Wow, Liverpool FC to be Singaporean-owned?

Am still picking up my jaw from the floor after reading this mind-blowing bit of news from the beebs, that

1. a Singaporean billionaire would want to buy a football club (doesn't really make monetary sense?);
2. the particular Singaporean billionaire with several Manchester United themed bars in Asia would want to buy LFC;
3. he can repay all of Royal Bank of Scotland's and Wachovia's £200m of long-term debt, to take on £60m of other debt and to inject £40m of working capital using cold hard cash from his own pocket;
4. he should be so naive as to deal only with the LFC board, since they can't even agree with just 5 people on the board. Should have dealt with RBS as well, 'cos RBS can exert more pressure and from a bank's perspective, just wants to either get its money back or make more money with a further loan.
5. he will a higher offer than his previous monetarily better offer (so it is not about the money now? My anti-colonial alarm bells are ringing),
6. (i just have to say this again) a Singaporean billionaire would want to buy LFC;

Let's just hope this gets resolved before 15 October (loans are due!) or Kop Holdings would be placed into administration and LFC, being the only asset of Kop Holdings, would be docked 9 points (as if being in the relegation zone wasn't enough!).

Doggy blood bank database

I was touched while reading this article on blood banks for dogs and would like to support this by promoting the doggy blood bank database (http://zeusdoggybloodbank.blogspot.com/) ...... to all 5 people who read this blog regularly (lol).

The website is a good one-stop information shop on blood for dogs and makes me wish i had access to a website like this when Jeanie was ill with tick fever (incidentally the same illness that caused the creation of the doggy blood bank database). We were very fortunate to obtain a matching blood type but before that happened, the feeling of helplessness was really daunting. During that period, i was comforted by the number of responses of people either offering to donate their dog's blood or just some words of encouragement, even advertising on our behalf. Many thanks to all again for helping Jeanie recover.

Here's a recent picture of Jeanie for your enjoyment. =)

Ultimate mash-ups

So we're watching quite a bit of tv these days, thanks to our upgraded basic package. Then one day, while watching Bones, i thought it would be really cool if Dr Lightman from Lie to Me helps out with the interviewing of the suspect (although Booth is good at reading people). Which got me thinking of some really funky mash-up i thought would be the ultimate mash-up. One where some major terrorist plot gets NCIS (and NCIS LA) involved in a nationwide hunt, and in the process a very decomposed body was found that needed identification and in steps Dr Brennan (from Bones). Due to the large number of suspects, Dr Lightman interviews and narrows down the list of people to a single suspect, and when further probing and trying to locate him, he turns out to be a serial killer who assumes the identities of his victims and he killed one of the would-be terrorists. So the BAU team from Criminal Minds is called in to profile him so that he can be located. LOL

What ultimate mash-ups would you like to see?

Conversations.....

So am chatting with a friend and this is the following line of conversation ensues. Background: my friend N is from Hong Kong and the kiwi definition of root can be found here.

N: actually will be going to HK next year for the actual family trip...should be awesome
z: nice! get in touch with your roots
N: indeed that's what is exciting me
z: indeed
N: I'm kinda like them but 2 sizes largerI fortunately do not have the anorexic HK male look
z: ah
N: haha
z: you'll be surprised at how large they can be
(this line of conversation is soooo bad)

Salaries

So i noticed that starting salaries of graduates have been published. For simplicity, i will reproduce the relevant parts (sans photos) below:

Accountancy: $2,400; ($2,500 for 4 year programme)
Applied Science: $,2,500; ($2,600 for 4 year programme with Honours)
Arts: $2,500; ($2,700-$2,900 for 4 year programme with Honours)
Business Administration: $2,600; ($2,900 for 4 year programme with Honours)
Communication Studies: $2,600 (4 year programme with Honours)
Computing: $2,800; ($2,900 for 4 year programme with Honours)
Dental Surgery: $3,000 (4 year programme with Honours)
Education: $3,000 (4 year programme)
Engineering: $3,000 (4 year programme in Aerospace, Chemical & Biomolecular, or Industrial & Systems )
Engineering: $2,800-$2,900 (4 year programme in Bioengineering, Mechanical, Materials, Computer, Electrical and Electronics)
Engineering: $2,600 to $2,700 (4 year programme in Civil, Environmental)
Fine Arts: $2,300 (4 year programme in Art, Design and Media)
Science: $2,500; ($2,600 for 4 year programme in Maritime Studies, Real Estate or Nursing)
Science: $2,750-$2,950 (4 year programme in Biological, Mathematics, Chemistry & Biological Chemistry or Information Systems Management)
Economics: $3,000 (4 year programme)

NB: all three year programmes unless specified.

So for the extra one year of your life and extra tuition fees, you get $100-300 a month. Fair deal? Many times, employers stress on the need for job experience, and would happily neglect the extra education a candidate has. Excuses that i have heard range from: irrelevant field, too high level to be practical, too academically minded (whatever that means). But at the same time, they fail to recognise that the extra education has also provided more maturity of thought and (sometimes) an ability to provide out-of-the-box solutions. To trade off, I suggest that employers treat the time spent on extra education as job experience and pay their people as such.

Also, i noticed that the starting pay for the legal profession is not listed, which is a pity because i would have like to see how much lawyers get when they first begin. Anyways, my own self-interest would be in salaries of people mid career. =)

In the same breath, i also read about this couple who own two cars but take public transport on the weekends. As civil servants, they earn $9k each? Wow. They work in Serangoon and Ang Mo Kio, but

To avoid having to ferry each other to their individual workplaces and risk
reaching work late, the couple decided to get a second car.

Which is really a waste of money to me since Serangoon and AMK aren't far apart to me, but then again, i don't earn $9k a month. =)

Earthquake in Christchurch

When i was staying Christchurch some years back, i was always told that Christchurch was overdue for a big earthquake. Because of that, i had always prepared an earthquake kit, one that had plenty of stuff like canned food, a radio, torchlight, candles, matches, and lots and lots of water. The additional water was added after a neighbour had scoffed at my box of stuff, saying that thing will be alright, and if they needed water, they'd know who to look for *facepalm*. =)

Now the big one has really hit and it measured 7.4 on the Richter scale, originating from Darfield, a small town south of Christchurch, where i used to travel out to tutor a kid there. I am hoping and praying for everyone back there, but a selfish part of me is just thankful that i moved from there, especially when i read about pets going missing. Not really sure how would Jeanie react to an earthquake, although we did experience a couple when i was in Wellington. Once, i ran out of the house panicking (not the smartest thing) and found her lying in her doghouse in her usual pose of having her head lean out, giving me a "wassup" look (kinda like this).

new beginnings

Started at a new job recently which is based some distance away (requires 9.1% of my of day) and it has been interesting so far (as it would be), especially meeting new people. Personally, i like meeting new people, 'cos everyone's my friend, as long as they're friendly. =)

During the course of my conversation with people, i realised that i had been back in Singapore for 6 years now. Wow. Time flies. In 6 years, i have:

• bought a car;
• married wibblewamble;
• toured Northen Italy;
• stayed in New York;
• got our flat;
• had a baby girl with ww;
• and now, changed jobs twice. =)

Copping out

Was bored and channel surfing and ended up watching an episode of Cops. Caught 2 main incidents that involved the police in the US of A, and was rather concerned about them.

In the first, a wife had to call in the police after her estranged husband turned up at her place to harass her. There was nothing to aid in his case, as he was loud, rude, very angry and seemed a little slow on the uptake (could be alcohol impairment). However, as loud as he was, he did do as the police officers said, as they had asked him: "do you want to walk away or spend the night in jail?" As he was walking away, the police arrested him, which i thought was a strange time to do so, since they had plenty of opportunity to do so earlier. Not sure why the change in mind, but it seemed like an odd time to do so (television program editing did not help). Funny thing the guy did was after he was arrested and cuffed, he started banging his head on the bonnet of the policecar, saying "why are you hitting me?"

The second incident was more disturbing for me. Basically a bunch of detectives in New Orleans left a bicycle in plain view, unlocked, on a street corner (in front of a church i think). The bike itself belonged to one of the detectives and looked pretty new. I had thought that entrapment was not allowed in the states. The amusing things that the detectives said when questioning the various suspects included "so who gave you permission to touch the bike?", which just reminded me of primary school mentality.

Still, watching the program reminded me of the various procedures that are required (on the part of the police) when trying to detain or arrest a suspect. =)

car troubles...

So after a long period of repair due to my accident, i was told to pick up my car yesterday. Happy days! Or not.....because driving home from the workshop, i stopped at a traffic light at Fort Road and found that the duologic gearbox was stuck in 4th and wouldn't shift down. Tried switching between "manual" and "auto" modes but it just wouldn't budge. In the end i tried restarting the engine, but it would have none of that as well. Had to call the workshop for a tow back as well as let WW know that she'd had to find her own way home (was gonna pick her up). Bugger!

Overall the repair job looks done well and i'm amazed they managed to make everything look decent. However, i noticed that my seating position, steering wheel and mirror adjustments have all been altered which means someone had been driving it, and probably screwing up the logic in the gearbox. It is a finicky gearbox, granted, that was why i took care of it, but i guess those guys managed to mess it up for me in a short stint. Gargh.

music and more

Quite a few things to say about this actually, 'cos we are a musically inclined family. We both play the piano and WW sings as well (i just croak, according to my music teacher lol) and our combined CD collection is the envy of many, although it will be our offspring who inherits this (although CDs will be out of date by whatever time). Actually, we are hoping that she inherits more than just our CD collection and it has been evident lately that she is quite particular about her music.

We were watching Happy Feet one day while she was just lying quietly nearby, and we noticed that she was thumping her feet to the music during the scene when Mumble Happyfeet was leading the penguin mass dance. =)

She is also quite picky about her music as there are certain types of music where she will frown and show her disapproval, then there are others where she'd listen and then fall asleep. So far, she does not like jazz (i assume because of the dissonant chords) but loves pop music. So she'd frown at Michel Camilo, but falls asleep listening to the Eagles. Only exception is Eliane Elias, whom she just listens quietly (yes!) and lately i've been informed that she likes Dave Koz as well. =)

I think the spookiest moment for me was when she started singing along (wordlessly, of course) to one of our recordings we did at Sacred Heart. Could not imagine that she really has a sense of timing and is applying it by using her voice, and she's not even 3 months old?!

Speaking of Sacred Heart, this coming Sunday is going to be a day of music as i have to play for 2 masses and canteen duty at the same time.

Metalwars review

I thought i'd try something new by writing about some of the iphone apps that i've been using and iphone games that i've been playing and today the topic is Metalwars by Goorusoft.

I had started out playing the lite (i.e. free) version and got so hooked on it that i had to get it (at $0.99, daily discount of the day i think) for the extra levels, although a little disappointed only a total of 18 levels for the full version.

Basically it is based on Mechwarriors (anyone remember that?) where a single human pilot gets into a robot that is armed to the teeth and they battle it out. The graphics is quite impressive with your view a 3D perspective slightly behind your robot. The controls are relatively straightforward with two circles appearing on the bottom corners of your screen (landscape mode). The "left control pad" controls movement while the "right control pad" controls the direction of the turret and fires the weapon at the same time. To point at a direction without firing, just tap the edge of the circle in the required direction. It can be a real challenge at first to master this, but once you get the hang of it, it is quite exciting to be able to run and gun, duck behind cover, change weapons and repeat. Weapons need time to reload, so it's best to have at least 2 so you can rotate while the other is being reloaded. You can't reload midway so you have to expend all your ammo (unlimited reloads i think) before the reloading can begin. You can get caught out and be defenceless at times if your weapons are all reloading, so just have to make like Gump and RUN!

Weapons can be changed via the little button next to the "right control pad" and this cycles through all the weapons you have mounted on your mech. My bugbear with the controls is sometimes this button does not respond when i try to change weapons, not sure why, could be an overlap with the right control pad. You can also give simple orders to your buddy which are self-explanatory: Follow me, Attack, and Hold.

The game offers 3 different slots for you saving progress of your game and offers a total of 18 stages for you to clear. Each stage consists of destroying all enemy mechs with the help of a fellow mech and you actually get graded for this, with the amount of money you earn corresponding to the grade you get. Each subsequent stage has harder (more well armed and well armoured) enemies, and is unlocked only if you get a minimum D grade. Basically this just means you're the last mech standing after everyone else (including your buddy) has been destroyed. The money you make varies from level to level, but generally if you do well, you can get an A grade which gives you 160. And if you really well, an S grade gives you the most money at 200. There is a buddy bonus (of 100) if he survives when you clear the stage, but i don't think this adds to your money, the only catch being that I haven't been able to get an S grade with my buddy dying along the way so i assume he has to survive as well to get that. The stages have different environments from a space-station arena, to a city grid, to a town set in the desert. Unlocking stages also gives you access to buy better weapons at the shop.

The shop is where the money you've been making becomes important as it allows you to upgrade your mech with better parts. These are catergorised into: Lower, Upper, Weapon, Extra, Wingman, Lower Paint and Upper Paint. Parts generally get more expensive as you go on so it's important to save up for them. Sometimes it's worth replaying a level, even though you've already attained 'S' for it, just so you can get more money. This can be such a mismatch at times when need more money and replay stage 1 and utterly pwn the scrawny machine-gun toting mechs.

Lower bodies come in a variety of flavours and vary in AP (hitpoints), speed, acceleration and loadage. Having a larger upper body gives better AP and allows you extra slots for weapons and of course, having more weapons is good in view of the reloading period. The maximum of weapons is 4, using the Guardian, which is interesting because the next (and penultimate) upper body that you unlock is the Impulse, which costs the same, has the same AP but can only carry 3 weapons. LOL

Do be aware that you are restricted by the amount the lower body can carry (i.e. loadage), so while it's nice to have a fast lower body (with corresponding lower loadage) and huge upper body with 4 weapons, this ain't gonna happen, which is cool. One quick tip is that placement of the weapons does matter. For upper bodies with more than 2 weapons, the 3rd (and 4th) weapons are placed on the top, allowing you to fire them at enemies if you're behind a low enough partial cover. Very useful as the computer controlled mechs generally can't get to you when you're behind cover (whether partial or full), but note that this does not work for missile boxes.

Weapons range from your basic MG (you start out with with the 20mm, with 30mm and 40mm later) to cannons of varying sizes to missile boxes (reminds me of the TOW missile on the standard M2 Bradley) to flamethrowers and laser beams. These vary in power, range, cartridge (magazine size), delay and reload time. The MGs are generally good and i can even use them all the way until the later stages when better weapons are unlocked. The cannons are powerful but have really long delays between shots and you're pretty much screwed if you need them to reload quickly, 'cos they take ages to do so. The shotgun is useful if you're a bobo shooter and is useful for close quarter battles (CQB), although not as good as the almighty flamethrower. I don't really like the laser beam but the computer controlled mechs seem to do alright using it. The missile boxes are interesting because the initial box comes with 7 missiles and fires them one at a time, and they will try to home in on the enemy provided you are facing the right direction and within range. Can be frustrating to fire your missiles and see them wander elsewhere, or even worse it hits your buddy (which does them damage so watch what you're shooting!). Later stages unlock spreadmissile boxes which fire in salvoes of 3 missiles for 3 waves which can be quite devastating. There is also a curious missile box called Skybot, which fires a bot that flies around the enemy shooting them with a small beam (a true fire and forget weapon). I usually try to keep the enemy mechs far away from me, using a mixture of skybot/spreadmissiles and MGs (cannons are too slow for me). At the same time, i'd outfit my buddy with a missile box or two and CQB-type weapons (flamethrowers are awesome!) and let him go upfront and attack while i engage from distance (from an angle).

The extras provide either a defensive laser that intercepts incoming missiles with a green beam (note long 'reload' time between shots) "Hard Kill" or extra AP "AP Up", and these come in 2 different levels, 5-10% for the AP. I did not notice any difference between Hard Kill 1 and Hard Kill 2, only that it takes up more loadage (from 5 to 10) so i stuck with Hard Kill 1.

The wingmen don't really matter so you can stick with the present given guy unless you have money to burn. Same thing for the change of paint for your mech, although it's really cheap and only costs 5. You can also rename your mech (for free).

Do remember to assemble your mech after buying your parts from the shop. This is especially useful if you want to do well (not just clear) at the various stages. There are some stages where it would be better to assemble a faster mech with less weapons, and there are some where you can go in armed to the teeth and just blast the enemy away.

My standard mech has the Guardian as the upper body as i prefer to have more weapons. I use a Skybot, a spreadmissile and a pair of 40mm MGs in that order (together with a Hard Kill 1, which gives max loadage of 110). I'd fire the Skybots, followed by all waves of my spreadmissile, then i get behind a low wall (try the wall of the compound that you start out in stage 1) and engage the enemy from safety. By the time i finish through my cycle, the Skybot would typically still be reloading, while my spreadmissile is loaded, so i fire another couple of waves at the enemy, then engage with my (now reloaded) MGs. Then back to Skybot, rinse and repeat. =)

Cover is very important in this game and it pays to use them. Stay away from open areas of the map unless you are heavily armoured and can deal death from afar accurately. Also be careful before letting loose your weapons, least you hit your buddy and try not to engage with your missiles until you have a clear line of sight to the enemy mech. If using your guns, try to park behind a building with just the gun sticking out, so you can engage the buggers at the same time, for this you'd need to be aware which gun you are firing and adjust your cover accordingly. Like i said earlier, if you have more than 2 weapons, make sure your MG/cannon is the 3rd (or 4th weapon) so that you can park behind a lower cover and engage with impunity.

Typically the enemy mechs start out at a position directly opposite you on the other side of the map. They will then make their way down, and usually use the same routes, although i have seen some variation at times. So playing through a stage can give you some idea on which side of a building to walk towards. =)

Also know that some stages pay more money that others, stage 7 for one pays 260 for an S grade, which is the highest i've found so far. The enemy mechs aren't particularly difficult to kill, especially if you use the tips above so that's easy money to be earned. Most stages have only 2 enemy mechs, but stage 6 has 3 and stage 15 has 4(!). Stage 15 is particularly hard as 3 of the mechs are small and quick and carry flamethrowers which can make short work of you if they all close in on you at the same time. One way of clearing this stage (D grade) is to send your buddy up to engage (to his death) while you try to pick them off but this can be difficult. An easier method would be to assemble a light fast mech with a big cannon and subsidiary MG and just run away. They will chase in line with the direction you're running so it's easy to just pick them off like that (try a 100mm cannon hahahaha), provided you are fast enough. This works especially well if your buddy managed to take out the non-flamethower mech early and then joins you for a quick jog around the rather open map. =)

There are still some bugs in the game, like sometimes after a freak shot or something, the mechs run around without an upper body (or weapons), which gives you an easy kill.

Overall, this is a game which can occupy you for some time. It can be frustrating at times, especially if you want to get S grade for all the stages, but the gameplay is good enough to sustain you for some time. Replayability is limited as once you get the set up you are comfortable with, you don't really have much more to fight for aside from more money or bragging rights.

Diary of a reno 3

More updates to our home:

Bought and installed sidetable extension for our study table.
Bought a winefridge and a Philips soundbar.
Installed a custom-made tower-of-power cabinet for our connections to the TV and our CD/DVD collection.
Ikea mirror bought for our bathroom.

Movie review: Toy Story 3

I remember when i watched the first toy story back in 1995. I didn't have much expectation of it, given that it was a cartoon-type movie, and boy was i wrong. My first thought at the end of the movie was that it was too short! I wanted more!! Granted that it was a pretty cliched storyline but it still touched me and made me want to return to my childhood. They repeated this formula of relying our good memories of childhood and sentimentality (is that even a word?) for Toy Story 2, and now Toy Story 3 as well.

The natural progression of things meant that Andy is now heading off to college and how this would affect the toys. I'll stop here as i don't want to spoil it for anyone who either hasn't watched it yet or has been living under a rock (we appeared to be the only ones who hadn't watched it!). Of course, the usual mix of gags and laughs were there for the kids, but Pixar managed to reach out to everyone by appealing to the child in us.

For me, the quote of the movie came from Barbie:

"Authority should derive from the consent of the governed, not from the threat of force!"

which made me want to yell out "or a lawsuit!" LOL

Updates for the bean bag

I just realised that blogger hadn't been notifying me that i had comments awaiting moderation! Sorry crufty!

Interestingly enough, i see that i have made more posts this month than the entire of 2009. LOL

For our regular readers (all 5 of you), you may notice that we have a new layout! I kinda like this format as it may imply whatever i'm writing is backed up by books *sagely pause* hmmmmm.

Am also in the process using the labelling system, so i'll use that little widget once more posts have been labelled. Updates to follow!

There may be no tomorrow...

The above came to mind when i saw tomorrow.sg still listed in my bloglines feed.

The last post was 31 May and since then, I have submitted a couple of articles relating to Singapore for approval but still no updates.

Either:
Singapore is so exciting that the standard of my articles is not enough to pique the editors' interests (i think there more than 1 editor at large needs to approve each submission);
or
the submission mechanism at tomorrow is spoyr (i.e. not working, for those non-Singlish readers) and no one from the editors has noticed the darth of submissions;
or
tomorrow.sg is dying a slow death. Maybe it can be reborn as a better tomorrow? LOL

Airy automobile

As a follow up to my previous post, we are now in the market for a car, as the two scenarios of our present car end with losing it: a) insurer declaring it a total loss and paying us market value (not much) and b) insurer repairing the car then we sell it (for safety reasons).

Option b gets us more money, but entails fighting the insurer from declaring it a total loss. I think i'm going to go through some hair and blood loss in dealing with them, and all the 5 cent 10 cent comments people offer do not really help even though they mean well. Sigh.

So anyways, a friend was selling his 1-series beemer convertible at a reasonable price (wouldn't call it cheap!) in that with the increasing car prices, we wouldn't make much of a loss on it after a year or two. However, price aside, the car would be difficult to use as a daily family car, given that it only has two doors, usable 2 backseats and a tiny boot, which may barely be able to take our pram. The idea of owning a convertible of course appeals but the reality of running it to the mall for groceries and other stuff might derail this thought. Which is a pity, because being rear-wheel driven really gives it beautiful handling, once you get some speed. May explain why ww found it hard to perform a 3-point turn as she struggled to turn the steering. Nice to have a drop top although the guy was saying it was only the second time he's ever lowered it, as weather in SG doesn't really help!

We also visited VW, Volvo and Subaru over the weekend to scope out new car prices, which are steep! Really bad time to buy (although you wouldn't have thunk it with the amount of people in the showrooms!!) with COE prices so high.

Sigh

In His time

Had the joy of playing for mass on Sunday, and with my friends from HT and it still seems as if we have it down tight. LOL. Tom is away healing his back, so Shaun took over stick duty and we had Louis joining us on the guitar.

Good (but long) sermon from Fr Tay as usual and he had to sneak in a mention about the band again. Quite embaressing to be referred to as "these guys are not professional but they play good music just like professionals". Awww....Fr Tay we love you too. =)

One of the songs we played was "In His time" which tied in very nicely with his sermon on living the word of God. My summary was "to turn the other cheek" but he goes one further by saying if we ever have the urge to say something bad or unkind about or to someone, change it to something nice, with feeling. It is a huge change of mindset but helps us love our neighbour. I have been trying but it is of course hard, even though i try to break it into baby steps: instead of saying anything, i try not to keep silent and let the wave of ill feeling pass. I may not be successful all the time, but at least i'm trying. And when it works, i do feel happier inside, although it is also a concious effort not to bottle things up, so must let it go...... LOL

This is song is close to me right now, especially hearing the congregation sing it so beautifully.

In His Time
Am Dm7 G7 C
In His time, in His time,
Dm7 G7 C C7
He makes all things beautiful, in His time,
F G7
Lord, please show me everyday,
Em Am
As You're teaching me Your way,
Dm7 G7 C
That You do just what You say, in Your time.

In Your time, in Your time,
You make all things beautiful, in Your time.
Lord, my life to You I bring,
May each song I have to sing,
Be to You a lovely thing, in Your time.

Tried to upload a version that we played (and managed to record) but having some technical issues here. Will sort it out soon

butterflies and twitters

Maybe it is my preference to be non-confrontational (you can stop snorting) but somehow the idea of handing in my notice this time round seems so difficult and is giving my tummy a bit of a strain with all the stress and anxiety.

Aside from the fact that my boss is extremely busy so it has been difficult to get some facetime, the thought of leaving this place, seems to make me procastinate. Even though i know i will feel better after i do it, i still feel a sense of loss at a place where i have spent a majority of my waking hours for the past years. Promises to keep in touch aside, i also know it will never be the same for some as we are used to just walking over for a yarn and a laugh, while the great unknown is waiting for me on the other side.

Interesting yet strange thoughts on a poignant day. I think a haircut is in order (it always balances me out!). =)

Sucky vac saleman

Had an incident that I nearly went librarian poo-poo about.

Someone bought a vacuum cleaner system and saw it fit to recommend this to us, so the appointment was fixed over the weekend. I had to attend mass (was supposed to play but long story) and got a little worried when i got an sms from ww asking about our existing (rather old but still working) vacuum system, the Rainbow, about whether it had a filter. In view of my car-less state, my parents attended mass with me, which was very heart warming, so we all headed home after.

Found that the saleman had displayed his wares all over my bedroom when i got home, and wanted to demonstrate the system to me. He said that it is more than a vacuum, it can also purify the air, clean your mattresses and more. I took one look at it, and noted that it was similar to what we already have (which can do the same lol), but i indulged him and listened to his speel, while ww had her lunch. He tried to head off the fact that we already have a Rainbow by showing us pictures of a Rainbow system with a filter. (ed: i think this is the updated Rainbow with the Hepa filter, ours is older! lol) Strike one.

I guess he thought he was losing me 'cos he said to me (and my mum), "you know, it does not matter because your wife has already ordered it." At this time i paused and got suspicious, because i knew ww wouldn't commit to readily. Walked over and checked with her and she was like "eh?" Strike two.

Then when i went back in, he claimed that my father-in-law (who had brought lunch for ww) approved of the system and said ok to buy, which was strange because the first thing my FIL showed me was that our Rainbow did not have a filter (which i already knew), and he was wondering what the saleman was talking about. Strike three.

So i decided enough was enough, and i said:
"I'm sorry but i just got into a car accident and we don't have the money to plonk down 3.4k for this. Thank you for your time, we are not interested"
and
"I appreciate your time, but we already have a Rainbow which does pretty much the same thing. I know your system is updated and it is a good system, but we don't need it right now."
and
"Look, i don't really need to see your demo, because i know what it can do, since you said for yourself that this was developed by a guy who worked in Rainbow, so i already know what it does. My time is limited (weekends are precious!) and i'm sure yours is as well, so thank you for your time but we are not interested."

Getting nowhere with me, he headed outside to try to convince ww (leaving his junk still all over my bedroom). By which time, i was getting pretty heated up and wanted this guy out of our house. Still he persisted in repeating his speel, broken record style, and i rebutted with the above statements, this time more forcefully, even to the extent of showing him the door. At this point in time, guess who shows up at the door? It's his assistant with.... (wait for it)..... a brand new set in a box! Very close to raising my voice at this point in time (no, not even close to 50% volume for me yet really), but still i managed to remain calm with a cold stare. He got the idea and sent the guy away (quickly) and relented enough (finally!) to go pack up his system.

He did have a few parting shots about how happy he was that we were not buying the system (saves him trouble?) and how the system was not for everybody. He also wasn't talking to me at this point in time but addressing everyone else, which is pretty disrespectful, but no matter, i just wanted him out.

Looking back, i think i was just a few moments short of "you have two ways to leave, either you pack your stuff and leave, or it can follow after you." I don't know why but it got very territorial for me at that point in time, as if responding to some basic primal instinct. I think i had provided sufficient verbal warning to call the cops at least, if not physically restrain him until the cops got here, which would have really turned ugly.

Moral of the story: never invite salepeople into your house, they will basically try not to leave until you buy their product and will do everything short of chaining themselves to your dining table to make you do so.

As an epilogue, he called ww the next day, quite persistently asking whether she was still interested in the vacuum. She said a firm "Thank you, but no, not interested". LOL

Public transport

So, with the revision of bus and train fares to 'distance-based', i find myself one of those paying more. As stated in this article, i am one of those who take short trip to and from work, so my bus fare has gone up from 68 cents to 71 cents per trip. Am amused with this statement though:

Acknowledging that this group of commuters (ed: those who take short trips) are not benefiting from the fare revamp, Mrs Lim hoped they would review their travel pattern weekly instead of on a "per trip basis".

Eh? Let me review my travel pattern weekly then. If i were to take a bus to and from work, that would be 68c*2 = $1.36 per day, which would mean $6.80 per week under the previous 'stage-based' fares. Under the new 'distance-based' fares, i would pay 71c*2 = $1.42 per day, which would mean $7.10 per week. It may only be an increase of 30 cents but it is still an increase. This is one of the reasons why i walk to work even though i have the options of taking a bus (5 bus stops) or train (1 stop). Bleah

FYI, the very enthusiastic folks (ha!) at asiaone forum came up with "A Challange to SMRT CEO, Ms Saw Phaik Hwa".

Car sigh...

There is a possibility that we might be changing car sooner than we thought. This is because I managed to prang the car while driving to soccer a couple of Saturdays back. The accident happened at exit 10A of the ECP (going towards Changi) and occurred after rain had been pouring the whole day and was just easing up. I lost traction while heading up the off-ramp and hit the reinforced wall with my front left corner, then managed to limp to the side after.

It didn't look as bad on first glance as it was a low speed impact (none of my 6 airbags deployed), but the damage was more than skin deep. Am looking at a
new: bumper, headlights, engine mounts,
repairing: chassis (cracked), bonnet, left fender, left front rim, front axel

On the upside, I was alone in the car and only came away with a few scrapes and bruises.

Sigh

Leaders of the fee world

Singapore almost topped the list! Yay!

From the Economist, 5 July 2010

"Lee Hsien Loong, the prime minister of Singapore, tops our list of selected leaders' salaries. He is paid more than 40 times the city-state’s GDP per person. At the other end of the scale, Manmohan Singh, the prime minister of India, reaffirms his reputation for saintliness by taking a modest sum from Indian taxpayers."

FYI The reason for the discrepancy between the graph and the above paragraph is because the Kenyan PM rejected his pay increase (while his fellow ministers gave themselves a pay increase as well).

I guess all the numbers reported are in US$, based on the (old) wikipedia reported figure of S$3,091,200 (US$2,037,168) (note, this is pre-pay increment).

Using the figures from the article, our GDP per person (assuming the conservative figure of 40 times our GDP per person) works out to $2,183,516/40 = $54,587, and converting this using today's exchange rate gives S$75,935.94.

If we use the figures from wiki instead, i.e. his pay divided by GDP of (US$37,293), he is paid more that 70 times our GDP per person.

Facinating, yet depressing, 'cos while i'm heading to a new position soon, my pay is nowhere near this......or GDP per person......or even gone up. Sigh

Saab 9-5

I think i found a car to ponder, pictures here. Now looks-wise it does take some lines from popular kimchi cars, but bear with me.

That interior is just beautiful. I must admit abit of gadgetry lust here (was taken by the BMW 335's electronic joystick-type shifter).

On the upside, the 9-3 will be cheaper and hopefully i'll be able to pick one up secondhand on the cheap. =)

blogging hiatus

Have been holding off on all posts in memory of a friend who passed away, it may seem like a silly thing, but he had such a huge online presence (at least to me) that i just wanted to maintain silence for a hundred days to remember him.

So lots of things been happening in the meantime of course, so i'll try to catch up on them as we go along.

normal transmission resumes in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1......

-ben: In memoria

A friend was struck down by a drunk driver and he was put on life support in ICU. When i found out, thoughts raced through my head of the times when we met up to watch movies, eat and chat the night away.

Always ready with a smile, he was as passionate about life as he was about cycling. I had always felt the warmth of his friendship, even we only met online through a friend as I was overseas. The long profound chats via online message services made me want to laugh, think, hug someone, at the same time. He touched lives with love in his own special way and when i finally met up with him, he blessed those around him with his presence and infectious laughter.

His online presence was equally large as he maintained several blogs that left me wanting more updates. His own sandbox recorded deep thoughts on religion, alternating with an unmatched sense of humour that left me in stiches at times. His biasedness against mobile phones made me yearn of a time when dates were fixed well in advance, which made people look forward to them and be punctual. The epic online diary of his cycling exploits left me breathless in amazement, both of his skills with the camera and his persistence in recording his trip. It felt as if i was seeing his journey through his eyes.

It feels unreal as i type this, willing it to be untrue, but i just found out he has passed away.

I would rant about the unfairness of it all, or how drunk drivers should be castigated, or even how life is short and should be treasured. But i am left wordless.

In his own words, Requiéscat in pāce.

Update: A website has been set up at http://benmokpedalon.com/

parenting

The thought that we are going to be parents scare us sometimes, especially when we meet/see ill-behaved kids. I have noticed that my own outlook on kids has gone through an about-face. Behavior which used to irritate me, I now find amusing, or even cute. There are limits to this, and i regularly reach this line every week with children of my relatives. Yes, i know that that would make them my relatives as well, but wish to dissociate myself from the little pint-sized Machiavellian packages from hell. It's not that their parents don't try, but they are just so hyper and full of evil ideas that it would take an army of people watching their every move in order to prevent the mischief they get up to. Worse still, they egg each other on.

Which brings us to....er....us. I wonder what sort of parents we will be, and refuse to be the parent of an ill-behaved kid. I like to think that every parent started off like this, but somehow some of them lose their way and suddenly they have offspring that are more akin to spitting hissing cats rather than cute adorable kittens. So what do we do?

choices

Today's comic at xkcd is quite amusing, especially in the context of a conversation i had yesterday with a colleague.

She was taking her dustbin to the main trashbin to clear it, and jokingly said to me "i've been demoted".

My instant response was "ha, it would have been a promotion for me". I'm sure she didn't get it, but to elaborate: she gets to physically clear the trash and be done (quite cleanly, unless you have a spilled coffeecup in your bin), while i have to deal with trash in the mind, which is more difficult to clear. Or even worse, trash in the form of people which presents itself in the metaphorical chewing gum of trash, sticky, hard to get rid off, and even then there'll be a mark/stain.

It is times like these when one has to deal with garbage everyday that I wonder when i pass by someone doing something with their hands. Less rewarding monetarily, but to see something being completed with your hands and be unburdened from the job at the end of the each day, seems to be more fulfiling overall in life. Are we able to control our mind to such an extent that peace of mind each day is attainable? So many variables every day, so many options.

Ahhh, life's choices.

blogs in recession

Hmm, this is interesting. The budget for Singapore was announced yesterday, but the blogosphere is eerily silent.

*taps computer*
"is the internet on?"

Usually after an event like this, there will be a flurry of posts as people disect the budget to see how it affects everyone (mainly themselves), so that lazy people like me can read their posts and figure out how it affects me, not that i'm expecting much. LOL

Maybe the recession has hit home for blogs as well.

Some personality results

I'm always intrigued and amused by personality tests and usually do them with a huge dose of salt and pepper. Some jobs require personality tests as well and the outcomes can 'arranged' to your benefit if you can spot where the questions are leading you, the repetitiveness of the questions, and how they are ordering your answers, in order to give a result that you want. This is especially true when said company uses a free online quiz to do it. LOL

My personality type is apparently "Determined Realist"
Practical, traditional and organized. Likely to be athletic. Not interested in theory or abstraction unless they see the practical application. Have clear visions of the way things should be. Loyal and hard-working. Like to be in charge. Exceptionally capable in organizing and running activities. 'Good citizens' who value security and peaceful living.

Careers that could fit you include: Military, business administrators, managers, police/detective work, judges, financial officers, teachers, sales representatives, government workers, insurance agents, underwriters, nursing administrators, trade and technical teachers.


Spotted a more interesting specimen from Insanepoly, which uses colours and it gives the same results that most other quizes give. You can take it here.

My results:

Best Occupational Category
You're a CREATOR
Keywords

Nonconforming, Impulsive, Expressive, Romantic, Intuitive, Sensitive, and Emotional

These original types place a high value on aesthetic qualities and have a great need for self-expression. They enjoy working independently, being creative, using their imagination, and constantly learning something new. Fields of interest are art, drama, music, and writing or places where they can express, assemble, or implement creative ideas.

CREATOR OCCUPATIONS
Suggested careers are Advertising Executive, Architect, Web Designer, Creative Director, Public Relations, Fine or Commercial Artist, Interior Decorator, Lawyer, Librarian, Musician, Reporter, Art Teacher, Broadcaster, Technical Writer, English Teacher, Architect, Photographer, Medical Illustrator, Corporate Trainer, Author, Editor, Landscape Architect, Exhibit Builder, and Package Designer.

CREATOR WORKPLACES
Consider workplaces where you can create and improve beauty and aesthetic qualities. Unstructured, flexible organizations that allow self-expression work best with your free-spirited nature.

Suggested Creator workplaces are advertising, public relations, and interior decorating firms; artistic studios, theaters and concert halls; institutions that teach crafts, universities, music, and dance schools. Other workplaces to consider are art institutes, museums, libraries, and galleries.





2nd Best Occupational Category
You're a RESEARCHER
Keywords:

Independent, Self-Motivated, Reserved, Introspective, Analytical, and Curious

These investigative types gather information, analyze and interpret data, and inquire to uncover new facts. They have a strong scientific orientation, enjoy academic or research environments and prefer self-reliant jobs. Dislikes are group projects, selling, and repetitive activities.

jeanie at our place

We hosted a few friends over for a pot luck dinner yesterday, and it happened to be the first time that we brought jeanie over to our place. =) At first she seemed a bit dazed and confused but soon settled into her spot in the yard, looking into the kitchen.

We also brought her around after dinner for her walkies and she seemed to enjoy the surroundings, although she did get in some verbal sparring with a bull terrier and a miniature schnauzer (so cute! pity about the tail (having a waggy tail to greet me is one of those little joys in life)).

Somehow it felt heartening to share the joy of having our new home with our friends and our dog. I must admit that it was a bit of an emotional roller coaster, especially when she initially refused to step in and looked abit dazed and confused. Luckily she warmed up to our place and seemed to enjoy the high-rise view from our window. =)

Another milestone in our life, and it is amazing to be able to share it with our friends, family and our dog.

Dairy of a reno 2

15 Jan - installation of kitchen cupboard skeleton

16 Jan - installation of kitchen cupboard skeleton continues, with top cut out for sink and hob. MBR 'feature wall' wardrobe installed.
The following items were delivered: sink, hood, dish dryer, oven, mattress, bed, sidetable, chest of drawers.
Singtel installed telephone line.
solar film people came to measure and quote.
6 rosewood dining chairs delivered
Boxes from storage facility moved, 3 boxes in wine storage remain.

18 Jan - modification of kitchen cupboards to accomodate dish dryer powerpoint, modification of drawers. Bedroom doors sanded down and revarnished.

19 Jan - kitchen cabinets completed with installation of drawers, doors and under cabinet lights. Kitchen door and bedroom doors revarnished. Installation of masterbedroom wardrobe and study room bookshelves. Masterbedroom feature wall cabinet door fasteners installed. Common toilet cupboard installed.

20 Jan - All carpentry works completed, kitchen cabinet handles installed. Water heater installed.

21 Jan - Moving day with 41 boxes in total moved from 2 homes as well as a safe, an organ, an upright piano, one washing machine and a marble top dining table.
Common toilet shower screen installed.
Study table and chair delivered.
Hitachi fridge delivered.
Samsung LED TV delivered and installed.

22 Jan - curtains installed. Common toilet spotlight replaced. Masterbedroom cabinet fasteners installed, sauce bottle drawer (right of oven) removed to change to swing door. Piano tuner called in for tuning and servicing.

23 Jan - mattress put on bed '安床' and bed sheets fitted. Stoved carried into the house, with provisions and bamboo pole. Provisions include: rice (in rice bin), soy sauce, vinegar, pepper, salt, etc
Granite top fitted for straight side of kitchen, L-shaped side broken on installation, to redo.
Final cupboard door (former sauce bottle drawer) installed.
Dinner with family and our first night in our new home.

25 Jan - installed MBR frameless glass shower stall, MBR toilet roll holder. Bought Ikea stools x 6, stick on toilet roll holder for common toilet, suction towel rail holder for MBR toilet. Bought a small fan, powerboard, and lock for main gate.

26 Jan - installed granite top for L-shape side of kitchen. Minor touch up for MBR wardrobe door (bubble) and kitchen cabinet (sanding down and repainting of pelmet). CD collection combined, sorted and put up, more shelves needed.

28 Jan - plumber came to fix the sink, pipes and fixtures needed so to revisit. Carpenters came to touch up on cabinetry.
Singtel installed Mio Home (TV and internet are up!)
Uncle tidied up the wiring for the undercabinet lights in the kitchen.
Solar film installation failed.

29 Jan - plumber completed installation of the sink and tap (rotated the tap 90 degrees).

30 Jan - sorted out books for bookshelves

And we lived happily ever after. =)

feeling lucky

By random clicking, i chanced upon a NYT article on a bachelor's effort to understand love, which stirred some thoughts inside.

I have been blessed in life, or lucky in love, or fortunate in my daily living. I try to recognise this at least once a day, to remind myself how good life is. This can be hard when it feels like nothing is going your way, but one can try. Perhaps this blog is an attempt to 'try'. =)

From all the people i have met and the stories i have heard, it is those regarding relationships that interest me the most. It is not the gossip factor, but more a layman's take on the human psyche and love. I emphatise with the writer of this article, just as i feel for people i know who are still looking for that special someone. Perhaps a cynical person might say this is a form of subtle schadenfreude, or taking joy in the misery of others, but it really does remind me that i'm lucky. =)

There were many factors which led me to ww. Sometimes it does (egotistically) feel like everything conspired to put us together. From friends who knew us but who hardly knew each other but threw us together anyways; to the weather which kept us stranded at a beach pavilion; to our family who are ever so supportive of us; to our buddies who helped in some way or other; our past experiences also shaped our way of thinking; so many more things. That's why i am truly thankful and think that i'm extremely fortunate. I would wish this upon everyone i know, that they would find that special someone as i did, and most of all, to feel lucky.

ipad

So the latest from apple is here, and it's the ipad which some say looks like an oversized iphone.

I say, why stop there? They should make oversized ipods as well, to bring back the halycon days of walking down the street with a boombox on your shoulder. Forget about the ipod, its smaller sibling ipod mini (remember that?) or its dimunitive relative ipod nano. We give you, the ipod mega. Muhahahahaha

It will be packed with features familiar to those who use ipods, and to ensure that it is familiar, no new functions will be added to it. In fact, due to its size, some functions like the click wheel will be removed. Don't forget to plug in your headphones or you won't be able to hear anything.....

Service

I chuckled when i saw the various adverts for the new TV reality show: Can you serve. We were at a DIY shop buying stuff to set up our home when i suddenly remembered that we needed to buy a phone, and this was how the conversation went:

z: Hi, I'm looking to buy a phone, do you have any?
smiling salesman: You want what kind? Cordless?
z: Yes, cordless would be great.
smiling salesman: Sorry we don't sell cordless phone.
z: Oh, i need a non-cordless phone as well [non-cordless, ha!!]
smiling saleman: Sorry we don't sell that either.
z: *facepalm*

Diary of a reno 1

Been busy like the proverbial b lately, trying to get our new home ready. Thank goodness of the parental support!

Thought i'd chronicle our progress for our records... =)

Diary of reno 2009-2010

22 Dec - Collected keys from HDB. Nice pouch with individual straps for each bunch of keys! Interesting welcome pack with long lists of rules, regs and T&C. LOL

23 Dec - 1pm door opening, flat viewing and defect inspection. Pinapple thrown, oranges rolled, bell rung, announcement (that we are the rightful owners of the place) made, windows opened. Some minor defects found, overall happy. =)
Brought mop, pail and rags.

26 Dec - Renovations being with varnishing of study room floor with Quick-dry varnish.

27 Dec - inspected result of varnish, proceeded to varnish remaining rooms and all skirting around the house. Finished 1 small tin of varnish, no remainder. =)

28 Dec - Defects list submitted, minor defects here and there but major damage is main door and yard wall.

31 Dec - ordered sofa

2 Jan - ordered lights

5 Jan - appointment with painter to select colours and confirm job

6 Jan - Air conditioning installation
Defect inspection and rectification, patched up yard wall, outside corner chip and general patching up, windows and frame cleaned.

7 Jan - defects rectification continued, replaced main door, painted grill, cleaned windows. Windows were steam cleaned by FIL. =)

8 Jan - Using ICI Dulux wash and wear to paint, colours include: sail white, barely grey, latte (looks pink to me), barely purple, apple white, and lilac white.

9 Jan - Painting continued and minor defects corrected by painter: globs of paint on door frames, tears on walls
Layout of cabinetry and electricals confirmed

10 Jan - Further defects corrected by painter: paint droplets from door frame painting day before on parquet floor. Also scratches from air-con people's ladder resulted in much sanding, scraping, swearing, vacuuming and mopping before varnishing of diamond hard varnish. Leftover varnish to be used for another layer of varnish for 2 indentations by air-con people. Gargh!!
Removal of paint stains (old ones) around house and clearing of lift landing, washing of floor. =)

11 Jan - Citygas piping routed to stove's location. To call citygas 3 days before to hook up the gas.
Called Singtel to arrange for new landline to be fixed up.
Steaming of tiled floors by FIL.
Purchased fridge and TV

12 Jan - installation of lights, toilet downlight was damaged. Lotsa cleaning up after (gargh!!), unwrapped toilet bowls, Defects rectification continued with touch up of main grill and main door. Main door damaged in the process of removal, requested for replacement door which will be done when stocks arrive.
Purchased IVAR racks from IKEA

13 Jan - installed 1 IVAR rack in household shelter, corrected lightbulb for living/dining lights, bought a ladder (not neccessarily in that order)

14 Jan - electrical installation of power points, and oven switch. installation of 3 bedroom doors and 1 set of kitchen doors, decided to have glossy finish. 1 more IVAR rack completed.

Funds for Bella

The first post of the year and so let's start on a good note! Via Kingsley:

Bella is a 11 month old stray puppy currently being kept Mutts and Mittens in Singapore. She is there after she was knocked down by a car and currently needs funds to repair her 2 broken front legs. We need to raise S$4,000 for her.

You can make a Singapore cheque made out to Mutts and Mittens Foundation and send it to:

Mutts and Mittens
11 Pasir Ris Farmway, Singapore 519326.
Attn: Cohen Ng - Bella’s surgery fund

You can also paypal it to Kingsley and let him know. His hooman will do the necessary then (because they haven't made keyboards for pets just yet)(speciest!!)

Note, Kinglsey is giving a lucky donor free photos of either him or Robin (or both?) or you can get a 4R photo with every 10 dollar donation. Details here.

Post Christmas post

WW, Jeanie and I would like to send all our readers, yes all 5 of you, our warmest season's greetings this festive period. =)

Strange to read about a would-be terrorist (is his name Achmed?) who strapped a bomb to his thigh, near his crotch. He was overpowered after the bomb failed (gave him 30% burns) and now security at all airports have been tightened. Hope all my friends travelling are not too inconvinienced by this. Many thoughts ran through my head when i read about this:
1) was the bomb still strapped to his crotch when he tried to set it off? Then it may only be minor burn but is a painful 30% to bear
2) how is airport security going to react? More "is that a bomb in your pants or are you just happy to see me?" quotes perhaps?
3) surely some other passenger must have noticed this guy fiddling with his....err....fly mid-flight? "Er, dude, the mile-high club usually admits 2 at a time, going Hans Solo is not counted one"

In other news, this caught my eye:

A FORMER board member of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) was fined $10,000 for forging a certificate when registering as a patent agent in 2002. Ho Ying Dat, 52, who pleaded guilty on Monday, could have been jailed for up to two years.

His lawyer B. Ganesh said that Ho, a Malaysian and a Singapore permanent resident, had passed the examinations set by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in April 1992.

However, he failed to fulfil the residency qualification of working in the US for a year. The Malaysian returned here as his father was very ill then.

In July 1992, he set up his own patent firm Lawrence Y.D. Ho & Associates, with his wife.

In 2002, IPOS required all patent agents to be licensed. Ho was worried he may not be registered as he did not have certification and decided to forge an USPTA certificate.

So everyone has to try hard to pass (average 20-30% passrate) at the annual patent agent exams that are set by the board at IPOS which this guy was sitting on? Hope people dun feel too bummed by this.

New Year's post coming up!

musical interlude

I've been trying to be more active musically in the recent months. Helped out a duo (sax and vocals) who needed a last minute keyboardist, which was interesting considering we didn't have any practice since i was informed the night before. Also did a gig for an art exhibition at the Arts House. Nice to add those to my diary, now if only they would pay me what they owe me. LOL Yes, they both owe me money, i think i'm too nice 'cos they dun return my calls now. Now where did i leave that pig's head....next time i'm asking for money up front.

Our regular band has been chugging along at the rate of one practice a month lol. We're slowly building up a set list of songs, and go into the studios this month intending to record some Christmas songs so watch this space!

Went to the indoor stadium for the Earth Wind and Fire concert, absolutely brilliant stuff. Really still have the chops these guys, especially the bassist Verdine White, who rawks!! Everyone on stage keeps moving around and it can get hard to keep track, but he's in a class of his own. The whole group is very tight musically and the stage presence is very well choreographed. Been ages since i've been there, considering the last time i went there for a concert was for No Doubt in '97?

some updates

Been really really busy, as we prepare for a new arrival to our family. =)

Some little quips for note:

(at high tea)
ww: i like these cucumber sandwiches, the cucumber taste is not so strong
z: maybe the chef used special cucumbers....the type that are limp.... hahahah

(at NTUC)
z: hey dear, *holds up a pack of pair of corn to his head* guess what am i?
ww: no idea, what are you?
z: i'm a unicorn!
ww: argh.....wait a minute, that's a pair, not a single corn.
z: errrr.... i'm a bicorn then?
ww: nevermind.....

the little things

Sometimes, the little things in life can add up. Some bad little stuff (like stubbing a toe, or pouring spoilt milk into coffee) which irritate us can lead to an necessary encounter, while some good little things (like catching a bus/cab outside the front door) can lead to a happy disposition. It really is up to us to let these things get to us.

There was an encounter today at the local petrol station. Dude A parked his car to buy some stuff from the petrol station supermarket, and Dude B wanted to fill up his tires with air. As there was no place, Dude B parked behind Dude A while waiting for the air pumping station to free up (a guy in the 'air pumping lot'). He started filling up his tires when it came to his turn, by which time Dude A returned to his car. He asked Dude B to shift his car, Dude B replied he's almost done. Dude A asked how come he parked behind him to fill air, Dude B replied how come he took so long in the supermarket and there were other lots available instead of this lot next to the air pump filling station. Dude A said stupid, Dude B replied with "stupid old man". Dude A said something about Dude B's car, Dude B retorted. Out came the handphones, to either make a call or to take photos. [you can see how this is stupidly escalating over a trivial matter]

I'll pause here to state that I had taken over the original 'air pumping lot' and was waiting my turn. I wanted to mind my own business and stood around my car inspecting my paintwork and admiring pattern of watermarks which left dust streaks. Was going to revert to the age old 'ceiling inspection routine' when Dude B came over to pass me the air hose, saying "dunno why [he is] so rude,...." So i proceeded to fill my tires. As i was coiling up the air hose (i wonder how many people actually do), this really silly scene greeted me: two grown men waving handphones in each other's faces to take a momento home.

I just finished up and got into my car when I saw one bat the other's handphone onto the floor, and thought "oh cripes, that's torn it." So i got out of my car and approached them. Funnily enough, both were trying to justify themselves to me (oh why me?) but i wasn't listening to tell you the truth. I just didn't want these two fellers to resort to physical violence over what is technically nothing. Stepped in between them and said "Uncles, just relax lah. Let's just take a step back and chill" [stupid thing to say rite? if the uncles knew how to chill, i wouldn't have had to step in! duh!] The situation got resolved as I left (someone else wanted to use the air pump) and Dude B left just as i did, thereby allowing Dude A to get home.

I understand that in these situations, one can let these little things get out of hand and next thing you know, you are wearing a gorilla suit, jumping up and down on your car and waving a pokemon toy [dun ask]. But honestly, thinking about it more now, it really seems sillier and sillier, lol.

That was one popular air pump.

Untitled post

Couldn't think of a suitable title for today's (this month's) post. Had thought of rojak or hodgepodge, but decided in the spirit of speak good English campaign, I'd leave it untitled. =)

Speaking of good English, I'm sure the first person that comes to mind is a Miss Ris Low, our newly crowned Miss Singapore World 2009. After hearing her speak, I thought the world must be coming to an end, and even it wasn't, she would have made it go "Boomz" anyway. *facepalm* There are some out there who are suggesting that we give her a chance to improve her diction, her phrasing, her choice of words and her incoherentness. That's like preparing to send out best table tennis player by selecting someone from the rugby team....don't worry, plenty of time to improve those ground strokes and top spin smashes. It must hurt the ears of English teachers everywhere to hear a massacre of those words tumbling from her mouth, much like the proverbial bull in a chinashop. Smashing!

An example of not so good English my yours truly. I was having lunch with a good friend at one of those cafes that sell pasta and 'western food', although the place was run by a chinese family and we were served by a thai waitress. They got our orders a little mixed up and we managed to amuse our fellow diners by saying to the waitress "eh, i didn't order this! This is mee pok (fettuccine), i ordered mee kia (spaghetti)!!"

Quip of the day: (at work)
z: Yo, heard about the new guy that just joined us? He's into collecting watches as well, just like his roommate.
m: Yeah, heard that he has an IWC, although that is nothing compared to his roommate.
z: Would that mean that an arms race is on? *snigger*

Ok, i couldn't resist another, this time with ww. In my defense, i was driving when we had this conversation.
ww: I've been thinking of getting a foot file.
z: Why? So that you can punch two holes in a broccoli and save it for later?
ww: Foot lah, F-O-O-T!

[and later along Scotts road]
ww: That's interesting, an adult novelty shopt just above a KFC.
z: Gives new meaning to the phrase "finger lickin' good eh?"
ww: *facepalm* impossible to talk to you today.

Moving along, came across this post on toilet urinal protocol from one of my favourite online comics, xkcd, which gave me a few chuckles. It may have been reiterated from somewhere but he did add some fresh perspective by formalizing the process in math (geek alert!).

Excerpt of a conversation with the wife today ('cos i was running late):
zeenie: sorry baby, am running late, was held up by work.
zeenie: Work: this is a stick up!
zeenie: Me: what do you want from me?
zeenie: Work: your time!!! muwahahahaha
wifey: errr....oooook

Music-wise, i've been watching quite a few more youtube vids as usual, like these: Lee Rit's Rio Funk, Bela Fleck's Big Country, and Victor Wooten's Zenergy. Some points of note (in the order posted): Who's the fantastic bassist? What instrument is Bela Fleck playing? What is the time signature of this song? =)

Also, we went to a concert of Jeremy Monteiro and Howard Levy, featuring Paul Ponnudurai and they rawked! Mr Levy was in a class of his own, i can see how he used to play with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. He played Amazing Grace with a harmonica, in 3 parts, featuring a constant bass, rhythm fills and the melody, at the same time!?!?! WTF?!?! *jaw drop*
Was amused to see a photo of myself at Gremspot, although it's a little small so it's a case of "spot the zeenie". =)

Took a work personality profile and this is one it came up with:

Does not like too many work demands, prefers to work at own pace.
Punctual, completes work on time.
Detailed, meticulous and observant, quick to pick out abnormalities.
Objective, but may appear detached.
Does not get involved in other's personal problems.
Not concerned with rank, title, or position.
Sees people as nice and friendly, not comfortable to wheel and deal.
Orderly, methodical and systematic, takes care to plan in detail.

Kinda true i suppose. lol

back in the writer's seat

After being overly reliant on twitter and facebook updates to deliver soundbytes, i figure a thoughtful cogent post a week is a better way to go in terms of writing my thoughts and feelings. I was going to devote this first weekly post on what these weekly posts would be about, but i think i'll just write about whatever that comes to mind.

As convenient as twitter and facebook are, i do feel they lack clarity of thought and become to concise and terse. Writing is an elegant art that should be given time, thought and space to express oneself. Facebook is really good at wasting time in terms of filling in quizes, playing silly games to get a higher score than everyone else, playing more silly games to reach some silly everchanging goal, or even playing/dressing/feeding a virtual pet. Wanna waste some time? Just rely on the good old internet to provide some great gems.

Switching to real life pets now. Recently we celebrated Jeanie's 11th birthday, quite a quiet affair, and i dun think she knew what the fuss over her was about. LOL. She did get the marrow of a bak kut teh dinner as well as some durians after, so she was quite happy (and psyched by the time i came back!). She's such a lovely happy dog who never fails to make me smile and lift my spirits, truly man's best friend. =) In other dog news, Kingsley has moved to the land of windmills and tulips and promptly announced his arrival by winning a photo contest! The king is in da house!! Details here.

Job-wise, I have to admit that I've been thinking about leaving this profession altogether, as it has become rather pointless. Actually, it's probably because it is so hard to succeed, and i once thought the moment i get it, that's it, i'm set. Having seen some of my predecessors succeed, i'm not so sure success is that rosy, as it appears to entail more stress, more responsibility and more crap for not much more compensation. Even considered teaching, as quite a few people have remarked that i make a good teacher (dun ask me why, i happen to think i'm a terrible cynical teacher).

One option that has always been there since i passed my teacher's grade in music with Yamaha, but to succeed in that in Singapore is difficult at best. Teaching would drive me crazy i think, although it would be a steadier source of income compared to performing. Playing solo or in a band would be awesome, although that would mean living on air for a while. Still, i have resolved not to stay still and strive to improve myself. I have taken the middle path (as usual) of hanging on to the day job and looking for side opportunities in music at the same time. So far.....nothing. But at least i'm playing more varied music (was asked for a sample from the Gabe Dixon band and that was an interesting excercise) and am learning more and more each week. Having a good solid band helps, and i can think of no one else i'd rather play with than my church band (you guys rock!).

the madness of it all

TODAY Weekend • November 29, 2008
Teo Xuanwei

NEWS of her body being found on the 19th floor of the Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai filtered through to Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) at about 8pm on Friday night.

Ms Lo Hwei Yen was found dead by Indian security personnel.

About one-and-a-half hours later, Ms Lo’s husband, Mr Michael Puhaindran, identified the body as that of his 28-year-old wife, making her the first Singaporean to have been killed in an overseas terrorist attack.

“We would like to convey our sincere condolences to the family of Ms Lo. This is a tragedy for all Singaporeans,” said a spokesperson from MFA, which alerted the media shortly before 6pm of a press conference later in the evening.

.... Ms Lo, a lawyer at Singapore-based offshore firm Stephenson Harwood, had been taken hostage on Wednesday night when armed militants took the Oberoi Hotel where she had been staying with guns and grenades.

Our deepest condolences to Michael and Ms Lo's family.

I don't know her or Michael, but ww knows Ms Lo. I feel sad reading about any loss of life, particularly needlessly in this case.

This is not about religion nor politics. This is about a small minded group of people trying to make a larger population live in fear because no one wants to listen or subscribe to their message.

I try to think the best of people, but in this, i think that there is special place in hell for the terrorists. May they rot there forever.

Overheard over lunch

Ww: I wonder what happened to the peanut pancake stall?
Z: I think it folded. Heh heh heh
Ww: *facepalm*
Z: They say the guy went nuts! Ho ho ho
Ww: *evil eye* you say somemore!
Z: Personally, I think he spread himself too thinly. LOL
*thwack*
Z: …..but I nair say “somemore!”……
Amused looks from fellow diners, while zeenie take a bow.

driving in m'sia

What are roads in Malaysia used for?


Written by a foreigner residing there. A funny read, humurous but a bit lengthy
David Astley, an British/Ozzie guy!! now living in KL
A guide for expatriate drivers in Malaysia


Since arriving in Malaysia in 1997, I have tried on many occasions to buy a copy of the Malaysian road rules, but have come to the conclusion that no such publication exists (or if it does, it has been out of print for years). Therefore after carefully observing the driving habits of Malaysian drivers, I believe I have at last worked out the rules of the road in Malaysia . For the benefit of other expatriates living in Malaysia, and the 50% of local drivers who acquired their driving licences without taking a driving test, I am pleased to share my knowledge below:

Q: What is the most important rule of the road in Malaysia?
A: The most important rule is that you must arrive at your destination ahead of the car in front of you. This is the sacrosanct rule of driving in Malaysia . All other rules are subservient to this rule.

Q: What side of the road should you drive on in Malaysia ?
A: 99.7% of cars drive on the left hand side, 0.2% on the right hand side, and 0.1% drive in reverse (be on the look out for drivers reversing at high speed in the left hand lane of freeways, having just missed their exit). Therefore on the basis of 'majority rules', it is recommended that you drive on the left. However, be aware that only 90% of motorcyclists travel on the left hand side - the other 10% ride in the opposite direction or on the sidewalk. Fortunately, motorcyclists traveling in reverse are rarely seen.

Q: What are the white lines on the roads?
A: These are known as lane markers and were used by the British in the colonial days to help them drive straight. Today their purpose is mainly decorative, although a double white line is used to indicate a place that is popular to overtake.

Q: When can I use the emergency lane?
A: You can use the emergency lane for any emergency, e.g. you are late for work, you left the toaster plugged in at home, you are bursting to go to the toilet, you have a toothache or you have just dropped your Starbucks coffee in your lap. As it is an emergency, you may drive at twice the speed of the other cars on the road.

Q: Do traffic lights have the same meaning as in other countries?
A: Not quite. Green is the same – that means 'Go', but amber and red are different. Amber means 'Go like hell' and red means 'Stop if there is traffic coming in the other direction or if there is a policeman on the corner'. Otherwise red means the same as green. Note that for buses, red lights do not take effect until five seconds after the light has changed.

Q: What does the sign 'Jalan Sehala' mean?
A: This means 'One Way Street' and indicates a street where the traffic is required to travel in one direction. The arrow on the sign indicates the preferred direction of the traffic flow, but is not compulsory. If the traffic is not flowing in the direction in which you wish to travel, then reversing in that direction is the best option.

Q: What does the sign 'Berhenti' mean?
A: This means 'Stop', and is used to indicate a junction where there is a possibility that you may have to stop if you cannot fool the cars on the road that you are entering into thinking that you are not going to stop.

Q: What does the sign 'Beri Laluan' mean?
A: This means ' Give Way ', and is used to indicate a junction where the cars on the road that you are entering will give way to you provided you avoid all eye contact with them and you can fool them into thinking that you have not seen them.

Q: What does the sign 'Dilarang Masuk' mean?
A: This means 'No Entry'. However, when used on exit ramps in multi-storey car parks, it has an alternative meaning which is: 'Short cut to the next level up'.

Q: What does the sign 'Pandu Cermat' mean?
A: This means 'Drive Smartly', and is placed along highways to remind drivers that they should never leave more than one car length between them and the car in front, irrespective of what speed they are driving. This is to ensure that other cars cannot cut in front of you and thus prevent you from achieving the primary objective of driving in Malaysia , and that is to arrive ahead of the car in front of you. If you can see the rear number plate of the car in front of you, then you are not driving close enough.

Q: What is the speed limit in Malaysia ?
A: The concept of a speed limit is unknown in Malaysia .

Q: So what are the round signs on the highways with the numbers, 60, 80 and 110?
A: This is the amount of the 'on-the-spot' fine (in ringgits - the local currency) that you have to pay to the police if you are stopped on that stretch of the highway. Note that for expatriates or locals driving Mercedes or BMWs, the on-the-spot fine is double the amount shown on the sign.

Q: Where do you pay the 'on-the-spot' fine?
A: As the name suggests, you pay it 'on-the-spot' to the policeman who has stopped you. You will be asked to place your driving licence on the policeman's notebook that he will hand to you through the window of your car. You will note that there is a spot on the cover of the notebook. Neatly fold the amount of your fine into four, place the fine on the spot, and then cover it with your driving licence so that it cannot be seen. Pass it carefully to the policeman. Then, with a David Copperfield movement of his hands, he will make your money disappear. It is not necessary to applaud.

Q: But isn't this a bribe?
A: Oh pleeease, go and wash your mouth out. What do you want? A traffic ticket? Yes, you can request one of those instead, but it will cost you twice the price, forms to fill out, cheques to write, envelopes to mail, and then three months later when you are advised that your fine was never received, more forms to fill out, a trip to the police station, a trip to the bank, a trip back to the police station, and maybe then you will wish you had paid 'on-the-spot'.

Q: But what if I haven't broken any road rules?
A: It is not common practice in Malaysia to stop motorists for breaking road rules (because nobody is really sure what they are). The most common reasons for being stopped are: (a) the policeman is hungry and would like you to buy him lunch; (b) the policeman has run out of petrol and needs some money to get back to the station; (c) you look like a generous person who would like to make a donation to the police welfare fund; or (d) you are driving an expensive car which means you can afford to make a donation to the police welfare fund.

Q: Does my car require a roadworthy certificate before I can drive it in Malaysia ?
A: No, roadworthy certificates are not required in Malaysia. However there are certain other statutory requirements that must be fulfilled before your car can be driven in Malaysia.
Firstly, you must ensure that your windscreen is at least 50% obscured with English football club decals, golf club membership stickers or condo parking permits. Secondly, you must place a tissue box (preferably in a white lace cover) on the back shelf of your car under the rear window. Thirdly, you must hang as many CDs or plastic ornaments from your rear vision mirror as it will support. Finally, you must place a Garfield doll with suction caps on one of your windows. Your car will then be ready to drive on Malaysian roads.

Q: What does a single yellow line along the edge of a road mean?
A: This means parking is permitted.

Q: What does a double yellow line along the edge of a road mean?
A: This means double parking is permitted.

Q: What does a yellow box with a diagonal grid of yellow lines painted on the road at a junction mean?
A: Contrary to the understanding of some local drivers, this does not mean that diagonal parking is permitted. It indicates a junction that is grid-locked at peak hours.

Q: Can I use my mobile phone whilst driving in Malaysia ?
A: No problem at all, but it should be noted that if you wish to use the rear-vision mirror to put on your lipstick (women only please) or trim your eyebrows at the same time as you are using a mobile phone in the other hand, you should ensure that you keep an elbow free to steer the car. Alternatively, you may place a toddler on your lap and have the child steer the car whilst you are carrying out these other essential driving tasks.

Q: Is it necessary to use indicator lights in Malaysia ?
A: These blinking orange lights are commonly used by newly arrived expatriate drivers to indicate they are about to change lanes. This provides a useful signal to local drivers to close up any gaps to prevent the expatriate driver from changing lanes. Therefore it is recommended that expatriate drivers adopt the local practice of avoiding all use of indicator lights.
However, it is sometimes useful to turn on your left hand indicator if you want to merge right, because this confuses other drivers enabling you to take advantage of an unprotected gap in the traffic.

Q: Why do some local drivers turn on their left hand indicator and then turn right, or turn on their right hand indicator and then turn left?
A: This is one of the unsolved mysteries of driving in Malaysia

a conversation over breakfast

One Friday morning at Coffee and Toast, while ww and I were filling up on our quota of eggs and otah buns (we love them!), the following conversation transpired:

ww: wow, these eggs are really good today. i wonder how they make them so consistently good?
z: good qc? i think they stop the heating process and take them out of the boiling water when they're done. By the time they serve them, they're no longer boiling hot, but we don't really notice.
ww: i wonder where these eggs come from?
z:....... well, rumour has it.....
ww: yeah?
z: that they come from chickens! *starts laughing*
ww: very funny you.
z: well, you know what the question is that follows right?
ww: no, i don't really want to know do i?
z: which came first, the chicken or the egg?
ww: arrgh, i knew you would say something stupid like that.
z: ah, but do you know the answer to that?
ww: err, no.
z: the rooster. bwahahaha!

Funny aussies

These were posted on an Australian Tourism Web site and the answers are the actual responses by the web site officials, who obviously have a sense of humor.

Q: Does it ever get windy in Australia? I have never seen it rain on TV, how do the plants grow? (UK).
A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around watching them die.

Q: Will I be able to see kangaroos in the street? (USA)
A: Depends how much you've been drinking.

Q: I want to walk from Perth to Sydney- can I follow the railroad tracks? (Sweden)
A: Sure, it's only three thousand miles, take lots of water.

Q: Is it safe to run around in the bushes in Australia? (Sweden)
A: So it's true what they say about Swedes.

Q: Are there any ATMs (cash machines) in Australia? Can you send me a list of them in Brisbane, Cairns, Townsville and Hervey Bay? (UK)
A: What did your last slave die of?

Q: Can you give me some information about hippo racing in Australia?
(USA)
A: A-fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe.
Aus-tra-lia is that big island in the middle of the Pacific which does not... oh forget it.. Sure, the hippo racing is every Tuesday night in
Kings Cross. Come naked.

Q: Which direction is North in Australia? (USA)
A: Face south and then turn 180 degrees. Contact us when you get here and we'll send the rest of the directions.

Q: Can I bring cutlery into Australia? (UK)
A: Why? Just use your fingers like we do.

Q: Can you send me the Vienna Boys' Choir schedule? (USA)
A: Aus-tri-a is that quaint little country bordering Ger-man-y, which is... Oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday
night in Kings Cross, straight after the hippo races. Come naked.

Q: Can I wear high heels in Australia? ( UK)
A: You are a British politician, right?

Q: Are there supermarkets in Sydney and is milk available all year round? (Germany)
A: No, we are a peaceful civilization of vegan hunter/gatherers. Milk is illegal.

Q: Please send a list of all doctors in Australia who can dispense rattlesnake serum. (USA)
A: Rattlesnakes live in A-meri-ca which is where YOU come from. All Australian snakes are perfectly harmless, can be safely handled and make
good pets.

Q: I have a question about a famous animal in Australia, but I forget its name. It's a kind of bear and lives in trees. (USA)
A: It's called a Drop Bear. They are so called because they drop out of Gum trees and eat the brains of anyone walking underneath them. You can
scare them off by spraying yourself with human urine before you go out walking.

Q: Do you have perfume in Australia? (France)
A: No, WE don't stink.

Q: I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Can you tell me where I can sell it in Australia? (USA)
A: Anywhere significant numbers of Americans gather.

Q: Can you tell me the regions in Tasmania where the female population is smaller than the male population? (Italy)
A: Yes, gay nightclubs.

Q: Do you celebrate Christmas in Australia? (France)
A: Only at Christmas.

Q: I was in Australia in 1969 on R+R, and I want to contact the girl I dated while I was staying in Kings Cross. Can you help? (USA)
A: Yes, and you will still have to pay her by the hour.

Q: Will I be able to speak English most places I go? (USA)
A: Yes, but you'll have to learn it first.