on and gone to do better things in life than sulking up the past like me... haha. But as I always say, for every step forward you take, look behind, appreciate the past. For that was the route we took to today.

That's all! See ya folks... again apologies to all affected.

The Night

2007-11-20T23:51:00.000+08:00

where the taxi went so slow...

You would think that taking the taxi is all bout rushing for time (or the laziness that's encrypted in our soul but that's for another discussion). Yet after finding it so hard to get a cab, when I finally got into one, the driver goes so slow as 40km/h at normal road and 60-80km/h on the expressway. He kept at gear 4 eventhough the car started to vibrate and he was travelling at 30km/h.

People talk bout the Taxi Driver from HELL.
Mine's from the DEEPEST WOUND OF HELL... the SLOWESTESTMEST.
Either he's bloody into the Traffic rules or he's out to make big bucks from me. Normally it would cost me max 7.50 bucks. He got away with 8.70.

Yea critisize all you want that I'm a miser. Take away the fact that it was clear road and there was no Peak hour surcharge, I'm still wondering why the meter went beyond the max I was charged during both periods.

Then the next trip at 10plus night. Cabs are everywhere. Either they're hired or green and the cabbie just decided I'm-rich-enough. READ: Phantom cabs. Go figure.. it's in the news. Thankfully there's a good driver who stopped for me finally.

I went blog-hopping

2007-11-18T17:52:00.000+08:00

for like the 1st time in months .. or maybe year. Who knows eh? Just like this blog is somewhat dead, so is the other blogs I usually frequent. It also helps that I've lost the links to some of my friend's blog therefore I had more time to spend reading the entries and not just just blog-gazing.

Nothing much eh was found.

I read about pregnant lady going for Brazilian wax. Fuyio.
Then there's a dude who tinted his car and bought a Spiderman toy to hang for his windscreen.
One more goes into hibernation from early November for studies.
And the dozens else just went into coma never to wake up.
Hah.

But there's one which resurrected herself from death. Woohoo! Love her blog. That day's entry was on her trip to the northern hemisphere. Hehe. Excerpts follows

I went about the malls of Malacca looking for tetek tape. Here's how it went.

xxxx's Tetek Tape Adventure

Me: Hello. Do you sell nipple tape?

Female Malay sales assistant: Ape? (Cramped eyebrows)

Me: Oh. Ade jual plaster,untuk nak (circles left nipple) plaster ni. (continues circling action)

She: Ah? Oh, yang nak besarkan ye?

Me: Eh, kenape awak bodoh! Ini tak cukup besar ke (Punches her right and left tit. They deflate. Punches again. They explode leaving me in a bloody state with an evil laughter amplifying the gore) Haha. I wished.

Me: Plaster. Ade plaster?

She: Tingkat dua.

Yeah, she pointed me to the stationeries section. Rather ingenious really, I ended up improvising masking tape. It's cheaper but go slow when taking it off unless you have no tetek hair.

Can just imagine her King Kong action moves. Good laugh girl... Thank You.

Moving on to another story...

Went out yesterday with my buddy-who-doesn't-seem-to-contact-me-so-often-like-I-wish-him-to. Initial plan was to go to town and collect his pants then go for movie and as usual lepak till my parents call me home (yes... that still happens ok, but I'm ok with it). In turn we went from Taka to Paragon to Taka to Wisma to Bugis to Marina to Tampines to IKEA to Downtown East and home.

Him: "Aku planning ingatkan skejab aja.. by 8 dah boleh balik"
Me: "Samalah.. tapi ko tau ah. Kalau dah kluar dengan aku nak masukkan dinner dia, nak masukkan supper nyer. Jangan harap ah.

Penat oi jalan sini sana. But ok lah.. no cash to buy stuff (actually got, just dun wanna use) so I just join in the pleasure of him having to get to buy whatever he wanted. Nanti ada sale besar-besaran aku guling semua masuk dalam bag and have the cashier happy with my ka-chings in her cash register. Dahsyat, dahsyat! Bila eh tu...

KL Trip - 3-4th Nov 2007

2007-11-05T23:48:00.000+08:00

After a long time (not too long but for this purpose - wedding) it's been a long time. This time around, we're going by car - a first for the longest time ever. Last we ever drove to KL was in 1989... was a van and the whole extended family (not many that time) packed into the vehicle.

Stopped by Danga Bay, JB for breakfast at a restaurant called "Singgah Selalu" or "Drop-by Often". Nice ah the place. No problems with the food (for me). Best part is I met with Fadli from secondary school on the way to JB. He's working as the Customs Officer @ Woodlands. Then at the restaurant, firstly I saw Rosma (teacher at East Spring). Apparently that was THE breakfast stopover place for her like whenever she goes to JB. And then I met Faridz (from TP IFC). He, too, an avid junkie to the place. Like wow... Singaporeans just love going to JB don't they?

Left JB around 11plus to 12noon. All the way out to the highway in our Toyota Wish
rental. Was excited at first. Like "eh I've been here" and "ohh I know this road" and "eh.. go up and road goes to Senai Airport". Entah betol ke tak. Main hentam saja lah. The car had an in-built DVD player and screen so we watched some VCDs on the way - but my mind was wondering upon the vast lands of Malaysia, as usual.

2hrs later. Melaka. The overhead resting point (I'm just making that up but there's a name for it). Stopped for prayers and lunch. Skipped lunch altogether cause I've already eaten, went to see the shops they have there - loadsa gifts/souvenirs/"runcit" then there's the cakes, sports shop, KFC, food court and... A&W!! Can't find that in Singapore can't ya? Took some pics over at the place. Less than 2mins, the rain came down and we had to seek shelter. Haha... so much for nice memories.

What's next? We reached the outskirts of KL by 4 plus the evening and our driver, Cik Lan, brought us to the F1 Circuit in Sepang followed by KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport) enroute to uncle's nest in Ampang. The F1 Circuit I've seen before from the initial trip to KL in Feb this year but from afar. He drove us to take a pic with the backdrop of the Sepang circuit then all the way in just outside of the entrance. They even had the Go-Kart version tucked at the side. For KLIA, well, been there for hours in Feb so I wasn't too engross in it.

Left KLIA by 6pm, next destination: Uncle's place in Ampang. The drive was slow caused by the jam - typical of KL roads. By the time we managed to hook up with him, it was close to 7pm. The meeting point to his house was another few good minutes. Once we reached there, it was a mad rush for the toilets, bathrooms and iron. Within the hour everyone was ready and set to go for the dinner reception. Pics up for the dinner recept. In running order from left to right; (1) The 3 cuzzins - me, Yani and Sis | (2) Me and Sis caught eating... haha | (3) Our rombongan and the couple

Just before going home, some pics of the backyard of the house - our favourite place unknown to everyone. Everytime we went there, we'll find time to hangout at the backyard. I hope we'll still get to do it the next time round.

And then.. after all the goodbyes and see ya agains, our rombongan set off to Singapore and Mamang Lili headed off back to Kuantan. Everytime saying goodbye to leave KL it leaves a dent in the heart. God knows when will we reach again. God knows who will be left.

Now... just before leaving, a stop by KLCC and Putrajaya. Let's get the pics to talk.

And lastly, we went to Gelang Patah for Seafood dinner at the Kelong mind you. Not just any how floating platform, it's a KELONG! Had so much fun there. Tuas was just a leap away. Could even receive the Starhub connection from there. Had fish, sotong,
tofu, rice and such. Too full though after all's done. But it was much much much worth it for the amount we pay. We reached Singapore shores at 9.30pm and finally reached home by 10pm.

It was a good trip... like what I told my aunt "Kita gi orang kawin cam gi holiday plak". Didn't think it'ld be that much fun but I think we enjoyed it very much. Gotta see new things and explore new places. Always nice to be able to do that. That's all for my KL trip this time around. Outz!

I think I got a reason to blog now...

2007-10-31T23:46:00.001+08:00

and you wanna know why? Because I have something to write already. Not just movie reviews or Today-I-did-this-and-that post. Stuffs. Just write about stuffs that I discovered, that I learnt, that I experienced. Just like when I was in school. When I was in NS. When I learnt. Stuffs. Loads of it.

The journey started in 2005. Oct. Didn't remember when.. cause the slip has already faded. Blame that on the fax paper... what issit called? Anyways, today, 31st October 2007... I've completed my Basic Theory and Final Theory and into my 10th practical lesson and soon, hopefully my Traffic Police Test.

It's kindda fun now as compared to the first few lessons I had cause now I've known what's the clutch is for, how to control the gears and all. Given that I still suck at a smooth, at least I'm learning a little a lesson. It's like when you first shoot from a gun, the first time is nerve-wrecking - whether its a blank or real ammo. But the dangers are real, that I know.

Looking forward to all my lessons now. Will update as and when I have lessons so you all can keep reading SOMETHING. hehe... and as usual will keep it light hearted as per the norm. For this update though, just words to intro first on my latest newest things-in-life.

Owww... owww... Boston Legal's starting. Outz!

Movie Review: Stardust

2007-10-31T22:46:00.000+08:00

"This summer... a star falls. The chase begins."

Starring:
Claire Danes Yvaine (The Star)
Charlie Cox Tristan (The Shopboy)
Robert De Niro Captain Shakespeare (The Captain of the Sky Ship)
Michelle Pfeiffer Lamia (One of 3 of The Evil Witches)
Sienna Miller Victoria (The Girl Tristan liked - initially)
Ian McKellen Narrator (The Deep Mysterious Voice)

Storyline:
Shopboy Tristan has the hearts for Victoria, a girl just down the road. But Victoria's heart belongs to another man whom she will get married to in a week's time. When the both of them went out for a small picnic under the night skies, they both saw a shooting star and Tristan promised to Victoria that "for her hand in marriage, he will climb over the wall (that separates England "the human world", and Stronghold "the fantasy world") to fetch her the fallen star. Little that he know, his quest for fallen star became a journey of a lifetime.

Review:
If you've watched Narnia... you're going to love this.
If you've watched Harry Potter... you're going to love this.
If you've watched Eragon... you're going to love this.
If you've watched any of those fantasy movies that has an English accent actor/actress as the main character...you're going to love this. OK, maybe they're just faking it out in this story but it sounds like it though.

It's those feel good movies that'll leave you smiling leaving the theater. The storyline is simple and easy to digest. And the laughters aplenty. Within the rich overall look in the movie, all forestry, all magical aura, they managed to lighten the mood many times. The best moment was when Robert De Niro revealed his true self and from then on, one pun after another follows.

There's nothing much else to be said or I'll have to give it all. Just trust me. :)

2007-10-19T05:52:00.000+08:00

A simple question got this entry going...

"Amcam kau plak? Dah settle down kerja kau?"

At a time when the legal age to work is 15, and when you are hard pressed of a job, you think ahh never mind. It will get better when you're older. No cert no nothing, of course you can't get anything.

When you try to get a job during your O Level vacation break and it's hard, you just tell yourself when I finally get my cert, it will get better.

And when the cert is finally out and you got a job, you realised it's not the dream job you envisioned. Lucky those with diploma. They get all the good job. Soon, one day, our turn will come.

After Poly was straight to NS and towards the end of my term there, getting a job was in everyone's mind. Couple of my camp mates were pondering over their future. But when they look at us, the "smart ones", they always assume with our diploma, we could get good paying jobs.

Now that most of us are working, we realised that unless we have a degree, getting a good job with a good pay is hard. And those who thinks we will have good paying jobs are themselves the ones who are hitting the good pay.

It's always a ladder to climb. One after the next. Sometimes irony comes in when you look down. But look to the sides, you realise there is a difference.

2007-10-15T13:35:00.000+08:00

When I surf around and I see people's lives... sometimes I wonder where they find the time and energy to do the things they do. Seeing their faces full of happiness. Not that I'm not happy but it comes with realisation that you have done nothing meaningful in life. You have friends but you're too busy to go out with them. Then friends think you've forgotten about them. Who's fault is it?

I see people's life... and I wonder what am I doing with mine.

In between all the chaotic mess

2007-09-18T05:34:00.000+08:00

Mid-September already. End of the month approaching soon.

It's been a long while since I last blogged. Had no conscience effort to do it. But when I'm on a long journey, I always have stuffs to think off to blog bout. Once I'm in front of the PC, nothing comes into my mind. And in between getting this page to load and cursing at Starhub for the big latency shit they've been giving, I just gave up most of the time.

Maybe I should just blame my PC.
Or my modem.
Or could it be the router?

Blame it on the people who creates PC I guess... solves all my blaming problem.

There.
I.am.bantering.
I.do.not.like.this.

Anyways... it's day 6 of the fasting month. Yesterday I took a trip across my place for the nightly prayers to an enclave within a neighbourhood where they conducted their own prayers away from the hustling of the town mosque. What I discovered is a serene environment, akin to the nostalgic kampung days where everyone knows everybody else. But for some reason, although compellingly nice, it didn't turn out to be lasting-fully nice. So I might not return there. Feels at home in my town mosque.

Now... the prayers a-calling. Till I load this page again. Wonders when...

P/S: The blog theme design is close to 1 year now. I remember changing it to its current theme design last time when we were still fasting. Just so shocked I actually had so much time to do it.

NDP 2007 - A Closing Chapter

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

Wow... I came in like 8.05am into the office. This is like the earliest I've ever came in a month. Haha... today fasting lah that's why it's possible to come in early. Anyways, I really liked my sleep in the bus. So peaceful. Even listening to the radio is less of a priority now as compared to sleep.

Well, yesterday, we closed our chapter of NDP 2007 with PA with a Thank You Party at Meritus Mandarin. Same place, different host, similar games... sometimes it just makes you bored lah these things. Or am I just getting older by the years and Thank You Parties just don't get me going anymore.

Coming in for the Thank You Party, my mission is to take as many pics as I can with as many people I know. Wahaha... reason being... I don't know how long I'll last and this year has been a wonderful year in terms of making friends with so many people. Even aunties, hippies, budak² falls into my list. Amazing isn't it. The party was draggy in the 1st place and the emcee was... haiya... pure irritating. I think he's in no mood to do the event that's why. Maybe he gets less who knows. I prefer last year's emcee... friendly and tolerant with our nonsense. We hit off the dance floor when a reggae beat came on. Was ready to go home actually but since the music was good, who cares... dance it off lor. Haha.

All the wonderful things... all the wonderful people. I think I am really ready for my swansong next year. Then, will I close entirely my chapter with NDP forever.