work

Pranks at work
Originally uploaded by zeenie.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, been busy at work!

Black ?

The Lions Tour is on now in NZ and they are playing a variety of teams from provincial to the highlight 3 match series against the New Zealand rugby team, the All Blacks.

All sports teams from NZ have a monicker that contains either 'black' or 'white' (no, this is not a nation of MJ fans) or even 'silver' (as a distinctive icon of NZ is the silver fern (name used by the women's netball team)). Generally, the women's team have the word 'fern' in it, like the women's rugby team, the Black Ferns.

The men's soccer team is the All Whites (which led to some calling them racists), and the NZ cricket team are the Black Caps, the softball team (3 time world champs) the Black Sox, and now presenting the NZ badminton team, the Black Cocks.
*facepalm*

More here:
STUFF : SPORT - STORY : New Zealand's leading news and information website:

Toyota with GT wing

Toyota with GT wing
Originally uploaded by zeenie.

Ferraris fear him! Bugattis bow to him! Porches become 'pok' cars! Lamborghinis lose to him!

Was on the way home one day when i saw this car on the highway, going *really* quickly, but thanks to my lightning reflexes and quick thinking (not to mention easy access to my camera), i present the fastest looking (not) Toyota.

Getting to know me...

Strange yet fairly accurate quiz (via Jasmine gal). I wonder what would the other options bring? LOL

Get to know yourself better

Your view on yourself:

You are down-to-earth and people like you because you are so straightforward. You are an efficient problem solver because you will listen to both sides of an argument before making a decision that usually appeals to both parties.

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:

You are a true romantic. When you are in love, you will do anything and everything to keep your love true.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:

You are ready to commit as soon as you meet the right person. And you believe you will pretty much know as soon as you might that person.

The seriousness of your love:

Your have very sensible tactics when approaching the opposite sex. In many ways people find your straightforwardness attractive, so you will find yourself with plenty of dates.

Your views on education

You may not like to study but you have many practical ideas. You listen to your own instincts and tend to follow your heart, so you will probably end up with an unusual job.

The right job for you:

You're a practical person and will choose a secure job with a steady income. Knowing what you like to do is important. Find a regular job doing just that and you'll be set for life.

How do you view success:

You are afraid of failure and scared to have a go at the career you would like to have in case you don't succeed. Don't give up when you haven't yet even started! Be courageous.

What are you most afraid of:

You are concerned about your image and the way others see you. This means that you try very hard to be accepted by other people. It's time for you to believe in who you are, not what you wear.

Who is your true self:

You are mature, reasonable, honest and give good advice. People ask for your comments on all sorts of different issues. Sometimes you might find yourself in a dilemma when trapped with a problem, which your heart rather than your head needs to solve.

Car mad!

My browser is just full of tabs today thanks to the lord of links, Lancerlord.

Amongst the great reads i found were some great ones about cars including Jalopnik and Autoblog. Also check out the one about this guy building his own car!

Overheard in the office:
A: What are you doing tonight?
B: Group of us going out clubbing lor....
A: What? your gang ah?
B: Yah, 'cos by day i'm a mild mannered maniac depressive office worker, but by night i lead a group of vigilantes who scour the island in search of the perfect milo-peng.
A: Err.....

Fold Paper in half any number of times

Fold Paper in half any number of times: “Did you know that you can't fold a piece of paper in half more than eight times, no matter how big the paper is? ” PBS

The geek in me (ie all of me) is both envious and full of admiration for this cleverness. (via LancerLord)

a better tomorrow?

Rainbow
Originally uploaded by zeenie.

Not really posting these days as I am down with a stomach bug again. I'll get well soon i hope, i don't know how much more of this my rear end can take....

Overheard:
A: Eh, are you going for the induction program? I wasn't asked to go leh.
B: That's because you're resistive and need to go for the capacitive program. Hur hur hur.

Hidden meaning?

This is where it gets really freaky...

Keywords for WibbleWamble:

• Beginning
• Individual
• Independence
• Leadership
• Determination
• Strong-willed
• Innovative
• Courage
• Honesty
• Activity

http://quizbox.com/horoscopes/aries/

Hidden meaning?

Don't know about this one, but i just found the pictures really cute! =)
from LancerLord.

The Hidden Meaning in Names
Keywords for zeenie:

• Beginning
• Individual
• Independence
• Leadership
• Determination
• Strong-willed
• Innovative
• Courage
• Honesty
• Activity

Ethics of reporting

My thoughts. Mine.

An interesting rant with a really insightful and well written bits of information. It may be a little disconcerting to have to read it from the bottom up, but it's well worth it.

I've been browned. =)

mrbrown: L'infantile terrible of Singapore: 938 Live Campus responses: "We had this 'conference' today.. It was part of 938 Live's Campus programme. Anyway, we had Chandra Mohan, Daniel Koh, Mr Miyagi & Mr Brown on the panel today. They raised the usual issues about legal stuff etc. Saw Mr Brown's expression when the words 'online diary' were mentioned.. Haha.. He seemed quite pissed whenever it was mentioned."

Yay! Wonder how mb came across my blog, but i'm not complaining. =)

Jeanie @ Pasir Ris

Jeanie @ Pasir RIs
Originally uploaded by zeenie.

We didn't really do much for Father's day itself (already had high tea on Sat), but we did bring the baby, aka jeanie aka jeanie baby, to Pasir Ris park. The trees have really grown since I last remembered them and provided welcome shade for us. I remember playing soccer amongst those trees with some guys i just met and my Dad would go for a jog before popping by to see me play, then we would go for dinner. Strange to be there on Father's day and funny such thoughts and memories would come to mind.
Happy Father's day Dad.

balloons at a wedding

balloons at a wedding
Originally uploaded by zeenie.

Buddy of mine registered yesterday. Congratulations bro, the very best wishes to you and your lovely bride.

blogging: private or public?

The dynamic duo of mr brown and mr miyagi are on the radio, together with Mr Chandra Mohan (from Tan Rajah & Cheah) and Mr Daniel Koh.

Hightlights and issues covered include:

Why do you blog?
Apparently mb fell into it.

Are you comfortable with people reading your private thoughts?
Maybe that's why mb has secret blogs out there!

Is there an issue with Freedom of expression regarding blogs?
Mr Mohan: "with great power comes great responsibility", owners of blogs have to be responsible.
Mr Koh: "Opinions with no dire consequences is alright and fair comment." (emphasis added, i wonder how one determines that?) Writing nasty and untrue things which puts someone in a bad light, one has to be accountable. Although no legal precedence has been set regarding this, defamation laws still apply.
mr brown: One further point is that while you can represent inaccurate facts on your blog, the blogosphere is largely self-regulatory as there will be someone out there who will correct the error. Excellent example of this here (ok, it was on a forum and not a blog but same principle)

Who is responsible for defamatory comments made by readers on a blog? The owner or the commentor? What if the comments were made annonymously?
mb: yes, the owner of the blog should delete it if found so.
But once the horse has bolted, is closing the gate any good or even punishing the owner of the gate/horse? See Jay-walk's post on the subject.

What is the bloggers conference about?
mb: it is an interactive social event, for the purpose of meeting people, sharing ideas, sharing technologies, legal issues etc.

Interesting points:
the host did not state mr brown's real name? only mr miyagi's.
host: "Writing with a sense of humour is good, but with humour comes cynicism and sarcasm..."
mb: "what's wrong with that?"
Zing! LOL

The keys to zeenie's heart

Not too shabby... =)
Thanks to crufty for the link.

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to those who have a split personality - cold as ice on the outside but hot as fire in the heart.

In love, you feel the most alive when things are straight-forward, and you're told that you're loved.

You'd like to your lover to think you are loyal and faithful... that you'll never change.

You would be forced to break up with someone who was ruthless, cold-blooded, and sarcastic.

Your ideal relationship is traditional. Without saying anything, both of you communicate with your hearts.

Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment.

You think of marriage something you've always wanted... though you haven't really thought about it.

In this moment, you think of love as commitment. Love only works when both people are totally devoted.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

the empire's elite

the empire's elite
Originally uploaded by zeenie.

More photos from CommunicAsia2005. =)

Vader communicating

darth shopping
Originally uploaded by zeenie.

Was at CommunicAsia2005 and chanced upon a brave reporter interviewing the Dark Lord. I think he was shopping around for a light sabre, maybe one with a camera phone and music player built it? lol

He's back! =)

Welcome back! It's good to see you around again, missed reading your great posts. Reason For Coming Back

Dumbass Of The Week by Jay-Walk

Jay-Walk came up with a Dumbass Of The Week award and i must say it is richly deserved. Hear hear!

Return to sender?

One of the best 404 error: No such file: messages i've seen to date, even though it takes a little while to get to the end, but hey, it's entertained me!

To think that i actually incorporated those 3 numbers into a conversation today:

friend: eh, where are the rest ah? hungry leh, lunch time oredi what the heow are they doing?
zeenie: dunno lah, all got 404'ed i guess.

surprising that he understood me. LOL

Some more examples of funny 404 message from CNN.

Inspiration from NZ

Inspiration from NZ
Originally uploaded by zeenie.

A quick picture to acknowledge where I was (even though i have no idea where i am going to).
Would someone doing this at a race here be found to be on the wrong side of the law?

how people pass time in a storm

OddStuff : Baby Boom in Florida: "'There was no electricity, they were spending a lot of time at home, there were candles and – I'll leave the rest up to you,' Halifax spokeswoman Kate Holcomb told the newspaper."

a discordant voice

I have been thinking about the Blogger.Sg, the meeting of bloggers, and wondered, "Do i really want to meet these bloggers in person?". I have heard advice about having an open mind when meeting bloggers in person, but won't your thoughts fall out should you lean over? We all have an image or impression after reading the written thoughts of a fellow blogger, do we want to change or realise that image? Personally, i think i'm happy enough living in my own world where fairies and pixies run amok showering everyone with milk and cookies (i would have said honey, but that's hard to wash out of my hair) and bloggers roam free without being invited for tea, that's my mental picture of the world. =)
Mrs budak wrote an interesting piece on this, along with some reminising about the good old days. Well worth a read.

Update: Anna wrote a great piece on this subject, way more elucidating than my 10 cents.

What kind of blogger am i?

Via LancerLord.

You Are a Snarky Blogger!

You've got a razor sharp wit that bloggers are secretly scared of. And that's why they read your posts as often as they can!

What kind of blogger are you?

I think there's something wrong with this, maybe because there was more than one answer i could relate to, though i did try to chose the most apt.

On a totally unrelated note, i was told at work yesterday that there are people who have dealt with me who were scared of me. Of course i demanded to know why was this so but no answer was forthcoming. Perhaps flipping the table and grabbing the messenger of such news by the collar was not such a good idea, lol. I think this makes for an interesting working relationship for the future...

Pixar - Boundin'

Pixar - Boundin' - Theater Saw this when I went to watch the Incredibles, absolutely brilliant. Got the song as my perpetual earworm. LOL

Name and shame?

STUFF - STORY - HOME : New Zealand's leading news and information website: "A karate expert has identified and threatened a man he claims vandalised his car on a name-and-shame website because he is sick of crime."

Way more interesting issues at stake compared to the recent SPG fiasco (that even made it to the Aussie news), although it is more appropriate for smaller towns rather than our large lion city (even though everyone knows everyone else's cousin's piano teacher lol).

Stikfas and songs

Came across this really cool (ie expensive) toy called Stikfas, the brainchild of local lad. Funky!

Noticed quite a few bloggers posting lyrics and talking about how apt the song is in reflecting how they feel. Personally, i find that no matter how relevant a song is, there is always one bit of it which does not match, so i have given up looking at songs this way and just enjoy it.

Matching songs to your current state of mind is nice, but it's much like horoscopes and those quizzy thingies which say that if you're born on a tuesday in the month of may, your character is an emu, which means insert broad bland description of some character trait that you (and everyone else) relate to. Of course, it would be more detailed, like if you're born on a tuesday in the month of may, not immediately after a public holiday on a moonless night in the second half of a rainy day, you would be a really weird emu, which means insert bland description of a really weird emu.

Dun ask me what started this rant, i started off with wanting to plug stikfas....i think i need a lie down now.

Blogger.SG

With so many famous people posting about the upcoming bloggers conference at (world-class) Woodlands library, i thought i should do my bit (Count on me Blogosphere!) to help out.

So if you're going, please do the poll so that the organizers can arrange for "food, drinks, chairs, wi-fi etc".

I wonder how many people are going to blog 'live' from the event? I think i might as well save myself the trip and just keep reading the blogs online while it happens. I think there should be a blanket ban on all things electronic within the venue, just so privacy is assured, afterall, you never know who's watching/listening. So any presentation has to be made via OHP (anyone remember those?) and after the event the slides will self-destruct. For the really secret (ie good) stuff, the venerable whiteboard and marker will suffice (i'm assuming that such a world-class venue does not use blackboard and chalk)(and i'm not casting any racial slurs here, i don't make up those names ok).

Shcool schmool

Shcool
Originally uploaded by zeenie.

I'm guessing someone didn't make it to the spelling bee competition.

Midnite Challenge

Midnite Challenge.com Cool.

wah so fast ah

Back of the Envelope: Good luck to zeenie Wah lau, i dun even have chance to post about it already came out liao (thanks dude!).

Just an update, I've did have three wisdom teeth taken out, two by extraction, one by surgery but am fine. Surprisingly, it was the latter that was the easiest, with the other two extractions (both upper) causing problems by a) bit of bone coming out with the tooth and b) tooth breaking off into bits.

Currently recuperating at home, and only just managed to check the net today, due to having to lie down all the time, and not because of the wisdom teeth extraction actually, but a stomach flu bug thingie that i had been fighting for the past week. Man, am i gonna lose weight or what. LOL

Lego Spiderman

Animations, Lego Spiderman at Kontraband
Like the caption says, some people have way too much time on their hands, but i say it looks like a productive use of time....it was mildly entertaining....ok, i tell a lie, i was laughing my ass off! enjoy.

Back of the Envelope

Back of the Envelope A great looking launch for a blog of a friend (welcome to the dark side buddy). Check out the great pictures from Sepang with his wicked commentry. Absolutely brilliant!

Corolla? Altis? Camry?

Toy Yoda
Originally uploaded by zeenie.

A little late for the star wars popularity cycle, but funny nevertheless. =)

Funny Clients

Had a client recently who gave instructions in an email like this:

"I have decided to [do X]. Please [do X].

I repeat, please [do X]."

Wonder whether the client thought that his instructions would be clearer if he repeated them in the same email, lol...

My Very Own Glob {Curiosa Felicitas}: Press the Face: Interview I: Janice Wong

My Very Own Glob {Curiosa Felicitas}: Press the Face: Interview I: Janice Wong

What a way to start of the week, two of my fav reads in the same post!

stomach bugs and wisdom teeth...

Yours truly had the stomach flu for the past week, hence the scarcity of posts, and just when i've recovered and am getting ready to do the "i'd like to order one of everything" pig out at the local coffeeshop, i realise that i am having my wisdom teeth taken out tomorrow (totally forgot about it or thought it was still a long way off). Never fear, i will take a cab there and back to avoid any fiascos with the west side.....

Played some pool as usual and since there were three of us, we played cutthroat, also known as elimination, screwyerbuddy, or killer (NZ).

player: woah, your balls look vulnerable.
zeenie: does this mean i should cross my legs then?

Jeanie's favourite

Jeanie's favourite
Originally uploaded by zeenie.

'nuff said.

overheard

ww: i've got a earworm in my head, that song by Tina Arena....
z: can't remember now
ww: i don't think that's what it's called.
z: no lah, i really can't remember the title of the song....
ww: oh.

(FYI, the song is 'Burn' by Tina Arena)

vice versa

Simon World :: Exploiting the gweilos Guess this evens it out?

Christchurch a 'living hell' for Asian brides

STUFF : NATIONAL NEWS - STORY : : "Editor Lincoln Tan said Lina, who was taken to hospital after her husband beat her with a bottle, contacted the paper after a court case against the man collapsed because of lack of evidence."

Sad story of people being taken advantage of. NZ may have beautiful scenery, but sometimes their people can be so ugly.

13 year old robber

STUFF : NATIONAL NEWS - STORY : New Zealand's leading news and information website: "The masked youth threatened a female worker at a Lotto shop in Katikati
yesterday afternoon with what was later identified a BB-gun, before
eluding armed police to make his way to the bus bay at Katikati Primary
School."

Scary stuff.

sign spoil

Picture(36)
Originally uploaded by zeenie.

Saw this in a changing room. Not really that bad, but me being me (ie anal) just had to point it out.

WibbleWamble's drawn a pig

According to the guy analysing the pigs, WW is:

• is positive and optimistic;
• is direct, enjoy playing devil's advocate and neither fear nor avoid discussions;
• is analytical, cautious, and distrustful;
• is secure, stubborn, and sticks to her ideals;
• is an OK listener;
• has an OK sex life,

which means:

(a) WW drew the pig on an "off" day when she was out of character;
(b) the pig must have turned to the front and clipped its tail while WW wasn't looking; or
(c) the analysis just wasn't very accurate.

WW recalls certain incidents in the past when friends drew cute lil' pigs from just the number "6", but has completely forgotten how they did it. If anyone remembers how, WW would like to know.

Back to work now... Too many things to do, too little time, sigh...

Draw a pig!

An interesting site that lets you do the "draw a pig" personality test.

Apparently according to my pig (in mitigation, i submit that i just did a quick sketch unlike the other fanciful drawings displayed), I am:

• a realist
• direct, enjoy playing devil's advocate and neither fear nor avoid discussions
• emotional and naive, care little for details and am a risk-taker
• insecure or am living through a period of major change
• am a good listener
• someone with no sex life
  

not really that accurate, yet i have heard of companies using this as a quick test of personality when they interview candidates. Note to self: next time must bring brushes, paints, drawing block (better quality paper than the one they provide) and easel if and when i do go for an interview.
Funny how i turned up for the interview for my current job armed with nothing more than a grin and decent clothes. LOL

thoughts....

It was relatively quiet, hardly a hum in the background, just intermittent sounds of people getting ready for a day's work that was about to begin.

I had been awake for 3 hours already, due to the combination of having to walk the dog and staying real far away from work and I was in my thinking place this morning, wondering what to blog about. It's a great place to contemplate due to the tranquil setting and easy access to toilet paper (for my sinus), plus the feeling of the cold seat is so invigorating.

Having weird and funny thoughts worth blogging about is one thing, actually writing it down in a blog is another. Maybe i suffer from blogger's block......glob-block?
(Note: GORBLOCK Idiot, twit, moron, etc. "Why are you such a gorblock?" courtesy of talkingcock.com)

Then all of a sudden, it hit me. 'It' being water, water from the cistern. The automatic sensor thingamajig had flushed.... while i was seated on it. Not good. I tried a series of evasive maneuvers but there is only so much you can do mid-motion while sitting down. Arrrrggggh. Luckily there was the aforesaid abundance of toilet paper which was immediately pressed into service, don't you just hate the feeling of water, knowing that its been in the bowl? Breathed a sigh and grinned, i just found my blog topic for the day. Was about to execute the final coup de grace when it happened again. Arrrrgggggh. At least i could siam better this time by standing up, but it did feel odd to be standing there in the middle of the cubicle like that.

Well, that's my bit of toilet humour for the day. =)

Jeanie at Pasir Ris park

Jeanie at Pasir Ris park
Originally uploaded by zeenie.

Another picture of Jeanie from Sunday's outing. She was quite tired from all the excitement of posing and running around and catching balls...... huge grin on her face though. =))

We go sailing....

sailing
Originally uploaded by zeenie.

Well, the sailing bug has truly bitten WW. After we went sailing last weekend in a laser pico, she has signed up for the basic laser course (despite several capsizes)(it wasn't my fault, a storm blew up of nowhere). Of course there was the funny incident regarding bringing in the boat.

A friend recommended the laser pico because it could seat 2 and it was idiotproof, yet i managed to screw it up quite convincingly (fools can be so ingenious). A conversation on the boat:

WW: Where are we headed?
zeenie: whichever direction the wind blows and the tide flows my dear....

There was just so little wind that we just had to make do with what we had, so we ended up sailing away from the shore, then towards the shore which we shortened to "In" and "Out" and it became that our course of progress was "In" for like a minute" then "Out" for a minute. Sounds alot like a couple of turtles making love but i digress.

Due to the strong winds from the storm, we decided to head back and went straight for the beach. Nearing the beach, the guy in charge of the boats starting shouting "Point! Point!" ie point the bow of the boat into the wind before getting out. I guess it was tiredness or even frustration at having performed the ubiquitous capsize drill like 8 times in a row, but i thought "but i am pointing.....straight at the beach" so i ignored him and beached the craft rather unceremoniously. I did save the centreboard by telling WW to pull it up as we neared, so no damage to the craft at all. =))
I did offer an alternative, in that since the winds were so strong, i might have parked the boat straight on the trolley.

Jeanie the model

Jeanie the model
Originally uploaded by zeenie.

We had breakfast at Pasir Ris park today and it was great to be back there. Been so long but the attraction is still there and its idyllic setting was truly beautiful. Small wonder that couples choose to take their wedding photos there. One of these couples actually asked to borrow Jeanie for some photos, and i think she looked pretty good in them. Actually got red packet somemore ah! LOL

Hoegaarden

Hoegaarden
Originally uploaded by zeenie.

A pint of refreshing nourishment, perfect after a day's work. Good for those on a 'vegetarian diet' of wheat malt and barley.

This is worrying

I sense a disturbance in the force.

• First the indomitable mr brown talks about being spread too thin,
• then Mr Miyagi's computer spoyr,
• the calm one sticks to his promise of retiring now that life at Ngee Ann has started,
• Platypus is unplugging to take a break
• Update: Adri from Popagadhi has also decided to take a break. sigh.
• Update II: Idle Days has gone on sabbatical.
  

Jeepers, what's next? Finicky Feline and Tripleperiod going for a dinner date, getting together afterwards and living happily ever after and retiring from the blogworld?

At least LancerLord is still around and he provided this great link to Kung Faux. I used to watch it on tv (in NZ) and its damn funny!

Lift door

Lift door
Originally uploaded by zeenie.

Why do lift button designers have to be so politically correct and have these abstract symbols as door open and door close? Why can't they just put 'OPEN' and 'CLOSE'? Many a time i have tried to hold open the door for someone only to jab the wrong button in my haste and incur the wrath of the person outside. All i can say is "Dun blame me! I meant to open the damn doors!! Really!!!"

Jeanie close up

Jeanie close up
Originally uploaded by zeenie.

Finally, a photo from my (semi) new camera phone. This was taken over brunch on Sunday. Yummy! Then went to the botanical gardens for a stroll...is the construction there ever going to be done? It has been ages!

aRise Lord zeenie

No, the errant capital letter is not my way of joining the cOoL and hiP crowd, who give their caps "a bit of zest" (to which i say, the caps would like you to leave their zest alone). It was just the way that Senator Palpatine (Darth Sidious) said it to Skywalker (Darth Vader)(check out his blog!! Best blog ever imo), quite cool way of pronouncing it but then its been given quite abit of airtime already. Maybe i should just speak like Yoda today, lol, that should irritate some people, especially since i have a presentation to give today. On a more serious note, i thought Star Wars ep3 was quite cool and not as dark as i thought it would be.
Update: In the spirit of sharing, here's an alternate ending to ep3. =)

Eng Wah seems to be trying real hard with this latest effort to bring in a 'famous Paris cabaret'. Funny thing was the first thing i thought of was "don't we already have Neptune?" and my thoughts flowed back to a time when a dinner and dance for a certain national uniform group was held there (actually no dance, just dinner. or rather the dance was done by other people of scantily clad attire). I suppose the organisers thought it was educational for us young chaps but i was rather disgusted by it, and left after dinner. I still feel sickened by the thought of that dinner.

Beware of what you say!

Soup anybody?

Facinating, and i thought the story was the work of script writers, and even has the rules! Or is it? Could be the other way round. Whatever it is, the soup menu looks good. LOL what's next? Central Perk Cafe in New York? Whoops, that's been done. Maybe someone may be brave enough to set up a construction company called Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd? (can't believe wiki had it...lol) Did a google on PCK and came up with this. LOL

NanaPrata

NanaPrata
Originally uploaded by zeenie.

Yummy! It sounded weird at first, but the cripy outside and smooth banana insides which melted in the mouth just went so well. Pictured here with chocolate sauce, curry optional. =)

my dog has balls

jeanienew 035
Originally uploaded by zeenie.

A truly ball-mad dog in her groove. Jeanie loves balls, especially those of the tennis ball variety. Lately she has taken to scrounging around the bushes where we go for our regular walks, because of the tennis courts nearby. It was quite funny the first couple of times, and it still is funny now, just that we've got the problem of storing all those balls. In a week, she has found about 15 balls and we are running out of places to store and dry ('cos of her drool) the darn things. If only she could find money or gold, but i guess to her, those are useless, balls, must have balls.

weekend...

The weekend started well with a meeting of my sec 2 classmates, it was really good to see them again and they haven’t changed a bit, still the same great sense of humour all round and it was heartening to note the sense of camaraderie. Ops orders were issued regarding Alvin’s upcoming wedding, tasks were handed out, advice was dished out and insults were flying. It was a great meeting, if only work meetings were like this,

Funny line of conversation on Sat:

ww: do you wanna go see macau?
z: errr, I just came back from NZ, land of the sheep and cows! why do I want to see your cow? Is it a special cow? This is not part of the “you have two cows” joke is it?

After Sat’s soccer (wearing the right shoes does help), I found out that my secondary school classmate actually knows my jc classmate because they went to the same uni in UK. Now how cool is that? LOL

Apology time: I’ve been meaning to put up photos but can’t seem to do so from work, I’ll try to put up something but no promises (my hello hung on me quite a few times already, I really should get a flickr account. lol). And I did notice the spike in the sitemeter. Woah, miyagi-san is indeed powderful, I have gotten more hits in a day than in the past month.

Funny pictures....(thanks to Faith)

MRT ride

Had a funny thing happen to me on the way home from work yesterday. I took the train east as usual and came across an empty seat (premium space since it was rush hour) beside a young feller with a gel-ed up hairdo and camo pants. I think the stress of looking so ‘hip’ took a toll on him ‘cos he kept falling asleep and leaning on me. Thank goodness I don’t suffer from Aphenphosmphobia (fear of being touched) because it was quite disconcerting to have to prop this lolling head with my arm so that he doesn’t end up with his head on my shoulder. We would have looked like a right odd-couple as I was in work clothes and somehow I found it quite amusing.

In leaving the train, I couldn’t help but worry a little. I was worried that he might keel over and split his head or even worse, mess up his hair, but at the same time worried that the next person to sit down would develop an allergic reaction (it was pretty strong hair gel he was wearing) or a new phobia (whyisthispersonleaningonmephobia). Strange thoughts in a weird world.

Looking back, I can see why that seat was empty. LOL

Update: This happened to someone else too, only it was on a bus, and it was a girl. LOL

the spirit is willing....

I read this news article regarding an International Awareness day for Chronic Fatigue and it was kinda sad but amusingly poignant that the group could not do as much as they hoped since most of them suffers from myalgic encephalomyelitis.

It reminds me of this: Dud you hear about the dyslexic, agnostic insomniac who stays up all night wondering if there really is a Dog?

zeenie's west side story

Had to visit the dentist ‘cos my wisdom teeth (yes, plural) were giving me trouble. WW had suggested setting up a lunchtime appointment at Clementi polyclinic (near my workplace) to see a doc so that I could be referred for surgery. Unfortunately Clementi does not have a dental clinic and I was told to go to Jurong instead. I didn’t think that it was that much of a problem since Jurong east MRT was like the next stop after Clementi (I think of places and distances in terms of their MRT stations). When I told her about my appointment, she was skeptical that I could get there in time as she pointed out that the polyclinic was quite a ways from the MRT station and I would have to take a bus, in fact, I would do better to drop off at Chinese Garden MRT and take a cab.

I caved in and took the easy option of catching a cab there instead ‘cos I didn’t want to be late. After seeing the dentist and being told what I already knew (that all 4 of my wisdom teeth had to come out)(I think I’m going for the GA option, I’m not very good with dentists) I proceeded to make my way back to work.

As it was still early in the lunch hour, I thought I would catch the bus that WW told me about, only that I didn’t know which direction to take the bus. To cross the road or not? I felt like the proverbial chicken and to emphasize this, I didn’t pluck up the courage to ask the bus driver or anyone around (they looked really busy and engrossed in their own world).

Just when I was floundering, a free shuttle bus appeared in a distance and stopped to dislodge some passengers. I noted that it went to Jurong Point, at which point the Singaporean in me took over and yelled out “free transport!!” so I hopped on the bus, thinking it would take me to that shopping complex with the cinemas and ice skating rink at Jurong MRT. As the bus drew closer to its destination, I saw that it wasn’t the one I knew but thought that it looked familiar.

It was only when I walked into the MRT station that it hit me, I was in Boon Lay (aka Pasir Ris of the West). Bloody hell! I’m even further from my workplace than before! But at least I was at an MRT so it wasn’t so bad. Then I remembered why it looked so familiar: back in the time when Sispec was at Pasir Lebar camp, this was the nearest shopping centre and we would go there for our nights off. Aside from that, it was also the nearest MRT so booking out every Sat, I would take the MRT from Boon Lay to Pasir Ris (and mastered the art of standing in the train and sleeping along the way, so much so I snored and startled a lady sitting in front of me lol).

So that was my little foray into more distant areas of Singapore where i learnt how large Jurong can be (either that or how misleading that mall name is!), next time, Yew Tee!

Weekend

The weekend started well with wibblewamble returning from overseas on Friday night, funny how we could spend 6 months apart at a stretch, yet a week apart seemed like ages.

Nothing much happened on Sat, was still trying to come to grips with my new phone (will post photos from it soon, promise) and spent alot of money buying CDs and a set of earphones at HMV. Funny how it used to be such a luxury, buying CDs and now I've got to look for a place to store them! Speaking of storage, I am halfway to sorting out my stuff from NZ. Even after the massive garage we had where we practically gave away two thirds of our stuff, we still had about 60 boxes to ship back, so finding storage for them was no easy task. Still, we're well on the way there, thanks to ikea and all i need now is a set of bookshelves and a large CD case. =))

Visited my friend's car dealership which just opened, the flash cars there were enough to send my pulse into overdrive (it reminded me of Friday at the airport waiting for her lol), the list of cars is just too extensive and exotic to say without me wrecking my laptop with drool. But do but ask if you want directions there, bring your own pail and towel for the drool as well as your chequebook, actually make that two chequebooks, 'cos you're gonna need it! ;-)

Linkies

From LancerLord, the ever industrious noble man (and thanks for the mention!), comes this great link of a spoof of star wars. I nearly split my pants laughing, which would have been a laughable matter in itself since cartoon boxers are the in thing right now ('cos i say so!)....ok TMI i know but i thought it might be just the thing to start your week off on. LOL

Just the place for screensavers.... don't you hate looking at boring shite telling you to work harder? LOL Better to see how long more before knock off time (and this post coming just as i am starting work for the day and the week. not good)

Man, this is getting really extreme

But its really funny!!! I've been meaning to blog about my weekend: attended a wedding show with ww, caught up with sec classmates, injured my toe while playing soccer with said classmates, experienced mb's description of military precision in shopping (and parking) at ikea, had multiple milo-pengs in assorted cups like Guinness and Carlsberg but no Tiger..... but haven't found the time to list out the details. Maybe this weekend....... oh look! a flying pig!
Anyways, i just had to link this blog 'cos it's just funny shite.

Update: This is just as good if not better! Oh man....

Champions League

And thus, Liverpool head into the final against AC Milan (who beat PSV 3-1) by beating *dramatic pause* Chelsea 1-0!! Bloody amazing. The resultant fallout from this victory for Liverpool is quite interesting too, with Chelsea (specifically Jose) showing what sore losers they can be. Good on Benitez i say! =)

Funny stuff

Though i haven't been posting, i have been reading the usual suspects and there are some seriously good funny shit out there. LOL
First there was the audio file featuring a Hokkien version of that famous scene (right-click and save if clicking on the link does not work), and then a local artist did a comic version featuring well-known characters in daily life: the bengs and the lians and the DOMs (dirty old men), followed by further links provided by Lancerlord. =) Man, i can't wait for the new movie, supposed to be rated NC-16 woah.
Our local wit mr brown wrote about the various experiences of people from our past and present, local and foreign, and how it would be interesting to compile it (interview me!!). Sounds like a massive yet worthwhile project that would need to involve quite a few people. Maybe our local blogging community can help in interviewing people of various backgrounds and histories. mb can direct and coordinate because if he were to conduct the interviews, all we'd hear is laughter and more funny shite (check out his latest podcast).... but then again, i think i would also die of laughter if i were to have a conversation with mr miyagi, cowboy caleb or tetanus etc. Damn, this is gonna take more thought. lol

Lack of posts

I apologise to all who have been looking forward to my posts, i have been getting rather caught up in the rat race since starting work last thurs and haven't managed to have anything interesting to say of late (corporate mindset already!). Between work and taking care of jeanie, who is slowly adapting to life in Singapore, my hands are quite full and i apologise once more for the inability to manage my time *cue music (I'm very sorry song sung in the key of D by jeanie)*

Will try to post more pictures and stuff soon, once i get my hands on a camera equipped handphone. My stuff arrives from NZ tomorrow!..... i hope. It was actually due on Sunday, but somehow got delayed (El Nino?). Suffering from withdrawal symptoms as my pool cue is still in transit. LOL

While i was in Auckland, this picture tickled me pink. It was from the weekend NZ Herald and was reporting on the match between Juve and Liverpool. The caption reads: "That is a low blow - no one's that ugly" 

Our holiday on the way home to Singapore

Here's a quick summary of our journey home.... First we took a quick trip up to the Wairarapa region to sample the great wines there.

And jeanie made a friend there in a really big pig at a mushroom farm.  

Then we took the lynx across the cook strait and drove to nelson (this ship was withdrawn shortly after). Jeanie did not enjoy the journey this time as she had to be in a kennel in the ship's hold.  

We visited Farewell Spit while we were in Nelson and the wildlife and scenery simply astounded us.

Wibblewamble dancing to the setting sun on the spit itself.

On the way down to Christchurch, we visited wineyards from the Marlborough region. Great wines with more emphasis on the whites i feel. Jeanie is wearing a t-shirt to stop her fur flying about in the car (it's been crudely modified, hence the bits of string sticking out).

Returning to Christchurch having spent my formative educational years there was interesting and the cool weather and tranquil settings of the university greeted us once more.

After Christchurch, we flew up to Auckland for a few days and came across this reflection of the Sky tower in the MS building.

Flying home took a little longer than expected, talk about budget airlines! And to think that i once complained about smaller domestic flights where the pilot himself would hand out drinks midflight. LOL This is a zero fighter from WWII being displayed at the Auckland Museum, it was interesting to see the war from the point of view of the NZ'ers.

I have returned! More updates as well as pictures from our holiday when i have setetled down. =) (anyone know of a cheap way to get broadband? the lag of dial up is keeeeeeling me lol) 

Lower Hutt Police fear for their safety

Thank goodness I'm leaving here on Friday for my holiday, what with the police being so helpless. I can't help but refer to my previous post regarding the state of the police here, and to think that i once thought they were more empowered as they carried glocks. Jeepers, if "the area is pretty much in the hands of the criminals" then the criminals must not only outnumber the police, but also be better armed and i shudder to think about that.

Does this mean i shouldn't dial 111 for the police? Is there an alternate number i can dial for the crims to come and help (or rob) me? All in all, a pretty inflammatory article as it really ain't that bad, even though i live in one of the not-so-good neighbourhoods.... well at least until tomorrow.

Update: A police senior sergeant is convicted of assaulting a guy in the course of arresting him and detectives are being pulled off cases into traffic duties. It seems to be getting worse.

Speaking of tomorrow, Wibblewamble is arriving!! Woohoo!! Today is gonna be the longest day ever.

Actually, i just realised that our holiday revolves around the various wine tasting regions, from Martinborough to Marlborough, from Waipara to Nelson (don't you love these funky names?), it's gonna be another great holiday (our third together in NZ) and I can't wait!!! =))

btw, this is gonna probably be my last post in a while, readers of this blog (all 4 of you)(people got 5 woah) will have to wait. See you guys back home! And if you do see a guy with a black and white border collie walking about, don't be a stranger and just say hello!

Someone at the New Zealand Herald does not like the potential new queen. LOL From the world section of the NZ Herald on the 6th of April 2005. 

Leuven

Despite the hectic schedule, i managed to have farewell drinks at Leuven today with a good friend, where its great beer, nice atmosphere for talking, attentive service (we didn't even have to get up to go to the bar, they just refilled it when they saw our empty glasses) made for good time. Some funny dodgy stuff were said (who knew cricket was such a great metaphor for sex?) but not as funny as mr brown's latest podcast, which guest stars Cowboy Caleb (another favourite of mine) and they speak of star wars, WRX policecars and other assorted high jinks, uproariously funny! FYI, the combination of these two bloggers is like PCK building the three stooges' house or Monty Python featuring Black Adder.

Moving!

So the movers shipped our stuff off back home today, after a hectic time packing everything to make the shipment. Our holiday begins once the last of the stuff is sent out to their respective new owners and we leave Wellington. Feels kinda sad to be leaving, and i remember the day i arrived here about 18 months ago with jeanie (the picture shows her on the ferry crossing). Still, home is where the heart is..... i'm coming home baby. =))

Garage sale outcome

It's quite interesting observing people coming to buy stuff that we once held dear. Some would pay whatever price we stuck on it, and others would bargain to the very last cent, to these people, we hoped that whatever they bought would be put to good use and wished them well. Then there are those who would conduct reverse bargaining when they felt that the price was too low, and would offer a higher price than stated. While this caught us by surprise, we always made sure that they ended up leaving with extra stuff of ours as gifts, like a painting or two. Strangely enough, these three categories of people could also be classified by race, and lived up to their respective stereotypes.
Several offers were even made for our salesdog, but all were rejected lol, she is heading back with us! We are taking a holiday with her before she flies off to Singapore, i do hope she'll be alright on the flight. Luckily there is no need for a quarantine back home, so she should be greeted by us and the Singapore heat and maybe a pair of electric shears. LOL

The salesdog making her pitch.

zeenie's last day of work

April Fool's Day, what a strange day of the last day of work. LOL It was kinda surreal in a way and everything happened in such a whirlwind that i'm still reeling from the after effects. So my in-between jobs holiday starts as of now, and will consist one week of madly clearing my stuff and shipping what i want back home, followed by a tour of the south island in my car. Can't wait.