Noooo!!!!

Just saw that Wonkytong has stopped her blog!

Somehow I was late in starting to read Anna's blog... don't know why that was the case, but from the not-too-many posts that I read, it was clear that what I enjoyed about her blog was the fact that it chronicled the life of an ordinary Singaporean (apologies if this is incorrect) living overseas, rather than some MBA-ed soon-to-be-owner-of-an-KX8 (hahahahaha... just egging you) or my hot-shot lawyer friends plying their trade in foreign lands... and over time, little petals unfolded to reveal more of her life, past loves, etc.

It's a shame that I never got to know you personally before your blog closed, but at least u've left an email address, and I should be emailing you soon!

I think I've said this quite a few times before, but the blogs / posts which I enjoy the most are the ones about the simple things that happen in others' day, and stories of their past, rather than (mostly un-bragging-intended) stories of how happening their day was, how shabbily they were treated by some bitches at the Gucci boutique, etc.

Wonky Tong, I remember your post of the exchange you had with your brother over what your blog seems to be like, and the sweet email he sent you thereafter... it's things like that I'll miss sorely... the world needs blogs like yours!

Come back soon, even if you have to adopt a new identity like Kinky Dong!

Kiap

Little Cart Noodles and Princess Hypergirl are right - metal bracelet watches do kiap my wrist hairs... the area where I wear my watch seems a little less hair-dense...

But if women can remove their arm-pit, leg and public hair in the name of vanity, so can I!! wrist hair I mean...

Shooz

So Ditzy Spice wants to see my shoe collection... mine's real simple:

Total number of shoes you own:
a. 2 pairs of work shoes
My favourite pair are what you see on the right, after I polished them yesterday afternoon. As you may already know, I have a weakness for nice (and hence expensive) things, but have been trying to cut back for the past year or so... These are Loakes, and cost about S$400 a pair, which ordinarily is ridiculous by my standards, but actually my 2nd pair of exactly the same model... and each pair have lasted me for at least 3 years of being worn almost everyday. Plus they are easily polishable, such that you can see the reflection of the red brake light of my family car in the photo... I can just imagine some people going "pansy" by now..

b. 2 pairs of Nike track shoes

c. 1 pair of really crummy but comfy deck shoes / moccasins

d. 1 pair of red Trail slippers, complete with a bit of the icky stuff trapped between the grip patterns (you can see them in the photo above as well)

e. 1 pair of grey Bata (I think) slippers, ah pek style, complete with the squeaking sound when wet.. haha

f. 1 pair of Teva sandals

g. 2 pairs of army boots... heh

The last shoe you bought:
My red and silver Nike track shoes mentioned above.. bought in Feb 2005. The story behind them can be found here.

How many shoes do you have under your work desk:
Heh.. 1 pair.. the army boots, cos I had to participate in SAF Day ceremony on 1 July, and haven't brought them home yet.

Note: Not passing on to anyone else... hope u don't mind..

But I'd like to tell a shoe story of a slightly sad kind... My parents are by nature thrifty people. In secondary school, we were all made to wear white canvas shoes so it was alright, but going into JC, I knew that shoes would be what distinguishes the in ones and the outcasts.... during secondary school, the "nicest" pair of shoes I had was a pair of Nike Tennis shoes, without the "Air"... I felt so conscious all the time when with my neighbours and richer friends...

During our family trip to the USA after I finished my O Levels, I begged and pleaded with my mom to get me a really cool pair of Nikes... she finally relented, but also bought 2 pairs of cheapo Reebok shoes which she made me wear on most school days... I think the sentiment which best sums up how I felt then was "ashamed"...

OK, I didn't write the story very well, and it's not going anywhere, but I just wanted to externalise how traumatising these things are to kids sometimes... I'm never ever making my kids go through the same experience man.. my parents do come from a different generation, one where you really believe and can see that hard work and thriftiness gets you someone in life.. Not me... the working years have shown me that wearing a nice suit or pair of shoes, or speaking in an accent (not referring to me)can get doors opened for you and seats in first class (indulge me lah) and to know people who can get more doors opened for you...

And to top it all off? The cool Nikes mentioned above lasted till September 2004, when I finally threw them away in Australia cos I had no more space in my luggage... that's 12 years for you man.

What it feels like to be Rich Part II / 4 Days in Taiwan for S$25

Honey, I'm home!

This was a good trip! If nothing else, the colleague with whom I was travelling was great (it's a male, in case ure thinking there was something else going on), as compared to my regular one..

Also the first time I "flew first class"... heh... what happened was that the flight we took out of Singapore was so late that we theoretically only had 15 minutes to hop out of the plane, check-in for our next flight and get on the plane...

After telling the air stewardesses, we were offered seats "in the front of the plane so that [we] can get off first"! See Lynne, that's some mental activity and initiative on their part ok? Tho I think the suits made a difference on whether they would have done it for us...

Anyways, first class hauls-ass! You get to keep your luggage in front of you, and the beds really go flat, and horizontal. They also feel like a throne... all that's missing is the air stewardess kneeling down to, errrr, place the crown on your head as you take your seat...

Irony of the whole episode is that, after getting off the plane and being buggy-ed to the check-in counter and the boarding gate, only to find that the next flight was postponed for 45 minutes... duh.. but I'm not complaining..

Kaohsiung's really boring! Tho it didn't get so bad that I had to get the ladies on the picture on the right to make the time pass... haha..

Taipei was quite a bit better tho... the shopping malls are nice and new and actually really look like KL! Tho things are more expensive than in Singapore.. they've got some really good restaurants tho.. we had dinner both nights at Taipei 101 - "Shanghainese" and Japanese.. if you ever intend to go, it's on the 4th floor.. the Chinese food had "Kong Bak" which was so well cooked it really melts in your mouth..

Between company-paid meals and being chauffuered around most of the time, I only had to spend S$25 for the entire trip:
War insurance for internal flight: S$8 (company pays in due course)
Taxi fare from hotel to Taipei 101: $10
Chewing gum: $2.50
Today's breakfast (cos the flight was 0700): $4
Being "propositioned" by local office staff whether I could take her back to Singapore, and she'd wash my clothes and cook my dinner: you guessed it - priceless...

What I dislike about travelling is that you are alone a lot of the time. Even if you're at home alone, at least u have your regular tv programs, can get on MSN and stuff... as you can see, it's a little sad sleeping only on half of a big bed... maybe next time I'll be able to get that local office staff to spend the night and come test my goods (see? I so nice....) before she decides whether she still wants to come to Singapore with me...

Ha ha ha.

Crash

Wow... didn't update my blog for 5 days... that might be a new record!

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Been totally swamped this week.. averaging 5 hours of sleep a night, which for a pig like me is quite like starvation...

Had a big contract signing yesterday with some Japanese counterparties.. huge Japanese family owned business... and it was funny seeing the same family name in 4 or 5 of the name cards that we exchanged.

What took the cake was that the name cards of the "family" members had numerals in brackets beside their names - to indicate that they are the x-th son of the y-th son of the z-th son of the founder.. we met (1-1-1) last night.. all of 25 years, but one day to be some big-shot in the company alright...

The signing ceremony was followed by a celebratory dinner.. another colleague and I had to "host" 6 of the Japanese at the most junior table of the night... heh... which was not bad at all 'cos that meant that we were the most boisterous and musing table..

1 of the Jap guys who comes down to Singapore all the time made the others eat the green pickled chilli (that we eat with hor fun) one by one... you can just see it coming - they chew it, think it's fine, then 5 seconds later they look like they wanna retch! Now you know a new party trick when hosting the Japanese...

The bombings in London must have happened yesterday evening as we were having dinner, and no one seem to know about it. Instead, when it was announced that the RMB and RM were re-valued / unpegged, many of the phones went off shortly thereafter...

Funny thing about the Japs is they seem to turn red in the face after 1 small drink, but can go on almost forever.. we started with beer, then moved on to red wine, and then whiskey... amazing.. think they were planning to go eat durians after the dinner was over... good luck! reminds me that my granny always said u might die / go blind / have ure testicles drop off if you took beer with durians.. haha..

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Was elated to be just come home and sleep early tonight.. that's all I wanna do right now...

Am off to Taiwan tomorrow... fighting fires... the flight back on Wed's at 0700, which means I have to wake up at 0430 to catch the plane.. yikes!

What it feels like to be Rich - Part I

Had the privilege of taking a friend's CLS350 and 525i for a spin today...

Wanted to take a photo of my hairy arms on the wheel of the 350, but forgot to do so in the excitement... between the chrome start knob on the keyless, the purr of the engine and a feels-like-25cm-above-the-ground seat, the 2 words to describe what it feels like to be rich are: freaking kickass!!

Kiss My...

Amongst all the photos I've seen online, this is still my favorite.. the paws look so fake, you can see the little bit of tail that he (hmm... then again, I don't see any privates, so maybe it's a "she") has, and I dunno about you, but I just wanna reach out and rub / spank his tush..

Anyways, I attended Bloggers' Convention this afternoon.. now I know what some of the popular bloggers look like in real life.. hyak hyak...

My companion and I agreed that the hottest chick we saw was Adr1, and his remark was "if I were lesbian, I'll take her anyday"... or was it "if I were lesbian, I'll take her right now"? haha.. correct me if I'm wrong..

We were sitting beside these 4 or 5 pre-teens who obviously wanted photos with XX, but didn't dare ask her... they went all the way till 3 steps away, and took photos of her back!

Bonus of the evening was the fireworks display during the NDP rehearsal... oh well, if only it were with a loved one...

*change topic* oh look at the weather!

Some musings:
a. thot it was still early, and decided to take the feeder bus home instead of a cab as I always do... and remembered why... the crush is just yucks...

b. saw a guy selling satay from a parked bicycle at a bus stop... the grill was on the back "luggage stand", and I don't recall seeing the receptacle for the peanut sauce and cucumber, etc. interesting..

c. saw a void deck wake too.. and I dunno if it's common, but everyone was concentrated around the tables at the back, like during lectures when I was in JC... hmm... last time u get to see him / her already leh?

d. have a meeting with GS this coming week.. if it pans out, I'm in the big leagues! Sorry but I have to be vague about this for now..

Update: Just read this morning that ST called Bloggers Convention a "yawn". I think they failed to appreciate why many of us were there. It wasn't so much the sessions (not for me at least), but to spot, be amongst (and meet) fellow bloggers. I mean, most wakes and weddings are boring (and expensive) for outsiders, but we are there for a reason. DUH...

My Precious...

Since no one's gonna buy it for me, I bought it for myself!

Recently sold off some of my long-time kenna-stuck shares for a slight profit, so thought I'd give myself a treat! Was worried it'd look a little effeminate, but with my hairy wrist, I don't think that's a problem.. heh..

And don't say don't have, here are some numbers based on the serial number that you can use to buy this weekend's 4D:
1st prize: 1137
2nd prize: 3734
3rd prize: 3434

Hoot twah twah! Got win money must share yah?

A Little French Humor on Bastille Day

Joke sent from who else but my Liberty-Fries-eating colleague:

Monday July 11th 2005 - Paris

Prime Minister Chirac has officially raised the French terror alert level
from "Run" to "Hide ". There are only two higher levels in France
- they are "Surrender" and "Collaborate".

The rise was precipitated by a recent fire which destroyed France's white
flag factory - effectively crippling their military.

NKF

If you are inclined to ask nicely that Mr. Durai leave NKF, a petition can be found here

I ask however that you do not link this post, nor my blog. I also do not express any view on NKF nor Mr Durai, but Davinder Singh rocks!

One

My blog's 1 today (I cheated by fast-forwarding the time of the post to tomorrow)!

Honestly, I'm a little surprised (in the pleasant kinda way) that I managed to blog for a whole year without ever thinking seriously of stopping... I'm sure it's an outlet I have now that has kept me a little saner over the past year.

I can't remember why I started blogging.. I've read my first few posts, and it gave some clues... seems like I saw others' wonderful writing, and thought that it was fun, free and fuss-free..

Funny that I feel much more pensive about my blog's birthday than on my own, or on New Year's Day...

Isn't it amazing that 1 year on, I'm still kinda hankering after the same woman? Someone should give me a prize for hua(1) chir(1)-ness...

I'm proud to say that 1 year on, the real objective of my blog remains the same... a diary of sorts for me to record my thoughts and the stuff which happen to me... but I realise that instead of addressing it to myself, I've gradually started addressing it to my unknown readers...

When I first started, I was afraid that my real-life friends would find my blog... interestingly enough, I've told the address to 1 (see how special you are?) and at least 2 have stumbled upon it.. In a way, I'm happy that you have bothered to tell me that you know, and I'm even more amazed that I haven't felt the need to self-censor / delete certain posts... Maybe someday, the person whom 10% of this blog is about will find it too (not unlikely she will, cos she reads blogs which are 1 link away), and truly realise how much she means to me, and how much I want to spend my life with her...

In the meantime, thank you, all my readers, for the countless work-afternoons / lonely-evenings of amusement you have given me... luv y'all!

No wonder

No wonder a lot of people have been singing "I'll be There for You" by Bon Jovi recently.. and the yucky shouting out-of-tune version at that.. like I was in the car with HJ last Thursday, and he was literally shouting the words to my great dismay...

Finally got to watch A Lot Like Love...

Do I like it? I think so... some of the lines are really cheesy, bits of it were cliched and the ending was a cop-out, but the singing scenes in the car on the way out of LA, and in front of her house, had me sold...

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And on a more sombre note, a fellow blogger's loved one departed this past weekend.. if you're reading this, I hope you are as ok as can be.. if it's any consolation, I think you said once that they're in heaven too. *hug*

You make me happy

Lynne steals certain feelings right out of my own heart sometimes.. I shall refrain from using the kindred spirit, but some of her posts make me go wow! that's exactly what I'd do!

She wrote about hearing / seeing the words "You made me happy" from a loved one, and whilst her story is quite different from mine, the theme couldn't be more similar...

Actually, when you think about it, what is a greater expression of love than being told that you make someone happy?

There was this girl I liked, and even before I had feelings for her, I remember an occasion when another friend asked her half jokingly whether he made her happy, and her response was "you make me laugh"...

Zing!

And when it was my turn to fall for her and ask her the same question, the answer was a little less cruel - something along the lines of "I don't really even know what happiness is anymore.. but I'm easily contented"... from there, in order to convince her that I was the right one, I managed some linguistic gymnastics and came up with the "I make you super-contented" (TM) line..

I can just imagine some people going "what a loser" right now..

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The other thing which really gets at me sometimes is how saying the same thing differently means so much more / less...

Don't people realise that when I say "I love you" or "I miss you", it means more to hear in response "I love / miss you too" than "me too"?

On second thoughts, I think some people would disagree...

Cheated!

Went to settle the payment and health declarations, etc. for my diving class last night..

Saw that the class starting next week has 8 students, amongst which 4 were obviously female names.. got Sharon lah, got Vivian lah...

Guess how many people my class (starts the week after) has so far?
3!!

Guess how many girls?
0!!

My sun-tan oil massage skills are gone to waste....

Disclaimer: The above is meant to be tongue-in-cheek. I'm not that desparate (yet).

Yellow!

Back from Bangkok... being with boss meant that I couldn't visit Annie's Massage and Sauna with the big red blinking heart-shaped neon light outside the hotel (hur hur), but wasn't a bad trip overall.

You know how many of us think that muslim ladies all covered up, with only the eyes exposed, are somewhat "extreme"? Well, I saw some Middle-Eastern ladies with even the eyes covered! I know it must be a thin black veil, but it must be really difficult seeing in dim places like lifts and the corridor of the hotel rooms..

Also bought my first ever bright red colored shirt.. I think it's the first signs of the fear of growing old..

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Heard anecdotally from a friend last night that 25% to 30% of all marriages in Singapore end in divorce.. geez.. anyone knows if it's true?

If so, before I get married, better withdraw the money, buy gold bars, and hide them in the garden under the bouganvilla shrub...

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I know I sound provincial, but what are anchovies? Ikan Bilis? When the Americans say anchovy pizza, what kinda fish are they talking about?

That's how boring Singapore news is..

Guess who turns 1 tomorrow?! Born on the 4th of July ok...

May you have endless dreams of rabbit-chasing, and bring me successful episodes of chick-chasing...

Polygamy

Sometimes you wonder how a man can have 2 or more wives, or even a wife and 1 mother who are both strong-willed..

My current department is a small one, with only 8 people right now.. my secretary has differences with 2 of the other executives, and this has led to frequent raised voices and squabbles... one the one hand, I should defend my own secretary, but she's often the one who fired the first salvo and go overboard with her recriminations.. on the other hand, I get along very well with the 2 other executives..

So what happens is, on top of my already-busy day, sometimes I have to listen to my secretary rant for 20 minutes, then to hear the other side of the story for another 20 minutes later in the day.. and sometimes my secretary seems to give me the look when I go for lunch with the "Dark Side"...

In such situations, you just can't take sides or tell 1 party that it was in the wrong...

The thing about me is that I really hate quarrels and raised voices... which in a way is why I don't watch the TCS8 and some of the ang mo dramas which revolve around love and teenagers and stuff.. what else do they do but quarrel with each other..

So, you really wonder how the old-time men managed to appease 3 or 4 wives all at the same time.. if you give 1 something better than the others, or took 1's side in their arguments, how? No sex that night is 1 thing, but more importantly the quarrels will just escalate, and you'd be forced to stay out of the house all the time.. which defeats the purpose of having 1 different woman to massage ure tired and knotted muscles every day right?

Hot Pot

Met VP for dinner last night.. she's the subject of 1 of my first blogging posts... still can't imagine I have a law school classmate who lives 15 metres away from me, and drove me to work every morning for about a year.. heh..

And you know what people always say about men and women not ever being able to be just friends? She is living testimony to the fact that we can.. She's nice and all, but I've never thot of sleeping with her nor being married to her.. heh..

We have a hoot of a time last night.. I guess I'm a bit different with people whom I know for a fact I'm not interested in.. slightly louder and more crass, and fako-aggressive... which is the recipe for swapping of bitchy stories, exagerrated possibilities, and outrageous what-ifs..

And to top off the night, I was sent home right to my door-step... shiokness... but she's getting married in October.. better meet her a few more times before the Big Day..

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Off to Thailand work on Monday.. would be nice if not for the fact that boss would be there as well.. anybody wants me to help buy cheap Triumph bras? haha

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Am supposed to run 7km tomorrow morning.. how 'o how am I going to do it?