exciting match

wow! the match was really thrilling! goals, excitement and drama! the atmosphere was really great! i got interviewed by channel 8 news some more. hahaha!

waiting for the big match

eagerly anticipating the big match tomorrow. oooh yeah! damn, the spare tix are still not sold off yet. arggg.

ticket queuing

went early to get some tickets for the singapore vs thailand match today. damn, i got some extras now, since my friends played me out. grandstand and gallery!! last time i am getting tickets for anyone! hrumph! how am i to recoup the cost of the tix?!?!?!

cleaning up

busy cleaning up the house today. while clearing a very ancient bookcase which belonged to my mum, i found some very ancient photos too! photos of when i was a very thin kid! man, i wish i can be thin again. not so much for looks but for health sake. being fat is not good for health.

all drained out

felt really drained after staying up the entire day yesterday. at least Granny is now more stabalized. seeing how she is suffering, when my time comes, i would rather go in my sleep or go in an accident then drag on like this.

disaster strikes again

the family is on tentherhooks as Granny has been struck by a second stroke. i hope she pulls through again like the last time. she was doing so well at the reahabilitation hospital and was going to be home in time for reunion dinner. please pull through Granny.

construction?

with the lack of offers coming along, should i consider the construction line? hmmm......

a visit to the botanic gardens

it has been too long since my last visit to the botanic gardens, that i decided to drop by today. last time i was there, they were doing renovation works to the main entrance area. now it looks much better and there is a new stream walking path added. well, it is pumped water but at least the landscape looks better now. wish that Sweetie could have been here with me today but she has classes to attend, unlike slacker number one here. hahaha.

i remember that when singapore was under heavy rain the past couple of weeks, the swan lake often overflowed. today was a nice sunny day and the white swan was hiding in shade on the islet in the middle of the lake. i sat down next to the lake and started feeding the turtles and fishes. the turtles kept getting beaten to the bread pieces by the fishes. one of the turtle must be really hungry for when i held a piece of bread just above the water surface, it rose slightly and bit off from the bread. haha.

soon more and more turtles started coming round and seeing that one of their brethren was enjoying itself, decided to come take a bite too. haha. with all the feeding, it soon got the attention of the swan and it swam over to be fed too. right up to the side of the lake and took a large piece of bread off my fingers.

after the swan lake, my next stop was to the symphony lake where a flight of ducks resided. however, when i arrived at the symphony lake, i noticed all the duckweed which used to surround the rear of the symphony lake stage was missing. hmmm......might have been removed or damage due to the bad weather the past couple of weeks. also, the ducks were not out in the middle of the lake. after a brief search, i found them all resting under the shade of plants at the side of the lake. while i fed them bread, i noticed that they kept bullying one of the ducks and that its feathers were totally wet. taking pity on it, i tried to throw some bread to it while the others were fighting over the bread i dropped closer to me. the ducks were really ferocious when it come to fighting for the bread. they would clip at each other just to make the one who had successfully gotten the bread into its bill to drop it. during the feeding, another water based bird creeped out to attempt to get some bread for itself.

i do not know what is the actual name of this bird so i shall call it creeper for now. this bird rarely comes out from amoung the water plants and runs at the presence of any movement, human in particular. after a while, one of the duck figured that it would have a better chance at the bread and flew on to the pavement by my side. haha. greedy bird. this later led to more ducks surrounding me. ah well, it is pretty interesting.

next up was to the final lake, ecolake. this is where my favourite swan resided. unfortunately, there were 4 black swans there today and i could not recognise which was the blackie that i fed previously. haha. the moment i sat down on the grass and took out the remainder of the loaf of bread, the swans started to come towards me. not only them but the pigeons soon came too. i was surrounded! one swan each in a north-south-east-west formation. they come on really strong! and they kept crying at me when i refused to feed them. at least they did not attack me.

the swans ate right out of my hands and my fingers kept getting chomped by their bills. hahaha. however, one of the black swans was injured and it did not dare fight with the other for the bread i gave. i had to chase the others away before it would eat the bread i gave it. guess it must have been badly bullied by the others.

the swans must have been crying too loudly while i was feeding them and a pair of ducks soon came over wanting a share of the bread too. too late, i had finished my bread by then. haha. next time fellas.

after cooping up at home for tha past week or so, it felt good to come out for some sun today. think i'll come out for more sun in future. ahhh.......

slacker almost cast-in-stone

been waiting almost forever for any new interviews to come a calling. alas, it has been a barren 10 days, even when i have sent in applications almost every day. what new jobs being created? bah! the government has to distinguish between temporary jobs and permanent jobs. if they are all out to promote contract jobs, then them ministers should be like all contract workers and have zero benefits!

Do you say "I am sorry" verbally?

While I was at home today, washing the clothes and cleaning the floor, a thought suddenly came to mind. Well, it was by way of a reflex thought due to some recent SMS.

We all have made mistakes one time or another, sometimes we apologize, sometimes we do not. However, when we do apologize, when was the last time you said "I am sorry" verbally? I myself have many a times used phrases like "I apologize", "Please forgive me" or "Can you not be upset with me?" verbally. I have even sent "I am sorry" via Instant Messaging or SMS but I cannot truly remember when was the last time I said it verbally.

You might be thinking, what is so important about verbalizing "I am sorry"? With the advent of modern technology, which allows us to communicate instantly and easier with each other, we have started to communicate less and less verbally with people around us anymore. Kind of a paradox isn't it? The human touch is getting lost in the muddle of technology. Look around you, even colleagues do not speak to each other anymore, even if they are sitting next to each other! They would rather send an Instant Message to each other. Even for the simple fact of lunch. You can argue that they do not want to be caught by Bosses who do not tolerate idle chatter in office but communicating only via Instant Messaging with the person sitting just next to you is really a sad case. We have vocal chords for a reason, to communicate.

Think about it. How about yourself? When was the last time you said "I am sorry"

sleepy

zzzzzzz......feeling really sleepy today......things from the past can be considered provided the attached baggage is removed or never ever mentioned again.......zzzzzzz

There Is No Rewind In Life

Someone once wrote, "If life had a rewind button, would you use it?" This is something ala the movie "Click" except that you could go back and make changes. The way I see it, there will never be a rewind button in our lives. Why? In life, our experiences are gained from the mistakes that we made. Without these mistakes, we would have learnt nothing in our lives. A simple example would be, if you never stood too close to a fire and got burnt, would you learn to respect it? A personal example would be, if I did not head bang on into wanting a relationship with someone, how much time would I have wasted if there never came about a resolution which I wanted?

Anyways, Happy Birthday to You.

Not elite enough

I was scanning the recruitment pages and websites recently and found many companies placing "Good Honors" or "Honors" as a preference or a pre-requisite for candidate application. This is definitely discrimination against those who did not get honors in their Bachelor’s studies. These companies are definitely not Equal Opportunity Employers. Who are some of these discriminatory companies? ExxonMobil, Shell, SIA, just to name a few. All of them have listed "Good Honors" as a preference for candidates applying on their websites. I remember attending a Job Recruitment Exercise at NTU organized by ExxonMobil during my undergraduate years. When I quizzed the HR personnel about the Honors mentality and she hesitated before the HR Manager stepped in and said that they will look at non-Honors students too. What a load of bull! My classmate's uncle was working for ExxonMobil and he said not a single fresh university graduate working there had less than a 2nd Lower Class Honors! Honors only represents the academic inclination of the person and does not represent the working aptitude. This just smacks of discrimination. In Singapore no less!

What is a bigger discrimination? CAAS! Our very own Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore! Apparently if you want to be a pilot with SIA, you must pass 5 'O' Level papers in one sitting, which is considered easy for some. However, this will immediately wipe out the chances of late bloomers, people whose results improve after this stumble and make good later on. One of my former classmate only had 3 'O' Level passes but he worked hard. He went through ITE, later Polytechnic and NTU in the end. This is true dedication and making good later on. However, all his hard work is for naught if he ever aspires to be a pilot. This is because he did not pass 5 'O' Level subjects even though he is now a Bachelor Degree holder, from a local university no less! He will be rejected outright by SIA! I asked a friend of mine, who is currently a cadet pilot with SIA, about this and apparently it is not SIA's decision but CAAS'! Can anyone explain to me how a person with 5 'O' Level passes and say a Polytechnic Diploma is academically more qualified than a Bachelor Degree holder with only 3 'O' Level passes?

ow! ow!

was out cycling yesterday, just to test my knees and to check my bicycle's condition. alas, either i have gotten too heavy or the bike has not been used for too long, 3 spokes broke! ahhhh! just got it back today form the shop where it went through a thorough servicing and it feels like a brand new bike! oooooh yeah!

also broke something else at home yesterday. i leaned too far back on my chair and the back snapped off, tearing my shorts in the process! ow! ow! after removing the remanents of the chair's backing, now i am left with a height adjustable stool. haha!

How To Tell If Someone Is Lying

Ever wondered how people knew you were lying? Well, based upon my own observations and an article of criminal profiling I read on the internet, I realised why. It is not so much about lying without blinking. Apparently, when we are asked a question, if we looked or glanced left while thinking, we are lying. If we look or glance right while thinking, we are trying to recall a memory. Hmmm.......Intriguing.

Happy Birthday 學妹

Another person turning older today. Hahaha.

Happy Birthday Serene.

cannot get sleeping

arggg......i just am not able to fall asleep. why oh why? this night cat syndrome is going to cause me my job one of these days. wanted to ask her out over the weekend but the sky was not kind. no matter, i can try again next weekend. hahaha!

going to the gardens soon

It has been sometime since I went to the botanic gardens and would be looking to go there again soon. Kinda missed the tranquility whenever I go there.....and the swans. The black swan especially. Heez. Each time I see it, it reminds me of the last time I was there with Sweetie. She took this shot for me. Well taken too! All I have are memories. 8 years since I last dated and I really do not know what to do.

When the cold wind blows

The cool wind blows and my washed clothes are taking forever to dry.
The cold wind blows and I shiver on my mattress.
The cold wind blows and it reminds me of the cool weather when I was with Sweetie in Shanghai.

THE GÖTHEBORG

Dropped by Vivocity a couple of days ago to take photographs of the Swedish ship, THE GÖTHEBORG. Never thouht I would get a chance to be near ancient ships like this, last I saw something like this was in movies and games like Uncharted Waters.

Dinner With Beautiful

Just returned from dinner with Beautiful, otherwise known as Serene. She was one of my classmates during my photography class and together with Sweetie, were the motivation for me to go to class every week. Hahaha. Well, tomorrow will be exactly a year to the day I first met her. Damn, she is attached. Arggg! Hahaha! She is acting cute here trying to promote the S700i which is the predecessor of the W900i which I craved for so much months ago. Now I aiming for one of them N series phones. Hahaha.

fingers and rings

I was reading an article about rings and finger placement and found it interesting.

Although ladies nowsdays buy rings for themselves as fashion accesories, rings are still considered a gift that guys prefers to be the one to give to them. Also, rings are not given by guys at the drop of a hat. Rather, a guy would make great consideration when giving a ring as a gift to the lady.

Usually, the rings are worn on the left hand due to Western culture. However, different races and cultures have the right hand as the hand in which greater importance is placed upon.

Each finger represents a diffferent meaning when a ring is worn on them. Depending on which finger a guy places the ring on the lady, it represents the different stage of their relationship.

The index finger (the finger next to the thumb), it represents Friendship.
The middle finger represents Engagement.
The ring finger represents Marriage.
The last finger represents Divorce or Separation.

So now you know.

money or time

It has always been said that the experinces a man goes through in life includes, birth, school, career, marriage, children and death. The instrument for gauging these experiences is money.

Some said that when humans were created, their souls were split into 2. That is why, we keep searching for our other half. Some will find it, others might never find it or they might have found the wrong half.

In my mere 26 years on this earth, I have finally realised that the most difficult thing to earn is not money but time. If one can make a decision earlier, then one can be with the person they like earlier. For a parent, they have reserved most of their time for their kids. They would like to accompany their kids in their activities. How about you? For whom have you reserved your time for?

In life, time is fair to everyone. Everyone has the right to decide how to use his or her own time. You may be idle and allow time to just pass you by. Or, you can take hold of it and work hard for your own happiness. If you were to leave the world in the next minute, with whom do you want to spend this last minute with?

2nd interview

went for the 2nd interview today for a job i am applying for. i do hope i get the job as i do not want to remain unemployed for long. it really sucks bumming at home.

Schools restarts for Sweetie and her peers today. I hope everything goes well for her this semester. All the best Sweetie!

parents & children

I was just wondering what parenthood is like and will I be any different, if and, when my turn comes. I had a pseudo chance when I had to be both a brother and a father to my younger brother when I was 12 years old. Many of us want to protect our children but sometimes we can overdo it. Being children ourselves, we know what the feeling is like with our parents constantly breathing down our necks. Having been through the rotan treatment myself, I feel that it should still be used but sparingly and when required. Definately not as liberally as our parents did.

One main concern most parents have is that the kids will fall into bad company and be influenced by their friends. I was just thinking, if a parent is afraid of the child being influenced by others, why don't the parent become the best friend of the child and influence the child instead?

I have come up with ideas for ways of life now and then. I am not wise. It is just that I have experienced a little more than people of my age. The so-called experiences we have in life are actually learned from the mistakes we have made.

Many parents, due to work, tend to neglect their children when they are young. They paid too much attention to their work and seldom spend the time to talk with them. When the kids entered kindergarten, they did not know how well they did in school and who their best friend are. It would be a real joke should the parent decide to go pick up the child from kindergarten only to find out that the child is already in primary school.

For many parents, they will never realise that they have failed as a parent until something untoward happeneds in the family. Unfortunately, there are the few who will still deny that they have failed.

At junctures like this, parents who have opted to become the buddy of their child will then be able to connect better with their child. How do I know this? My mum and myself is a good example.

the cups runneth over

watched the curse of the golden flower today with malcolm. the show is so historically inaccurate in terms of costume. i have never read anywhere in books about ladies in the palace exposing so much of their bosoms. if this was true, no wonder the male working in the palace had to be eunuchs, else they would all be sporting stiffys. only in this show does an a-cup become a heaving c-cup and gong li's e-cup become dunno what super cup. hahaha.

boobs aside, i felt that jay chou's character was not well prepared enough. how can you go to battle without artillery support, such as archers, and without shields? his troop of 10000 had good javelin throwers but they are not as effective as archers.

morale of the story is, ah-kong knows everything. ah-kong, not your grandfater but the head-of-state.

release blood

hahaha. yes, it has been 12 weeks and today was another visit to the bloodbank to donate blood. today's stress ball was for the hari raya festival that just passed. seeing that each time i visit the bloodbank, the stressball they give to the donors to aid the process are of a design of a festival around that period, i wonder how much it cost them? hmmm......

Today will be exactly a year since I first met Sweetie. Thinking back, our first encounter was really wierd. Haha.

dream over, reality next

ok, finally had my taste of my dream. do not know how things will turn out but i have got to face reality and start filling my bank account to clear debts. haha.

studying again

not since april had i hit the books to study. not even for my financial advisory exams. but now, for the sake of an interview, i am studying. have to study to impress the panel of interviewers, else it will be difficult. i hope things will go well tomorrow. please please please.

lunch gathering

had a gathering with some former colleagues of mine today. we were all from the same company some time back and had left the company at different times. it was great catching up with them and finding out how their lives had been. gonna take a week's breather before i go full time into work again. ah.......

black skin butter bean oil

"black skin butter bean oil". dunno what that means? think mandarin translation. hahahaha. and away we go............