Travelling

Going abroad is always fun, so many things to see and do as well as experience. The one heart wrenching sight is of little kids trying to sell you postcards and trinkets and the like. Their education from the streets can make them tough salespeople to reject as they use every tactic possible to get you to buy something.
From the usual "but you bought something from her! Why didn't you buy from me" to the unusual "come you buy my water, very good, better than her (neighbouring stall) water" zeenie:"but it's the same brand! "Mine different type of evian, better type!" to the plain ludicrous "you buy book?! (zeenie holds up the same book) ahn nevermind, you buy another? This one good book, can read twice!"

It was a little tiring having to run the gauntlet of this barrage of sales pitches everytime we boarded or alighted the bus.

Overheard over lunch

Had to share a table over lunch today and I couldn't help but overhear the conversation next to me, partially because they were just next to me and partially because the guy was talking so loudly. He was bragging about how well he has been doing as a lawyer, and firms have been courting him and that he has a girlfriend whom he is with "because she'll make a good wife, but for no other reason". What struck me was that he couldn't string two sentences together coherently, and claimed to be a lawyer. With an attitude like that I'm surprised he has a girlfriend!

God's gift to women? Pah! More like the booby prize.

Taxi capers

Tried to get a cab this evening and arrived at the side road to find one other person waiting for a cab, but thankfully on the wrong side of the road from the direction that I was heading. So I crossed the road to wait and by chance, two cabs pulled up along side me, the first had to let a passenger alight, while the second was on call. I was tempted to let the other person have the cab 'cos she looked to be in a hurry and looked quite put out about me getting a cab first but I figured that the cab wasn't heading her way so I jumped in. Turns out that the cab on call was hers so it all kinda worked out in the end, since the alternative scenario would be that she gets the first cab, calls to cancel her booking (saving money), leaving me with a cab that's on call to someone else and some time to wait. :)
Remember, the early bird may get the worm but the second mouse gets the cheese.

Forum

It has been an interesting day, 'cos I attended a Forum relating to my work, and the fact that it's a Global Forum just makes that much better 'cos there are quite a few famous people inthe industry that are here to talk shop. People I've only read about in books, hell, in books that they have written, it is a great conference, on paper. Unfortunately, it is only a two day Forum so speakers were only given a limited time to speak, which was a pity considering the amount of travelling time some of the delegates took to get here. There was even one guy from Holland who flew in this morning and he's flying out tomorrow night after theast speaker. The world is getting smaller!!

Irony of the day

Buying stuff at Kinokuniya and finding that you have to sign for your purchases (credit card) with a pen that has a "Popular bookshop" price tag still affixed to it. Lol

Quote of the day

After a meeting, a colleague asked me, since she say me taking down the salient points of our discussion, "how are your minutes?"
My reply, "sixty of them this hour and all of them ticking along just fine." :)

Surreal sight of the day? Hearing a polyphonic version of the Smurfs theme song coming from the chest of a girl..... Upon closer (but not too close) inspection, it turned out that she was clutching a handphone to her ...... erm ..... chest and it was the culprit of the irritating tone.  Strange person. I would try to come up with an explanation but I'll probably end up involving a Gargamel, some blue creatures and the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. Ok, I'm even more strange.....

Traffic jams, the equaliser

Am in a traffic jam now (bukit timah road for readers reading this 'live' (now how likely is that?)) and couldn't help but notice that all cars around, from the rich and powerful ones to the speedy and sporty ones, all equally stuck in this jam. Couldn't help but laugh out loud at the this....

the food!

food
Originally uploaded by zeenie.

After checking in and having explored the tranquil settings of our hotel, it was time for lunch! Until a few days before our trip, I had never had Pad Thai before, so it was interesting to compare how the Singaporean and the real-deal versions matched up. Of course the real version is better, by virtue of the freshness of the ingredients and the variety of spices, and it made paradise seem complete. For completeness, I had Pad Thai at various places and I liked them all, although the one by the resort pool was the very best. Wash it down with cold beer on a hot day is my idea of bliss. =)

Check out the funky drinks!


drinks
Originally uploaded by zeenie.

welcome drinks

welcome
Originally uploaded by zeenie.

This is a continuation of "stories from phuket" series... (actually, i just made that title up).

We woke up quite early to make the 7am flight and it did feel odd to be waking up earlier than usual on a public holiday, especially since we slept at like 4am, but the excitement of going on a holiday was just enough to keep us going. Didn't feel sleepy on the plane either and didn't eat much on the plane, since airplane food is....well....airplane food, and i was saving my stomach for Thai food! (later i found out that i put on weight in the 4 days i was there. yikes!). After enduring long queues at the airport, we whizzed through everything else, since we were only carrying a carry-on (harvestsack) each and the van took us to our hotel.

What you see in the photo was the sight that greeted us, which generated even more expectations about the place. I must say that our stay was wonderful in almost every aspect and memorable, to say the least. =)

The drink was nice and cold and refreshing while the cold towel really woke us up! The tranquil settings were really very peaceful and i could feel myself relaxing already. Paradise......

zeenie the thinker

Just attended a team building meeting and we did a test by Carl Jung (pronounced Yong), a famous Swiss psychologist. According to him, our communication styles can be shaped into one of the following: Intuitor, Feeler, Senser (odd spelling, i know)and Thinker. The battery of questions were divided into 'normal situations' and 'stressful situations'.

It was an interesting test and I was not surprised (as were my colleagues) to find that in times of normalcy, i'm a Thinker, and under stress, i become even more of a Thinker. =)

Funny quote of the day came from my boss sitting beside me, when he was asked what was his secondary mode of communication, he said "I'm not sure, the rest are almost the same but i have a strong S."
I nearly blurted my tea into his lap when he said that, if i had been drinking tea that is.

discrimination on our flight home

flight home
Originally uploaded by zeenie.

I was going to start a series on some stories that happen to us on our travels and i've decided to start from the back, since it is the most disappointing one.

Not sure if you can see from the picture, but this shot was taken from the last row of the aircraft where we were seated. Interesting thing about this picture for us was that the heads closest to us were black while the heads nearer to the front of the aircraft was not black and the skin white.

We flew home on this Silk Air flight and found that people in front of us in the check-in queue and people behind of us in the check-in queue were seated to the front, and it so happened that these couples were both caucasian. I do not blame Silk Air directly since this is obviously the work of a biased ground staff, but one cannot help but feel that their training has been somewhat lacking and thus they would have some accept some responsibility in this. Now i'm not saying that all Singaporeans should be accorded special treatment on Silk Air or SIA flights, but at the least, everyone should be treated equally. To borrow an Aussie phrase (ironic, i know), all we're asking is for a fair go.

The funny thing is that for some of these ang mos, they take it as their right to be treated better than people of asian descent. One particular couple insisted on getting an extra seat on this FULL flight, just because they were held up and did not arrive to the airport on time, although they did manage to check-in with about an hour and a half to spare. IMO, some people cannot accept that the East India Company has gone the way of the dodo a long time ago and persist in maintaining a 'colonist' mentality and inflicting these slanted attitudes upone anyone they deem fit (or unfit), and worse still, some people are encouraging them!

In the wake of our National Day, i feel that we should put a stop this and know that we are just as, if not more, capable as they are in every thing in life and there are more than enough examples around us to inspire and motivate us.

Learning is a lifelong process with many teachers, and we should learn from them just as they from us, but we should not kowtow to them, and should not be expected to do so.

macbook

macbook
Originally uploaded by zeenz.

i needed a laptop that's reliable, portable (have you seen some of the 20" lappies these days? you need a lap like Shaq in order to have them in your lap) and easy to use, as i was going on a 1 year course with the uni and needed something to take down notes. A friend who's a mac addict came laptop shopping with me and basically that was that. Didn't really need much convincing, although i was a little hesitant 'cos this is my first mac.

I'll try to list any experiences i have on this, since i have been a lifetime pc user. Oh wait, my first input, there's no 'delete' key!! Actually, there is, but it's the 'backspace' key on the pc. Interesting....

Specs-wise, i only upgraded the ram to 1Gb and bought a protective cover for the case and plastic cover for the wrist-rest-portion, aside from that the specs are stock and are as follows:
1.83GHz Intel Core Duo processor
60GB 5400-rpm hard drive
13.3-inch TFT widescreen display; 1280 by 800 pixels
Intel GMA950 graphics processor with 64MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory
Built-in iSight video camera
Front Row and Apple Remote (what's this?)
Slot-loading Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
One FireWre 400 port; two USB 2.0 ports
Optical digital audio input/audio line in, optical digital audio output / headphone out, built-in stereo speakers
Mini-DVI port for DVI, VGA, composite, and S-video (huh?)
Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet
Built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking(802.11g) and Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR (huh??)
Preinstalled Mac OS X and other bundled software (basically iLife)
Size and weight: 12.78 by 8.92 by 1.08 inches (32.5 by 22.7 by 2.75 cm); 5.2 pounds (2.4 kg)
Meets ENERGY STAR requirements

Holidays

I really meant to blog during our holiday, unfortunately there was just so much to do,  or rather, so much of not doing anything at all, that now when I finally have the time, we are checking out of out hotel and leaving for home.

It has been a great holiday and I learned a lot about the country and its wonderful people, but I also learned about me.  More on that some other time, for now, we have a plane to catch!

technology and us

I read an article on the internet about couple surfing being a trend and couldn't but think of me and wibblewamble.

Back in the early days of our relationship, we were in different countries, so technology played a huge part in reaching out to each other. I remember that we would explore various cheap options to communicate, ranging from IRC (brief) and ICQ (main mode of communication for awhile, aside from the phone) to various voice options from low-cost phonecards to VOIP systems. We tried them all, and the funny thing is, we never got tired or frustrated about the technology. It was all about being able to communicate for me, and it didn't matter that all i saw was letters appearing on my screen, or that a delay of 3 seconds each time one of us spoke meant that information was sometimes lost. Instead, what mattered was that it was her fingers typing those letters with her thoughts behind them, and it was her voice over the line (albeit a little delayed) with her feelings following them. Each mode of communication had its pros and cons, and we savoured each type for its little quirks and features, enabling us to write a bodice-ripping type novel in the future should we ever decide to embark on a career in writing. =)

As for now, one of our little ways of communicating to each other (learning how freaky life can be when you both get the same result for a 30-Q quiz) is this blog, and thankfully it has not degenerated into a cutesy fluffy pinky page of mushy lovewords. And i think it is nice to share this with you, so to all our readers out there, frequent, occcasional, regular or large, i thank you for your company and hope to keep on writing.

In other kind-of-related news, wibblewamble and i are heading out of the country for the next few days so updates might be a little rare. We'll try to put up some posts about our trip when we get back!

The day before going on leave

Why is it that every time I try to go on leave everyone decides to come back with new instructions or new questions, on the day before I actually go on leave? I don't think there's ever been a single instance where there was a peaceful day before and I didn't come really really really close to missing my flight. It's got to be a conspiracy... *grimace*... or a cosmic joke "you'll get your leave approved, but let's see you try to actually relax during your leave"...

Ah well, fingers crossed, maybe I'll get lucky this time...

The day after gym

Signed up for a gym membership and had my first session yesterday, surprisingly, I don't ache that much today so I'll probably be able to go today as well. I must say that gyms these days are quite well serviced and clean smelling. Don't think I can ever sign up my uncoordinated self for classes though, I might knock out the person standing next to me or something.

Update

i actually went for another gym session today, this time with a personal trainer. i think my arms are going to drop off and i have lost all feeling below my waist while my abs feel like they have been put through the wringer and then twisted into dreadlocks. The only other time i recall feeling like this was after a particularly torrid session with the PTI in BMT, one where a fellow recruit even had trouble taking off his singlet afterwards. LOL

What's even more interesting is probably the fact that i've scheduled to see him again. I must be mad. LOL

Busy weekend

Had a busy weekend with Jeanie. =)

Saturday, we attended an SPCA fund raising event at the Heeren and got to meet a few other doggies and a cat there. It was quite interesting walking a dog down orchard road, and kind of an experience to savour. Jeanie attracted quite abit of attention and she loved it, soaking it up and prancing about with a sparkle in her eye. Great to see her happy.

Sunday, we attended the national dog walk thingie as advertised here on this blog and it was fun! It looked like over 200 dogs attended and at times it felt like pandemonium, with dogs running around, chasing each other and having so much fun. Unfortunately, Jeanie wasn't feeling too friendly that day and snapped at a few dogs, otherwise, it was a fun-filled day for all involved.

Sight of the day: A chihuahua getting frisky with his owner's legs while eyeing a Husky that was walking by. Lust, there are no limits!

Quote of the day (by jeanie): "Oi! A miniature schnauzer won a huge bag (20kg?) of Solid Gold dog food at the lucky draw?? It's not going to be miniature after that! *snigger*"

mrt antics

I always find it amusing whenever trains from opposing platforms arrive at the same time, especially during peak hours. There would be that pause, a brief moment of incredulity as we wait for the platform doors to open. You can almost hear their thoughts: "dun let those northerners get to the escalator before us!" "Those eastsiders think they are so great, I'll get there before them and have the last laugh yet!" and so on....

The funny thing is that these ordinary men and women, dressed for the office, are transformed into someone whom they themselves might not recognise. The quickness of feet, waving of arms (and elbows), bowed head (for lower drag I guess) and that glint in the eye of "hah! I got here before you did and now you have to face my posterior end as we head up the escalator, and you will be forced to look away from the greatness of my butt". I shall not even begin to describe the looks and thoughts given to those who take the stairs, they range from "nyah nyah, you have to take the stairs" to "healthfreak!".

Funny thing is, people transform back to their docile, office-type demeanour the moment the ride on the escalator ends.

Thoughts for the day

Seems like my previous mobile post on my taxi splurge did not get published, no matter, I'll retrieve it on my pc.

Today I decided to sort out some issues regarding my upcoming ICT. Aside from the dreaded IPPT, I also have to contend with returning to the army after so long. Yep, this will be my first ICT, so does that make me a virgoin ns-man? I have no idea where my full pack is and will probably have to spend an e-fortune at the e-mart to equip my unequipped person. I doubt I'll meet anyone I know since my contemporaries have already completed their 5th or 6th ICT so it's going to be an interesting time. Was telling my office roomie (OR, lol) that one of the long timers in my company reminded me of my chief clerk, or any chief clerk for that matter. She didn't get it, but another colleague (a guy) did, which made me wonder, is there some "school of chief clerks" that all chief clerks went to? I ask this 'cos the minute you say "chief clerk", most guys will have an impression of someone, and that person will be mostly identical with minor variances. Strange thoughts for a thursday.....

Which sports car are you?

Thanks to crufty and -Ben, got this quiz. I was actually looking forward to being an RX-8 but i got its younger brother instead. LOL

I'm a Mazda Miata!

You like to soak up the sun, but your tastes are down to earth. Everyone thinks you're cute. Life is a winding road, and you like to take the curves in stride. Let other people compete in the rat race - you're just here to enjoy the ride.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

Can't say that it's very accurate but it is fun for a lark.