Celebrate Good Times with Sun, Sand & Friends

T'was Ray's hatching anniversary. So, us 4 guys & 2 chicks spent the weekend over at Nirwana Gardens, Bintan.

Saturday Morning@Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal

5 eager yuppies-to-be filed excitedly through customs and headed straight for DFS. (only 5 becoz Mr. Tian came later)

How much more hard-up can we get huh?

dW bought a box of smelly cigars (which we had to help smuggle back to S'pore becoz he couldn't finish them).

Saturday Noon@Bintan Ferry Terminal

More queueing and waiting. Ray entertains thoughts of us flying through customs while pretending to be a Taiwanese boyband. He forgets how unglam he looks with NTUC plastic bags of bottled drinks & cheap snacks.

Murphy's law prevails; we're the last to clear customs, even though our queue was the shortest. Perhaps we should have prepared bribes.

Saturday Afternoon@Mayang Sari

Checked in! Had our complimentary drink of ultra-sweet syrup/water concoction.

The beach looks wonderful...

Saturday Afternoon@Indra Maya Villa



Ferried via buggy to our villa, complete with private pool, floating coke tray, open bath & our own buggy!

  

Oh, joy & serenity!

Indulgence task no. 1: Book ourselves for spa treatment!

Indulgence task no. 2: Slather on sunblock, test the pool & simply laze in the sun!

Thankfully weather was bright & sunny all throughout. Absolutely no gloom & doom to dampen our fun.

I've been named Raoul the man-slave, coz I look like a latino hottie serving-boy in speedos :)

Saturday Mid Afternoon@Nirwana Gardens Resort Hotel

So easy to lose track of time. Had satisfying lunch of nasi & rendang & stuff. Real spicy...

Off to the beach! More soaking... while Ray & Val relived band camp by singing familiar tunes.

dW compliments Ray for his salamander hair.

 

Saturday Late Afternoon@Nirwana Gardens Resort Hotel

To the free form pool! More soaking...

Discovered the pool bar. For a truly authentic beach holiday, Pina Colada's a must, says Val. She even had a malibu-scented perfume.

Off to the open jacuzzi! More soaking...

Oops, time to fetch Mr. Tian.

Saturday Late Afternoon en route to Villa

Headed back to our villa. Detoured to take pictures.



Seriously now, it's back to our villa. It's confirmed: Ray's a dangerous driver - he can make a buggy do a wheelie!!

*Ed bails out*



Indulgence task no. 3: Communal bubble bath! T'was Ray's stupid but admittedly fun idea. First water was too hot, then it got murky & tepid... It's amazing what 25yo's (& 1 23yo) do to entertain themselves.

Saturday Evening@Thai Restaurant along beach

Indulgence task no. 4: Thai dinner! All had the dinner gastronomique or something, a sumptuous course of exquisite Thai food, including a platter of Thai favourites - green curry & seafood! Mr. Tian & his taste buds kept hogging the conversation.

Stars look wonderful, but it's rude to be craning your neck towards the heaven all the time during dinner.

Saturday Late Night@Villa

It's Cranium! Lots of laughs & physical action to yank us out of post-dinner drowsiness. Too bad our award-winning actress, G had to mug.



Then, just when I was all tight & snug in bed, the boys tapped on my window & beckoned.

The stars... wow... full of awe... Shooting star!! Heh... Ouch, neckache.

Ok, finally to sleep...

Sunday Morning@Villa

What?! 9am & I'm up! Body clock too well-tuned... but apparently so is everyone else's. Perhaps it's too great a holiday to while away in bed.

While Mr. Tian slathers on tinted sunblock, I try to wake the sleepyheads next door. Val tells me to go away. Hmph.

Sunday Morning@Mayang Sari

Raoul gets 1 free coconut with his hot latino looks. Heh.



Buffet breakfast!! Another big, heavy meal! Scrambled eggs seems to be quite popular. Mmmm... I love white bread.

After breakfast, it's off to bake on the beach. Too bloated to move... feel unglam in trunks.

 

Sunday Mid-morning@Mayang Sari Beach

I spy an old man trying to body-surf! After the customary Singaporean photo shoot, off we go to hit the waves!

 

Absolute exhilaration!! Never had so much fun riding the surf before! Who cares if seawater keeps entering my nostrils?! Time comes to standstill.

After an hour, we're totally spent...

Sunday Noon@Villa

Partying in private pool! Complete with hits to boogie to! Lunch is junk food & white wine. Mmmmmm......

Shucks, it's time to check out. Byebye, villa! *wistful look*

 

One final round of photos.

Sunday Afternoon@Asmara Tropical Spa

Val's a good haggler. She MFA one ah, dun pray pray!

Spent an hour under the skillful hands of a masseuse. My first massage ever, was wincing a lot though. But it was good... feel like a totally elastic slab of meat afterwards.

Time passes ever so slowly... *contented sigh*

   

Sunday Evening@Mayang Sari Restaurant

The holiday's almost over... Everyone's too tired to talk during dinner.

*munch munch*



Sunday Evening@Bintan Ferry Terminal

Long queue... oh well.

Spend the ferry ride discussing Singaporean Chinese social idiosyncrasies & how they manifest in conversations and mutal interactions. Hmmm...

Sunday Evening@Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal

Ray & Mr. Tian head to Balestier for Boon Kee chicken rice.

It's home sweet home & home-cooked food for me!

Before Sunset? The Kay-Poh's in us

I caught Before Sunset the other day.

Lovely show! Not because how all that dialogue didn't make me fall asleep for once.

But to me, it's a show about hope and love that could have been. Although the realist in me begs to differ.

*happy sigh*

Moving On

About.com: Writing a Letter of Resignation...

Foreign Ground

How Badly Do You Want It?

The Ultimate Subaru Impreza
All Wheel Drive Challenge

For the life of me, I cannot imagine enduring such gruelling torture to my body for the sake of a free car. Not to mention becoming the butt of my friends' jokes.

I wonder if there's something that I want real badly...

Home Sweet Home

Apologies to all ardent fans out there. Ed has been too busy/tired to post anything. Finally, some time to ramble...

Life's been good.

In case you aren't my enamoured devotee, I was at Tsinghua University, Beijing at an academia-oriented conference in mid October. T'was a great experience and a very fruitful trip - and I don't mean the shopping.

It being an international conference, I got to meet people from across 13 countries. And that was certainly the best part of the trip, for me. For one, I got to put my rusty mandarin to practice.

During dinner the other day, a good friend was lamenting how most of his close friends are flying off to other countries. Yet when I asked him, he said he's staying put in Singapore. Expected of him, he gave a rather rational & logical answer, which is the affordable cost of living, relative to certain developed nations, of course.

Back in Beijing, my colleague kept groaning on the bus about how she hates Singapore. And LKY is the only thing Singapore should be proud about.

Well, I'm not getting into a fight about what's Uniquely Singapore.

When she asked me, what's worth staying in Singapore, my answer - family & friends!

You left out the food, she offered.

Of course :)

One thing G's taught me is that you don't have to travel to see the world and to have an open mind with broad horizons.

Coz it's all in the mind.

Either that or Ian Wright & Lonely Planet.

*cue peculiar yet familiar didgeridoo sounds*

Oh wait, I'm outdated. I believe it's Pilot Guides now.

One thing I've yet to learn is work/life balance. Seems all I know now is work-life balance.

Too bad if you don't get it.

Of course, compared to my peers slogging away in banks & consultancies, I really shouldn't complain.

Life's good.

Ah, home sweet home...

Are You Pondering What I'm Pondering?

Last night, I got to know a 33yo Dutch guy. I find him inspiring because he's finally discovered his purpose in life, after working in a big MNC and making big bucks. Now he edits his own magazine and though hasn't turned profitable yet, that's where he wants to be.

It's also interesting how he's had so much life experience, while I feel like I've only just begun to experience life for real.

Hmmm...

Land of Peking Ducks & Flying Pigeon Bicycles

Here I am at Terminal 2, blinded by the gleaming lights of the many shops in the departure hall.

After all, we don't get up at 5plus everyday.

Off to Beijing, I am.

Awfully excited and feeling empowered by the expanded sense of independence. Yet this independence also comes with a sense of being lost.

Anyway, will be back soon.

Amidst the Silent Hum

Woe is the flatulent cubicle drone whose surreptitious attempt at dispelling wind amidst the silent hum of air-con & computers is defeated by the unwavering laws of acoustics.

Motorcycle Diaries

Dunno why, but the trailer just attracts me.

http://www.motorcyclediariesmovie.com/

It's My Hatching Anniversary!

How nice to have birthday greetings streaming into my phone first thing in the morning. Thanks guys & gals!

And I've realized that the best present I can have is simply your presence :)

If I've time, I'll do a tribute to myself. Heh.

Hollywood's Most Famous Victim

Hollywood's most famous victim dies peacefully

The Wonders of IT

Visual Thesaurus

Machinima

Machinima: The Marriage of Gaming & Animation

Interesting films made by gaming enthusiasts using games such as Quake, Half-life & Unreal Tournament.

Found

"we collect FOUND stuff: love letters, birthday cards, kids' homework, to-do lists, ticket stubs, poetry on napkins, telephone bills, doodles- anything that gives a glimpse into someone else's life. anything goes..."

SNA

TouchGraph for SNA of KM blogs.

Your Beliefs Belie Your Words

Today I met a friend and had another casual conversation.

But my words revealed my personal thoughts even without me articulating them.

Personal thoughts so subconscious I was only barely aware of them.

It's humbling yet empowering to realize how people react to what I'm actually saying.

More lessons in life, Ed ol' buddy.

If You Want Something Done...

Seems I never learn.

For one, the age old adage that says if you want something done, you gotta do it yourself.

Really?

The aspiring manager in me says (in the style of Rene from Allo Allo), "You stupid fellow! You forgot to follow up the next day!"

Ah yes, the effective manager doesn't just fly by and drops a task-bomb on someone, be he friend or subordinate or tech support.

Sigh...

The Genius

Honour Your Parents

With financial independence, comes responsibility and duty.

Today I gave my parents an ang bao each.

While the thought of repaying my parents did not immediately cross my mind on payday, I'm glad I finally did.

And the surprised look on my mom's face said it all for me.

SpamAssassin

Madmen & Strangers

How would you know that a stranger chatting you up is a mad man?

KM & Blogging

Grassroots KM through blogging

Priorities

The Power of Faith & Forgiveness

Remember this girl? Now, Kim Phuc works as a peace activist.



From Campus Review,

In 1972 it was the iconic image of nine-year-old Kim Phuc running naked from her burning Vietnamese village, screaming in agony from napalm fire, which was splashed across news pages around the world and made compelling the human cost of war.

Many say the image helped bring an end to the conflict. It went on to earn Associated Press photographer Nick Ut, who took Phuc to hospital, a Pulitzer Prize.

At Griffith University recently to present a photojournalism award, Phuc (pronounced Foo), now a UN Ambassador for Children, appealed for people to look at her image in a new way: “When you see the little girl running up the road you can see her calling out and crying out. Don’t see her as crying out in pain and fear. See her as crying out for peace. Thank you very much. May God bless you all.”

Phuc – after years of painful treatment, rehabilitation and tertiary education in Cuba – now works as a peace activist. She has since set up the Kim Foundation – her not-for profit-charity – and sent a Canadian nurse and doctor to Iraq to help treat the innocent victims of the conflict.

Phuc told more than 1000 guests at Griffith’s ceremony that her dream for the foundation was to help the “millions of children whose pictures weren’t taken” and those in the greatest need in Iraq and Uganda.

Phuc was born and raised in the village of Trang Bang, 30 minutes north of Saigon. But on 8 June, 1972, an American military advisor co-ordinated the napalm bombing of Phuc’s village by the South Vietnamese.

Phuc fled from a pagoda, where she and her family had been hiding. She was caught between four bombs and badly burnt. Two of her infant cousins did not survive the attack.

She recalled having to go to school through two wars, the Vietnam War, and then later, when she was 15, the war with Cambodia. Phuc appealed to her audience to practice forgiveness, beginning in people’s workplaces and schools.

“Having known war, I know the value of peace. Having lived under government control, I know the value of freedom. And having lived with pain, I know the healing power of love. Having lived with poverty, with losing everything and having nothing, I know how to value what I have.

“And the most important thing of all, having lived with hatred, terror and corruption, I know the power of faith and the power of forgiveness. Dear friend, napalm is very, very powerful; but faith and forgiveness is much more powerful than napalm could ever be.”

One Thing

By Finger Eleven

Restless tonight
Cause I wasted the light
Between both these times
I drew a really thin line
It’s nothing I planned
And not that I can
But you should be mine
Across that line

If I traded it all
If I gave it all away for one thing
Just for one thing
If I sorted it out
If I knew all about this one thing
Wouldn’t that be something

I promise I might
Not walk on by
Maybe next time
But not this time

Even though I know
I don’t want to know
Yeah I guess I know
I just hate how it sounds

Evergreen Memories of ROC

aka Land of Flowing Mangoes :)

Words without Borders, the Online Magazine for International Literature

Just Look Away

Abundant Bible Studies

I was incredulous when a friend informed me that when he typed in the URL, instead of my blog, he was directed to Abundant Bible Studies.

I did a Google and realized that I'm not the only one.

Hmph.

Pretty ingenious though.

My friend also pointed out, thankfully it's not a smut site.

Brain & Mind

In 2002, Australia's University of Sydney started a Brain & Mind Research Institute.

Because why? For one, WHO predicts that depression will be the world's 2nd leading cause of death in 2020. Presently, suicide is the leading cause of death for 15-24yo's.

Longer than there've been fishes in the ocean

Human Nature

Deflated

Man... how many times can you draft & redraft letters & reports... The perfectionist in me has been defeated & deflated.

ST: Overheard

Off Sunday Times.

---

Website crash: Was it fowl play?
REGULARS of the satirical website TalkingCock.com have noticed some unusual occurrences there in the past month.

First, there were new postings which did not sound like the usual TalkingCock. Next, whole chunks of old postings disappeared into thin air - including a game involving inflicting electronic slaps to the images of prominent politicians from both government and opposition camps. Finally, the entire site crashed.

Site regulars speculated that the site might have been hacked into.

When the site came back on in late August, its main page declared: 'We are still investigating the cause of the crash. As a poultry-themed site, we cannot rule out fowl play.'

Cynics say however that it masterminded its temporary demise. After lamenting how a lot of TalkingCock data had been lost in the crash, it revealed that 'we're now in the process of engaging professionals to perform data recovery, which is likely to cost us a lot of money'. You can help, it said, if you buy its publications or make a donation online.

CCTV recorders and trash theory
THREE people fell off the platform onto MRT tracks last month and, each time, we were reminded that 35 of SMRT's 51 stations already have CCTV recorders while 16 are having the system installed.

A group of MBA students in an organisational behaviour class asked why this was being repeated ad nauseam.

After all, more cameras won't save lives, whereas barriers could. One student said this beautifully illustrated what the garbage can theory of organisations taught: Initiatives and problems are thrown together in an organisation like trash in a garbage can. The imaginative manager picks up from the garbage can an existing initiative and calls it the solution to an unanticipated problem that has emerged.

If there is slight slippage in the logic, just wing it.

When the CCTV system is fully installed, it'll be easy to review how someone fell onto the tracks. No one will be saved - but something would have been done.

Rubbish, you say? You couldn't be more right.

Loss of Words

What do you say to someone who just broke up with his other half?

"I'm sorry for your loss"

"Time will heal all hurts"

"She's wasn't worth your while"

"Here, let's drown our sorrows in piss"
(piss = beer)

Sigh...

You Can Depend On Me

K.D. Lang feat Tony Bennett

Though you say we're through
I'll always love you
And you can depend on me

Though someone that you've met
Has made you forget
Honey, you know
You can count on me

When I wish, I wish you success
And loads, loads of happiness
But baby, I gotta confess
I'll be lonely
If you ever, ahh, if you ever need a friend
I'll be yours until the end
And you can depend on me

I wish you success
And loads of happiness
But, darling, I gotta confess
I'm gonna be lonely

Oh if you ever, ahh, if you ever need a friend
I'll be right by your side ahh, till the end
And you can depend on me

You can depend on me

Are You a Punctuation Stickler?

From the back cover of UK bestseller, "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" by Lynne Truss.

A panda walks into a cafe. he orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.

"Why" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes toward the exit.

The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

"I'm a panda, he says at the door. "Look it up."

The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.

"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."

Don't know about you, but that left me quite pained in choking back my laugh on the MRT.

Om...

ॐ

Aum (also Om) is the most sacred syllable in Hinduism, in which Vedic tradition it originated.

Empires of the Mind

"The empires of the future are the empires of the mind"

Winston Churchill
1943 Address to Harvard University

File-Sharing & Society's Progression

Off NYTimes:

Is society better served by restricting or even prohibiting new technologies to protect the rights of copyright owners or is there a greater good in the widest possible exchange of information?

Singapore a Tidy But Soulless Place?

Off NYTimes:

Singapore is rich, but hardly ever envied. Outsiders have long viewed the gleaming city-state that attained its independence in 1965 as a tidy but soulless place, the nanny state that famously banned chewing gum. The good news is that the new prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, son of the longtime ruler Lee Kwan Yew, seems to realize that Singapore needs to loosen up. At his swearing-in ceremony earlier this month, he said what not long ago would have sounded like heresy in a nation where the bottom line is the bottom line: "Prosperity is not our only goal, nor is economic growth an end in itself."

Women, In-Trays and Nose Clips

Every now and then, the deafening quiet in the office is briefly upset by a buzz of activity, sometimes excitement.

This time the source of it was my colleague who innocently asked me if I had set up my in-tray myself. I didn't.

Her next line begged for rescue, "I'm struggling."

Thus went forth the gallant hero to save the day.

Unfortunately this gallant hero's biceps were stumped by a stubborn plastic contraption that refused to be assembled.

While my persistence eventually conquered 1 tray, my colleague had gone off to seek help from another colleague whom we thought might have more experience with insubordinate office stationery.

Unfortuntely she too had to seek someone else with brute strength and who better to turn to in this critical time of need than the man who provides security 24/7... the security guard.

As I passed the trio in their business, I laughed and yelled to the instigator of today's episode, "You have 3 people fussing over you!"

A short while later, I remarked to my colleague, "now you know why men should get more privileges & benefits."

Her rebuttal? Men were given brute's strength to service women.

I eventually concluded the subtly charged conversation with "a blog for another time".

And that time started about 30 lines ago.

I'm no misogynist nor chauvinist so I ain't gonna start a woman-bashing session here.

In fact, I love women! Well, before those who know me start giving me grief about that last statement, I'll just clarify by reiterating the fact that women are good and definitely much better than men are at certain things.

And if there's a list of things women are good at, these 3 items would be near the top: the first 2 are child bearing and motherhood which obviously need no further explanation.

The second would be synchronized swimming, as the fabulous women from the Russian Federation demonstrated yesterday despite a technical glitch occuring just after starting their routine.

In my opinion, the biggest challenge in this sport is having to keep a smile plastered on your face while displaying genuine enjoyment AND struggling to breathe AND maintain movements synchronized with not 1, not 2 but 7 other team mates.

Wrong Lyrics

Kimberley locke

You can say I'm weak, you can say I'm frail
But your presumptions won't prevail
I'm made of more than what you see
Tell me to twist, tell me to bend
But I won't break just to fit in
Just shut your mouth and listen up
I was so naive
To let you have control of me
But now that I believe in me, I know
Ooooh

You're wrong, and I'm strong
Unafraid I'm moving on
Cause I'm free to be me
No one tells me who to be
Cause you're wrong, and I'm strong
Un-afraid I'm moving on
Cause I'm free, to be me
No one tells me who to be
Yeah

I'm on the outside looking in
No longer do I pretend,
To be something that i'm not
I don't run, and I don't hide behind a comfort in disguise
What you see is what you get
I was so naive
To let you have control of me
But now that I believe in me, I know
Ooooh

Cause you're wrong, and I'm strong
Unafraid I'm moving on
Cause I'm free to be me
No one tells me who to be
Cause you're wrong, and I'm strong
Un-afraid I'm moving on
Cause I'm free, to be me
No one tells me who to be
Yeah

I wouldn't change a thing
Cause life is how you grow
You live, you learn, and then you know

Cause you're wrong, and I'm strong
Unafraid I'm moving on
Cause I'm free to be me
No one tells me who to be
Cause you're wrong, and I'm strong
Un-afraid I'm moving on
Cause I'm free, to be me
No one tells me who to be
Cause you're wrong, and I'm strong
Unafraid I'm moving on
Cause I'm free to be me
No one tells me who to be
Cause you're wrong, and I'm strong
Unafraid I'm moving on
Cause I'm free to be me
No one tells me who to be
Yeah

Party Till Thirty?

My colleague met a Caucasian lady in the lift a few days ago. She had just gone grocery shopping at Cold Storage and her trolley was filled with diapers.

You know how friendly these Ang Moh's usually are. So she remarked to him, "my trolley used to be filled with beer and party-ware."

Swaaaaaaaaaaaay

I'm really not a fan of Buble, but Olinda Cho's cool :) She should sing K.D. Lang.

---

Michael Buble

When marimba rhythms start to play
Dance with me, make me sway
Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore
Hold me close, sway me more

Like a flower bending in the breeze
Bend with me, sway with ease
When we dance you have a way with me
Stay with me, sway with me

Other dancers may be on the floor
Dear, but my eyes will see only you
Only you have the magic technique
When we sway I go weak

I can hear the sounds of violins
Long before it begins
Make me thrill as only you know how
Sway me smooth, sway me now

Other dancers may be on the floor
Dear, but my eyes will see only you
Only you have the magic technique
When we sway I go weak

I can hear the sounds of violins
Long before it begins
Make me thrill as only you know how
Sway me smooth, sway me now
You know how
Sway me smooth, sway me now

Caffeine Breeds Impatience

I feel terrible. This morning, while standing in line at the ATM, impatience and irk was oozing out of my very pores.

The fella at the machine was making some complex transaction and so was taking a while, reading the menu and hesitantly pressing the buttons.

There I was, rapping my fingers, shifting about restlessly, and breathing out audibly.

What had began as another great morning with coffee and tau-huey was turning into a frustrating and seemingly endless 3minute long wait. The humid weather wasn't helping.

My face was as black as a toilet-cleaning auntie who followed an offending stench to its source.

When the fella was done, he half-turned to me and grinned apologetically while weakly gesturing to the machine. I smiled back - hope it came out right.

Now, I feel terrible. What if that was some big-shot professor visiting Singapore for the first time? What if I just cost the economy a huge research project, critical for biopolis' staffing needs??

I blame it on caffeine and too much sugar.

iPod Mini in MTV Movie Awards 2004 Gift Bag

Heard on radio today, MTV Movie Awards gift bags are worth £12,000 each. Presenters and performers at the 2004 MTV Movie Awards received a gift bag stuffed with an iPod mini, Universal Electronics’ Kameleon Remote and several accessories from Digital Lifestyle Outfitters. The gift package, arranged by Los Angeles-based Branded Entertainment, also included an XM Satellite Radio, Microsoft Xbox, Logitech Webcam, Electronic Arts games and more.

I am Affirmed

Got my namecard today. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Word of the Day: Furphy

Furphy (australian slang): A false report or rumour; an absurd story.

You never know...

...who you'll meet at the bus-stop. That's the good thing about working where I used to study.

Horn Masterclass with Barry Tuckwell

15 Sep (wed) 4pm

No Such Thing

John Mayer

Welcome to the real world
She said to me kind of condescendingly
Take a seat, take your life
Plot it out in black and white
Well I never lived the dreams of the prom kings
And the drama queens
I’d like to think the best of me
Is still hiding up my sleeve

They love to tell you stay inside the lines
But something’s better on the other side

I wanna run through the halls of my high school
I wanna scream at the top of my lungs
I just found out there’s no such thing as the real world
Just a lie you’ve got to rise above

So the good boys and girls take the so-called right track
Faded white hats grabbing the credits and making transfers
They read all the books but they can’t find the answers
And all of our parents, they’re getting older
I wonder if they’ve wished for anything better
While in their memories, tiny tragedies

They love to tell you stay inside the lines
But something’s better on the other side

I wanna run through the halls of my high school
I wanna scream at the top of my lungs
I just found out there’s no such thing as the real world
Just a lie you’ve got to rise above

I am invincible
I am invincible
I am invincible
As long as I’m alive

I wanna run through the halls of my high school
I wanna scream at the top of my lungs
I just found out there’s no such thing as the real world
Just a lie you’ve got to rise above

I just can’t wait till my ten year reunion
I’m gonna bust down the double doors
And when I stand on these tables before you
You will know what all this time was for

Sniffles and the A-Word

A flu bug was definitely passing round the office. One by one, my colleagues succumbed, as I could tell by the empty cubicles and the repeated coughing and sniffling.

Even I was not spared! I wonder if I was the super-infector...

Into my fourth week of work and my third monday at work. Over the days, I've met with friends and to anyone who asks what I'm doing, I tersely say the A-word - admin.

This probably isn't the best place to gripe and grouse, but so far my corporate cubicle life definitely hasn't been all that exciting. I can't wait to see more action, I told one friend.

But just as I settled into another day of work, I received a couple of abrupt lessons in the way of life and team spirit.

To cut things short, the first has got to do with Ownership, Initiative & Team Spirit. That is, I owned something, I took the initiative, but seemed to have trampled on team spirit - something that I've yet to experience.

The second is Timeliness and Resting on my Laurels. Suffice to say that timeliness IS important.

Enough of staring at the computer already... this geek's going blind.

XO & Chocolate

That's XO fish head soup and home-baked chocolate cake, both from Holland V :)

Call me an old, boring homebody but I prefer a simple dinner with friends at home anytime, followed by drinks and dessert - mango bacardi, french chocolate, wine, cheeses, cake and ice-cream in this case.

No loud music, no smoke inhalation, no flashing lights for me. The mambosexual in me died a little more each time I stepped out of a club - deaf and disoriented - and thought, I'm never doing this again.

Most of my friends - oh, I love my friends! - and I turn 25 this year. I don't feel old, but I don't feel young either.

High on fuzziness and wine...

Ed Updates

As you can tell, haven't been posting much.

Because I've started work (finally).

Just can't bring myself to face the computer at the end of the day.

Got mobilized today. There went half my saturday - just as I was settling in for a lazy afternoon nap, then came the phone call. At least I got to catch up with my army friends.

One guy was particularly reluctant to reveal his salary at his first job. Usually I refrain from asking people unless I know them well enough. But the more he didn't want to tell us, the more we wanted to know. And then? He's making about the same as the rest of us.

Money matters? Of course. Does it matter the most? *ponder*

Before I left the house, I told my dad "bao3 jia1 wei4 guo2" (chinese for protect my country).

Been sick too. Tonsils have been swollen. Seems there's a bug passing round the office. There goes productivity.

As you can also see, this blog looks different now. Had some technical difficulties while tweaking the blog template. Dropped tech support an email but nothing. HMPH.

Just rambling...

Can You Read My Mind?

Maureen McGovern
(from "Superman")

Can you read my mind?
Do you know what it is you do to me?
Don't know who you are
Just a friend from another star

Here I am, like a kid at the school
Holding hands with a god or a fool
Will you look at me, quivering,
Like a little girl, shivering,
You can see right through me.

Can you read my mind?
Can you picture the things I'm thinking of?
Wondering why you are
All the wonderful things you are.

You can fly - You belong to the sky
You and I could belong to each other.
If you need a friend,
I'm the one to fly too

If you need - to be loved -
Here I am, Read my mind!

Anywhere Is

Enya

I walk the maze of moments
But everywhere I turn to
Begins a new beginning
But never finds a finish
I walk to the horizon
And there I find another
It all seems so surprising
And then I find that I know

Chorus:
You go there you’re gone forever
I go there I’ll lose my way
If we stay here we’re not together
Anywhere is

The moon upon the ocean
Is swept around in motion
But without ever knowing
The reason for it’s flowing
In motion on the ocean
The moon still keeps on moving
The waves still keep on waving
And I still keep on going

Chorus

I wonder if the stars sign
The life that is to be mine
And would they let their light shine
Enough for me to follow
I look up to the heavens
But night has clouded over
No spark of constellation
No vela no orion

The shells upon the warm sands
Have taken from their own lands
The echo of their story
But all I hear are low sounds
As pillow words are weaving
And willow waves are leaving
But should I be believing
That I am only dreaming

Chorus

To leave the thread of all time
And let it make a dark line
In hopes that I can still find
The way back to the moment
I took the turn and turned to
Begin a new beginning
Still looking for the answer
I cannot find the finish
It’s either this or that way
It’s one way or the other
It should be one direction
It could be on reflection
The turn I have just taken
The turn that I was making
I might be just beginning
I might be near the end.

Why Higher Education?

Was reading a paper by the University of Chile about the challenges facing public higher education, particularly in a developing country.

I've written a short essay on the purpose of education, but now I wonder what the purpose of higher education is.

I also wonder how do we justify undergraduates like me ending up in a job in line with their degree, such as lawyers who became car salesmen (reported in the news a while ago).

I wonder...

Happy National Day?

Before catching the National Day Parade on television, I watched Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11. While it cursorily (and one-sidedly) brought up a host of complex issues, one message drove home very clearly: war involves human casualties, no matter what the cause, how noble the objectives may be.

Happy Birthday, Singapore and fellow Singaporeans.

May we never go to war.

A Sparkling Gem of Indian Delights

Check out my photo blog for more pics.

Located along Serangoon road is a sparkling little gem of Indian delights, a wonderful cacophony of sights, smells and sounds. Through this vibrant albeit small window of crafts, food and fashion, G and I caught a curious glimpse into the Indian culture.

Our first stop was at a vegetarian restaurant that was air-conditioned and looked pretty decent. Other than roti prata, I hardly knew of other Indian food names. So it was to the impatience of other customers queuing behind me that I enquired, pointed and gesticulated to get my order across the counter as best I could.

Finally, I ordered rava masala, channa batura, and mango lassi (a cold yogurt drink). The piping hot food seemed so delicious, I immediately dived in and forgot to take a shot of it first!

Thankfully the restaurant provided plastic utensils, so I managed to circumvent the truly authentic Indian food experience of eating with my hands.

A Short History Lesson

Under Raffles' administration, commerce flourished and thousands of immigrants from all over Asia flocked to Singapore, among them many Indians. In fact, the very first Indian to reach Singapore had been one Narayana Pillai, who had accompanied Raffles on his first-time visit to the island. The first Indian settlers in Singapore resided mainly in the area near Chulia Street in Chinatown which Raffles originally designated for the Indian community. Pillai, quite a shrewd businessman himself, soon built Singapore's first brick kiln - in the area of today's "Little India". Chinese immigrants, for their part, drained the swampy marshland of Serangoon and established fruit, vegetable and betel gardens. The availability of water and grass in that area made cattle trading possible.

Indians began to move to Serangoon Road after Rochor Canal was completed in 1836 and they used the area to graze cattle; thus you still find a Buffalo Road in "Little India", as well as a Kerbau Road, kerbau being Malay for buffalo. The completion of the Race Course in the 1840s meant more jobs were available. The number of immigrants from India grew steadily, supplemented by numerous Indian convicts, unceremoniously shipped over by the British. In the 1850's, the first Hindu temples were built (partly using convict labour), rows of shophouses were to follow. By the 1880s, new Indian immigrants flocked here and this area became a flourishing commercial centre for the Indian community. Today, the Serangoon Road area is known as Little India.

After our satisfying lunch of spicy, oily Indian cuisine, we began G's quest for the elusive lassi powder. It didn't help that the grocers didn't know how lassi was made, so instead G had to seek advice from an Indian housewife who helpfully explained how lassi is really made. In the end, G gave up her lassi illusions.

Other than exploring the row of shophouses along Serangoon road, we visited two main buildings: Little India Arcade, a tourist-designated bazaar with obviously marked up prices, and Zhujiao Center, that consists of Tekka Market, a wet market selling fresh and cheap produce, and an entire floor selling ornate Indian traditional costumes and other cheap wares. Cheap is really the keyword here at Zhujiao Center.

Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple
Built by Bengali labourers in 1881, this temple dedicated to Goddess Kali is one of the oldest Hindu temples in Singapore. She is known as the Goddess of Power and the name "Veeramakaliamman" means "Kali the Courageous".

For once, I wished I had an Indian friend as a tour guide. Without understanding the motivation and traditions behind every single thing, there was only so much I could gain from this tour.

"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

For someone who has never explored this area, Little India actually felt uncharacteristically Singapore and instead more like Penang, with its quaint mix of shops selling textiles, jewellery, food, brassware, groceries, music etc.

From colourful flower garlands to the refreshing aroma of jasmine and cheap and fresh produce to bopping bhangra beats, there is so much to see and experience. All you need is an open mind. Now, before you lament how boring our sunny island is, ask yourself if you've seen everything in Singapore.

As we went round a corner, we couldn't help but be enthralled by the variety of Tandoori meats being displayed.

I would say the most authentic Indian experience was G's brief session of eyebrow threading. For just $5, all you ladies can get a quick and painless way to tame your eyebrows. And interestingly, G's eyebrows didn't stay angry and inflamed for more than 10 minutes.

Our afternoon walking tour finally ended with a visit to the sweets and confectionary outlet of Komala Villas. It took us a while before G and I recovered from being dumbstruck by the foreign spread of Indian deserts and tidbits. Once again, we could only point and gesture to procure $5 worth of sweets which we gleefully toted home.

We didn't get to explore the whole of Little India and since my trusty little camera ain't that great, I've added some pics I found over the Web to get a truer sense of the variety of sights.

Interesting Links

• Discover Singapore's "Little India"


• Singapore Tourism Board's Walking Tour


• The Inn Crowd: Little India Walking Tour


• Virtual Tourist: Little India, Singapore


• News (1 Oct 2003): History of Little India in Singapore comes alive with Heritage Marker Project

And Moving On...

"Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere"

Van Wilder

Today I tendered an acceptance of a job offer. I would have thought that after sealing my fate for the near future, I would be happy and secure in my decision. Instead I am excited, apprehensive, and mostly unsettled.

Perhaps I've only just experienced what it means to be your own man.

Over the past week, I had been doing extra serious mulling as to how I would kick off my career. On one hand, I had been offered a secure tenure, complete with staff benefits, at a place that is familiar and heartwarming. On the other, I was seeking a 3-month internship at a place closer to my heart and aspirations.

Though a friend pointed out that both present many opportunities, coming to a decision hasn't been easy. While my decision is clear, my mind hasn't been and still isn't.

Hearing about the higher salaries of friends around hardly helped, such as an engineer's starting salary of $3K a month. While it's easy to say that money doesn't matter, I tell you it certainly does for one with bank loans hanging heavy over his head.

The most important question:

What do I want?

Until now I still cannot answer the last question. G assures me that few know exactly what they want. At least I know that I want to be successful in life - now exactly what that means is a blog for another time.

One thing for which I am satisfied and grateful to G for urging me is my initiative to pursue my interests in seeking an internship. Searching for and seeing doors open is infinitely affirming and also exciting because what lie behind these doors are dark and unknown. Thankfully behind this door was a big, friendly dog :)

The rightness of a decision is only clear on hindsight - sometimes. For now, at least I know that I've made a good decision.

As G further offers, "make it the right decision!"

Watch out for the human 'crows'

By Asad Latif
1 August 2004
Straits Times

ONE day, when I was a child, I saw a wounded crow. One of its wings was smashed. It was trying to fly on the other wing, but failed pitifully.

As it crawled along the street, other crows gathered around it. First, they watched, just cawing. Then, they came closer and began to peck at the fallen crow. It tried to fight back, but could not.

More attackers arrived, descending eagerly from the trees nearby. Earlier, each crow had attacked it singly and had retreated after a few pecks. Now, finding strength in numbers, they set upon it together.

A terrible cawing followed, the death cries of the victim drowned out by the war chants of the attackers.

I ran screaming to my mother.

It was that image that came to mind last month when I read of the widow of one of the men who died in April's Nicoll Highway collapse.

Now, it appears that a bunch of crows in human form has set upon his widow.

According to the news story, strangers go up to her to enquire about the public donations that have poured in and how much money she has in the bank. Some friends even wonder if she might steal their husbands.

Madam K, 35, who was not identified in the article in order to protect her from more harassment, has problems visiting the wet market.

There, people have walked up to her and said: 'Wah, the newspapers say you're now very rich! Is it true?' Others have pointed at her, whispering among themselves and saying: 'She's still young and has a lot of money. Surely a lot of men will go after her.'

Her plaintive cry: 'I want my husband back, not all this money. They can take it if they want to.'

She should not have said that. Can you hear the crows cawing in greedy expectation? Their cacophony starts in flats, spreads through the housing estate, travels all the way to the wet market and encircles the bank where the widow keeps her money.

'Give us the money, give us the money,' they caw in unison. When Madam K refuses, because they cannot give her back her husband, the crows turn into the predators of the Alfred Hitchcock thriller, The Birds. They attack the hapless widow and her young children.

I am letting my imagination run wild, of course. But the truth is that wild varieties of human behaviour are proof of what John Bleibtreau calls 'the nature within' in his book of anthropology, The Parable Of The Beast.

The nature within - biology - drives life on relentlessly. From cattle ticks, mosquitoes, snails, lizards and frogs, to honey bees, earthworms and birds, and on to men, nature cleverly anticipates every evolutionary turn and places its mark on consciousness.

It is that nature which runs through the people tormenting Madam K.

Bleibtreau's conclusion: 'Love and hate, aggression and submission, need and satiety: One may see all these forces working themselves out quite simply and mechanically in the behaviour of fish, reptiles and birds.'

But he sounds a note of hope: Homo sapiens are not mere prisoners of biology.

Thus, 'it is as one ascends the ladder of psychological complexity, as one observes animals up through the class of mammals, up through the order of primates, finally reaching man, that one finds what seems to be a progressive blurring of that which is innate, or given by the genetic heritage, and what is the individual response to individual experience'.

The hope lies in those words: 'individual experience'.

Unlike the crows which I encountered in my childhood, which were acting instinctively and as a group, Madam K's tormentors must have been taught by their experience of living in society that they should not prey on her.

Moreover, of course, crows have no sense of cruelty any more than they understand altruism, but humans appreciate the difference between the two qualities.

Obviously, socialisation has not succeeded very well in the case of Madam K's tormentors.

They should not get away with it. There is a need to take a stand against those who behave so disgracefully. If a friend or neighbour makes cruel comments about a wounded woman, it is important to have the courage to disagree with them.

To honour the memory of a departed man in any genuine way is to protect his family from those who rub salt into their wounds.

What a Wonderful World

Pardon the occasional self-obsessed entry.

Isn't human expression an amazing (for some, terrifying) facet of life?

From the arts to science to philosophy, man's artefacts are all an expression of man's creativity, in every sense of the word.

Even handphone photography's considered art.

Evidently man needs to express himself and communicate his ideas and emotions. Meanwhile the rest of us listen and appreciate.

I used to aspire to be a writer, till I became obsessed with my zits (my friends used to call me ang gu kueh). Surprisingly it was my honours year thesis that relit this joy of expression. Through advice and criticisms from people around me - mainly my professor and G - I wrote and re-wrote draft after @#$%ing draft.

One question that was repeatedly asked of me and today has become my guiding light when writing,

"what do you want to say?"

In last week's Sunday Times, Janadas Devan muses about the music of language and how writing is really an exercise in logic.

As I have complained to many, wringing my mind for creative juices to whet my next blog entry on yet another noteworthy experience in my life can be quite tiresome but immensely satisfying and self-affirming nonetheless.

Yes, scouring Dictionary.com and Merriam Webster for the right adjective can be very arduous.

That's why I consider this site my pride and joy. After all, it landed me a job offer :)

Often the thought of stopping blogging has crossed my mind.

*and all ardent fans of Everybody Loves Edmund gasp and faint*

After every entry, I always remark beggingly to G, I haven't any substantial point to make in there, have I?

Some of my ideas for blog entries simply failed to materialize because I didn't think I'd any substantial points to make. Thankfully most do.

One of my early ideas included "Viva la Blog" (originally conceived as "Blogging about Blogging" till I realized how common that blog entry title is).

So why did I really start to blog?

*cue patriotic music played while a motivational speech is made before heading off to certain death while warring with tribe of cannibalistic barbarians*

I wish for my entries to intrigue and spark contemplation about deep issues, to heighten appreciation for things in life that are otherwise inconspicuous or uninteresting, and to inspire others to do great things.

Alright, the last is a tad ambitious.

I take it upon myself, the unassuming journalist cum columnist on our boresome lives, to provide highly readable blogs supported by relatively reliable information. Thankfully I value privacy and therefore practise restrain in revealing bits of my personal life while striving to make *ahem* insightful observations or ponderous statements about life and our existence.

Can't help it if I was blessed with a good grasp of the English language, proficient HTML programming, a curious yet divine sense of humour, and a naggingly humane urge to educate and inform.

Just like Carrie Bradshaw, I get my input and inspiration from things around me - people, animals, happenings, memories, sights, sounds, smells...

One website I like to visit is fray.com, where people like you and I tell their life stories, some of hope and anticipation, some of regret and sadness, but most are poignant and utterly human.

My point? Haven't really got one.

What a Wonderful World
Louis Armstrong

I see trees of green........ red roses too
I see ’em bloom..... for me and for you
And I think to myself.... what a wonderful world

I see skies of blue..... clouds of white
Bright blessed days....dark sacred nights
And I think to myself .....what a wonderful world

The colors of a rainbow.....so pretty ..in the sky
Are also on the faces.....of people ..going by
I see friends shaking hands.....sayin’.. how do you do
They’re really sayin’......i love you

I hear babies cry...... I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more.....than I’ll never know
And I think to myself .....what a wonderful world

Oh yeah