Saturday, October 30, 2004
Handphone Madness

I haven't blogged for the past few days because conditions in the office have not been conducive for blogging so I didn't really have the mood to write.But more precisely,there haven't been any topics which I'd like to write about because there wasn't anything interesting to talk about at all.No topics that interested or gripped me so I had no content.I wouldn't want to write just for the sake of writing.But at least I got quite a bit of stuff to start blogging on now.

Anyway,in the office these past few days,there has been a lot of people getting giddy with joy and goggle-eyed over their new acquisitions,that is,new handphones as they capitalise on a Singtel roadshow that's come to our canteen and were offering subscriptions at corporate rates with discounted handsets.Since most of us had gotten our subscriptions at around the same time almost two years ago,all of us again re-contracted on the same day,with us getting new handsets to boot.For me,as my current handset is still rather new,I just got a new handset for the sake of it but more on that later as my new handset has found a new owner.As for the rest of the X-Men,seeing the explosion of excitement and concentration in the eyes of some of them here,if not most,it seems like most of them were transported to an era when they were still young and were just aquainted with a new toy that they had never seen before.It's quite amazing actually.Now,before I go on,I got to divert to some other topics.

First off,last evening between 5:30 and 7:30,there was supposed to be some kind of corporate function going on at Eunos to celebrate Ramadan and for non-Muslim colleagues to better understand the customs of our fellow Muslims.Now,this is a perfectly good idea,save for three points.

First point,I think a broadcast email would have done the trick prefectly,without the need to have to fix an event to specially celebrate it.We can be just as well informed if we had read an email describing the customs of such a tradition.And the event was fixed after work so that non-Muslims can "break fast" together with the Muslims.Now,don't you think the Muslim members would prefer to break fast in the private sanctuary of their own homes,together with their loved ones after a long day at work,rather than be gawked on by a bunch of hungry non-Muslims with commentry going on about what they might be doing(This is an X-Men speculation:Since it was supposed to be an exercise in understanding the customs,while the Muslims were performing their rituals or customs,there has to be someone there to explain what they are doing...be it prayers or whatever,don't you think that's rude?You are praying and someone is there droning on about why you are doing it).It's stupid and I think,insensitive in a way.I think the Muslims would want to be home after a tiring day,instead they are dragged to a corporate event...so that their pratices can be observed by a group of onlookers?Not very nice right?

Second point:Ain't the government supposed to be on some kind of economic drive to save money by cutting out unnecessary frills?So why are we blowing money on corporate events like this?The venue wasn't even held in office premises which would mean rental costs are incurred.And the food costs money too of course.I think we have to be accountable to taxpayers about how we spend the money right?

Thirdly,it's the brainchild of our God.I might be biased here but I do have to question what's his objective?To really foster understanding or to add shine to his portfolio that he's a "good and undersatnding" boss.Our God has the reputation of being a ambitious,silky-tongued go-getter who'd make use of anything and anybody to get what he wants to further his career and he is as fake as can be.Which is why he's made a hell of a lot of enemies in the upper management circles because he'd tread on their toes anytime if necessary to get noticed.I won't go on about his misdeeds anymore but the point is,if he was understanding,he'd realise that people want to be home after work,not spend even more time with him.

Anyway,out of this thing borned an interesting episode.As the event starts at 5:30,people who attended the event needed to leave the office at about 4:45 in order to reach the venue on time.For those who're not going,that meant that there was no 政府 in the office anymore.Wow,do you get the equation?It means that if you are unscrupulous enough,you can leave early without anyone knowing as most of the bigwigs would have left for the event.Some interesting stuff occurred here,for our division,ALL the X-Men stayed behind except maybe for Dazzler who might have went.Colossus,Jubilee,Wolverine,Rogue and me did not go,neitehr did Prof X,Psylocke,Iceman and Archangel.Oh,Nightcrawler went but she's not an X-Men per se.All the Brotherhood members went:Toad,Avalanche,Destiny,Mastermind,Juggernaut,Mr Sinister and Sabretooth.Apparently,Mr Sinister,now the leader of the pack after the departed Magneto has offered to lead them on a tour of Geylang Serai and that theyw ould meet up with Magneto there too.I heard from Prof X that this group's bond is very strong but this is well,eye opening.They see each other for 5 days a week,8 hours a day(that is 40 hours at least because apparently they do go back to work together as a group on Saturdays and Sundays...do they have a life outside of this group?) and they can't get enough of each other?

There was another interesting episode Prof X told me when some innocent assistant had briefed Mastermind on some work and told him not to follow Magneto's processes because it was crap(but it's true,magneto was horrible at her work...and I think horrible might have been nice to describe her level of competence)and Mastermind and Destiny both shot him with the evil eye.Prof X had to step in to temper things.

Aside from this,there has been something interesting going on between Destiny and Avalanche.Destiny,being the only girl in the group and being reasonably pretty,must get plenty of attention from all the guys even though she has a bf.Avalanche,particularly seems close to her.Apparently,he would wait for her to knock off and stuff like that and is always close to her.I've asked Prof X and Dazzler about this but they said there should be nothing between them because the girl treats all the guys the same way but the guy...well well well,that's another matter isn't it?It's fair play to him because Destiny only has a bf...she's NOT married,you know.So get ready for Office Romance part deux?Watch this space.

Anyway,that's not the interesting episode,the interesting thing was that the unscrupulous one who made use of the fact that the management wasn't around to leave early was none other than our head herself,Rogue.She left at 5.The rest of us adhered and left only on time at 5:30.Prof X apparently caught her in the act when she left the office with her handbag.He asked her if she was 'supporting the Ramadan thingy".Rogue replied that"no,she wasn't going there but was going elsewhere instead".Elsewhere?Like where?Such as home perhaps?Wow.I can just imagine her panicky face and voice when Prof X probed her with that question."Shit,I am being found out...let's just answer with a non-specific answer."Clever but dumb at the same thing.

Oh,a former X-Men,I call him Cannonball,has returned to the fold today and will start work at another department after having left this place earlier.I think he's being his usual self again when he came to our level to look us up and talk to us but seriously,while all of us are happy for him to have come back here,there isn't really a great deal of excitement about his reappointment.Not as much as the guy himself anyway.It's probably not a big deal to us but Cannonball looks and behaves as if he hasn't seen us in ages...and erm he hasn't actually.Well,good luck to him and his new job.He'd enjoy it.It seems pretty strange then that some of us are rather desperate to get out of this place while he's the only one excited to be back.

Now back to handphone business.As i said before,most of us,if not all got brand new handsets.Colossus got himself a shiny,expensive Sony Ericcsson K700i,Jubilee got herself a free Samsung X-100a,Storm and Jean Grey got themselves the LG C1100 clamshell while JG and Shadowcat also got the Nokia 6100 for their mums.I got myself a free Motorola C380 as a backup set.Pardon me for all the names of these phone models,if you are not a handphone person,you probably have no idea what these are.

The phones seem to make almost everyone childlike as you look at them staring goggle-eyed with wonder at their shiny new gadgets.Jubilee,particularly,was extremely enamoured with her new handset...so enamoured,she was caressing it like...gasp...GOLLUM.My preeeecious...well,at least the handset doesn't destroy the bearer like the ring does so she's safe.But to be fair,I think Jean Grey and Storm also started looking like Frodo like Mount Doom when he was about to toss the ring back into the molten lava.They looked like kids with marbles.Hmmm,what do kids with marbles look like?But anyway,the things a handset can do to people...such evil...

Well,Colossus must be the most pleased of the lot.His shiny new hi-tech K700i has now put my metrosexual (and some say sissy)Samsung E700(yes,you can shoot 12 pictures in machine-gun rapid succession,imagine the usefulness...snap snap snap snap snap...hmmm,how come all the pictures look the same???) to the shade.How dare he usurp my throne as the standard-bearer of handphone supremacy in the office?!That's heresy.Anyway,talking about sissy phones,Iceman's LG G7100 is even more sissy(or is that Beckham-esque metrosexual)than mine,it has a large "mirror" on the outside for him to powder his face when he needs to.

For me,the new Motorola handset I got had landed into the hands of my pop.I think he started eyeing it the moment I brought it home...oooooh,my preeecious,his thoughts must have rang out.It was less than six months ago when I had bought him a brand-new Nokia 3100 handset and now he wants a new phone.Wow,I think all Singaporeans must be handphone fad crazy in one way or another.Think about it,who around you has no handphone?And which among them don't crave a new phone if he or she could get their hands on one?But I don't think it's a unique Singaporean trait.All people fancy new things...handphones or otherwise.

And as for the discarded Nokia 3100,I had half a mind to just use it as my backup unit when I go overseas or for reservist but that's not what I'm going to do.Instead I'd apply for a pre-paid card for my mum so that she can carry her first ever handphone.Even if it's a discard from my dad but hey come on,it's barely six months old so it's not that bad.Why did I decide to apply a line for my mum?Well,read on...

Last evening as I was changing the SIM card for my dad and configuring all the settings for him in his new Motorola set,I saw my mum eyeing the Nokia set(she didn't say anything of course).So I told her point-blank that I'd apply a line for her so that the phone isn't wasted lying idle around.My dad latched onto my suggestion and jumped onto the bandwagon,repeadtedly voicing that I should do that for her.A subtle reaction came from my mum.She started asking how to switch on the phone and what to press top answer or end calls...before suddenly retreading and saying that"no lah,I don't need a phone.For what,a phonecard works fine what!"Wow,that's a quick turnaround.

Sons and daughters,please note that parents have a way of doing and saying things that you have to observe.When they start expressing a subtle interest in something before abruptly performing a u-turn and saying that they don't need such and such...please read between the lines:Don't need DOESN'T MEAN don't want.If they didn't want,they won't express that interest in the first place.If you are a filial child,buy the thing for him or her.They will go "Aiyaaa,why you go and buy?I told you don't buy what..."but I'd tell you,they're are as pleased and happy as bunnies in their hearts even though they may look or talk otherwise.All parents are pleased when their children buy or do something for them,they just don't outwardly express it.When their children buy something for them,even though they're pleased,they seem to find it a need to put on the parental hat and lecture us on "financial prudence" and why we shouldn't waste money on "this kind of stuff".It's a parental thing,like they don't want their children to buy stuff for them,not stuff like these anyway.I don't understand the psyche of course but I don't need to.I just need to know how it works.

Right.It's quite a long blog that I've written here so to be totally honest so I'm just so glad to end it at this point because my hands and finger joints are aching.My long-windedness is certainly getting to me again.I hope it's not getting to you guys/gals too.Anyway,enjoy your weekend,gals and dudes!

Cyclops...out!

Argh...hand me a barf bag.

Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Now My Heart Is Full

Two assuring piece of news greeted me this morning.Actually,make it three pieces although my reflex actions have effectively doomed my days here in the office.I think it's but a matter of time before things become unbearable and my position here becomes untenable.Who knows if I can last beyond the early part of next year or even the end of the year?Let me elaborate...

The first reassuring poiece of news that greeted me today was that Rogue would be away the whole day attending training for election duties downstairs so she won't be around.Hoorah.But doesn't matter,I thought about some of the stuff at work I wanted to do today and I'd be doing it.So at least I won't be wasting time here.

But anyway,the interesting things that happened when I learnt this news wasn't noticed by anyone except Rogue and me.I was talking to Shadowcat earlier this morning,talking about her training(she has election duties too)and the tasks that God has given to her to complete by this morning.Just as we were talking,Rogue appeared from nowhere and instinctly,I turned my back to her and walked back towards my cubicle.WRONG MOVE.Office workers,please DO NOT do that when your boss comes around,greet them with a smile(even if you don't like him/her).As I scurried back to my cubicle,I kind of realised my mistake and tried to turn back to smile at her but she looked right past me instead.Later when she walked past JG and my cubicles,she greeted JG without bothering to greet me...or even look at me in fact.I am dead.

Later,as I was whispering stuff to Jean Grey and saying that Mystique and Rogue were going down for training,I made another stupid mistake.I pointed at Mystique's room and said,"这个也会去，对不对？".At that moment in time,Mystique was tsanding at Storm's cubicle with Rogue but as Mystique was standing at the cooridor,.she had a good view of my desk...and my finger.SH*T.

I feel kind of lucky now that I did a placement exercise in October,indicating my interest in going to other departments.I don't think I can stay here much longer.Fury hath no fury like a boss scorned.I am as good as dead.The thing is that because I wear my heart on my sleeve and don't bother pretending,I think it's sealed my fate.But I am alright with it.It's me and I got to show what I agree/disagree with or like/dislike.At least I am not being fake with people and being true to myself.Even though it's not what people want to see or what pleases people.

That's the first piece of news and it's long,the second piece of news concerns a story that implies that cardiologists and emergency medical specialists "do not quite know how much electricity to use when reviving people".This is extremely reassuring.We are paying these people thousands of dollars and entrusting our lives to them and they do not quite know exactly what they should use?Of course maybe this kind of stuff,there's no real concrete rules to apply to all people as people can have different thresholds,body masses...etc and you can't have a one-jolt-revives-all situation but well,hearing it from the horse's mouths...it's almost like them using this disclaimer,"Hey,we try our best but if we shock you to death or didn't use enough power to revive you,you know,it's just one of those things so too bad."If they don't mind,they might want to employ me as a cardiologist too.Just teach me how to work the machines and watch me go.I got the disclaimer on my side.

Third piece of reassuring news is that yes,completely contrary to my beliefs,NUS is certified hip and cool.And since NUS = cool and I was from NUS,therefore Cyclops = cool.Hahahah.I always knew that,I just needed the official word that I am cool and now it's finally come.Took you a long time,didn't you,ST?What took you so long?I am sure,that like me,all NUS alumni are feeling proud and happy that they,too,are the coolest graduates in Singapore.Erm...problem is...that's like 50% of the graduate population here.

Seriously,I find it amusing and silly to start labelling certain institutes as cool or not.Schools are schools,institutes of education...you go there to study and learn,not model or pose lah.Cool for what?You want to be cool,you go to the Antarctic lah.Silly buggers.Stupid idiots.Just shows up the shallowness of our youths.Anyway,the way people dress when they go to campus,you can't tell the difference between Kent Ridge and Caldecott Hill.

Like I mention,I am amused.I think it's an American TV culture thingy which students are trying to follow and therefore,turn every campus into a Beverly Hills 90210.I am not implying that students should wear monk robes to school but sometimes,they might want to consider the fact that they went to the schools to study,not look good in order to copulate with fellow students...even though the latter activity is a bonus.I agree one should look presentable at least whe out(social courtesy) but don't be it be the emphasis,the be-all-and-end-all.When is that the objective of studies?Please concentrate on getting your As,and not grating your Arse.

Hahah...let me count the number of paragraphs I have written.Nine paragraphs.None related to my topic.Now it is.I am been feeling bad lately.Might not show it but some things are just...I don't know.First off,about two weeks back,I found out that a girl whom I like got herself pregnant so she'd be marrying the guy.Oh great...anyway,I wished her all the best and said that the guy was a very lucky man to get such a wonderful girl like her.It was hard to say,I tell you but some things you just have to be gracious about and bite your tongue and say it.I am glad I did.I don't know how but well,she says she wants to be friends for life with me.My reaction...wow,ok,sure,I sure wasn't aiming for that initially though.

Two nights ago,my ex-gf called me out of the blue for no reason.I had not talked to her for two months or so because one,I was pissed off with her for some stuff she did two months back and secondly,I was determined to get her out of my life.All the time when I've been her with and when things were over,I'd always tried to be there for her and support and help her in everything but I've had just enough enough.Even to be friends,you need mutual respect.Which I think I scarely get.Half the time that I've known her,she has spent it apologising to me for various things she did.I didn't think I want to continue in that vein forever.I am not a masochist,you know.

Anyway,I was seriously pondering whether to return her call or not because she had called my mobile at 1 something and I was asleep.As my mobile wasn't in my room,I didn't hear the call at all.I finally decided that I'd call her last night just in case she was in trouble again(she's always in trouble...one form or another).Well,guess what...she called me to apologise to me what she did two months back.Fine.She wanted to know how I was getting on.Fine.She told me she has a new boyfriend.Good.Finally.I will not elaborate on the conversation but basically I tried to cut it short,after knowing that she's not in trouble and therefore does not need my help and all she wanted to do was apologise(again...).She too asked me to call her whenever I can and that we'd always be friends,right?RIIIIGHT.

I don't need this.I seriously don't.I don't need friend who keep apologising to me because they knew they hurt me.Is this what friends are for?She considers me as a friend because well,I think I've always been nice(except last night,she said I was a little distant.I was like"no lah,it's just been some time since we talked and I'm sleepy")to her so I'd make an ok friend.But her to me?Friends is about give and take,about respect.I wish she'd show me some of that before saying what she did.

I am so tired of this,so very very tired of this crap and bull...that's why I need to shut out some people from my life...even though they still want to be part of my world.I wonder why?I do realise it will be a hurtful thing to do to people to shut them out and with time and wisdom,I might look back and regret my decisions but well,I really don't need certain things.I am drained as I am emotionally by some people,the same people who want in.I can't find a good reason why I'd want to...or be able to accommodate them into my life without becoming superficial and patronising.And that's the last thing.I either care or I don't.I don't want to pretend to care.That's a lot worse than not caring.At least to me.

There's gonna be some trouble
A whole house will need re-building
And everyone I love in the house
Will recline on an analyst's couch quite soon
Your father cracks a joke
And in the usual way
Empties the room

Tell all of my friends
I don't have too many
Just some rain-coated lovers' puny brothers

Dallow, spicer, pinkie, cubitt
Rush to danger
Wind up nowhere
Patric doonan - raised to wait
I'm tired again
I've tried again, and

Now my heart is full
Now my heart is full
And I just can't explain
So I won't even try to

Dallow, spicer, pinkie, cubitt
Every jammy stressford poet
Loafing oafs in all-night chemists
Loafing oafs in all-night chemists

Underact - express depression
Ah, but bunnie I loved you
I was tired again
I've tried again, and

Now my heart is full
Now my heart is full
And I just can't explain
So I won't even try to

Could you pass by ?
Could you pass by ?
Could you pass by ?
Could you pass by ?
Could you pass by ?

Oh ...Now my heart is full
Now my heart is full
And I just can't explain
So ... slow ...
Slow ... slow ... slow ... slow ... slow ...

Monday, October 25, 2004
What I Mean Is...

The weekend was quite uneventful for me.As usual,I was holed up at home breeding spiders and cobwebs.Which suits me fine because it's but a matter of time before I become the finest spider breeder in the world,not forgetting the world's foremost expert on spiders.No no no,the weekend was spent watching TV and movies at home.I rented a few movies to watch,one of which was the Zhang Yimou epic Hero 英雄,I could now see why Jean Grey liked the movie.It's one very well-shot flick.Gorgeous in fact.I especially liked the way different colours were used to represent different things.Red for passion,yellow for fury,blue for chivalry,white for purity and green for bamboo.Or at least I thought so.Unless Zhang just wanted to shoot using different colours for the heck of it.I think he's a better director than that.But what I do glean is that Hero is actually a very nationalistic movie.I shall not elaborate.Watch the movie and tell me if it isn't.

Another interesting thing I got from Hero was the Qin warriors' skill with the bow and arrow.They're devastatingly good at it.The way they shoot the arrow is like a intense swarm of locusts coming down on you and that's no way of escaping,there isn't any gaps at all to avoid the projectiles...that is,unless you are a very old man writing calligraphy...somehow then,the arrows never hit you.Don't understand why.The old-man must have force-field or something.Oh,more importantly,asI was watching the Qin warriors rain arrows down on Zhao,I was left wondering,how useful these guys would be in Lord Of The Rings.It's too bad they don't have Qin warriors or the battle will be over before it even started.Who needs elves,bring me Qin warriors!

Just another detour...the US elections is now a week away and things are intensifying.Certainly,the tours and the endorsements by various editorials seem to be playing greater significance.Kerry seems to be gaining an edge in endorsements but not in actual support.Weird to say that.But one thing that makes me uneasy is that editorials that support Kerry focuses less on his credentials and ideas than Bush's weaknesses.When a victory is dependent not on your strengths but on your oppnents weaknesses,I find that a worrying sign.If there's anything worse,it's that despite all the weaknesses that Bush has shown,Kerry still can't gain a credible lead in polls.Now...that's being charisma-challenged.

Ok ok ok,I promise to start doing something productive before the end of the day but anyway,what I really mean is...I won't be doing anything for the rest of the day.

From the above sentence,you should get inkling of an idea on what this post is all about.What people really mean when they say something else.Reading between the lines and stuff like that.Actually,I mean just me...I can't say if my inner thoughts exactly reflect the thoughts of others so I can't speak for others.Well,here goes...

When I say:
Interesting...

What I mean is:
Stuuuuuuuuuuuuupid.What a weird/stupid thing to say.


When I say:
Erm,let me think about it first.

What I mean is:
Wah liao,how do I say no to this fellow?I need some time to think of an excuse to fend off this fellow.


When I say:
I'd start work tomorrow.

What I mean is:
I'd start work this week.Unless it's a Thursday,then I start work next Monday.


When I say:
Ok ok ok

What I mean is:
Better start agreeing to get things moving otherwise this fellow keeps talking about the same thing over and over and over and over...


When I say:
I'd be there in 15 minutes time.

What I mean is:
I'd be LUCKY to be there in 15 minutes time.But you got to wait for me anyway so bah...I am just being courteous.


When I say:
I should be going...

What I mean is:
No way in hell or heaven am I going,I'd just drag and drag and tua you last minute.


When I say:
Why?

What I mean is:
Why,you prick...


When I say:
That looks nice.

What I mean is:
I really didn't notice it actually nor may I necessarily think it's nice but since you seem so eager to highlight it to me,it must be important to you so I'd just make you feel good.


When I say:
Hey,long time no see,jow have you been man?When was the last time we met?How is everybody?Did you meet up?

What I mean is:
Oh dear,I really cannot remember your name and who you are.Quick,give me clues so that I can remember...dates we last occupied space together,mutual friends,ANYTHING!!!


When I say:
I am asking you out as a friend lah,want to catch up with you...

What I mean is:
Damn,I like you but don't know how to ask you out.So I got to cook up some lame excuses like catching up and stuff like that.As a friend?Bah...


When I say:
I like you.

What I mean is:
I like you.


See?Certain things I say,I still mean it absolutely 100% face value.So I am not so fake and deceptive after all...muahahahah...

Butterfly Effect

The new week is upon us again and oh dear,today is the last of the really good days when Rogue is not around and we are allowed some semblance of a free reign in the office.Hoorah.Enjoy it while it lasts.I think I'd have to start doing some research and data-storage work starting today because otherwise it's going to be 临时抱佛脚 again.But that'd start in the afternoon after I am done with this...see,I set my priorities,even though they are dead wrong.

I went shopping for my mum(for,not with) at NTUC on Sunday as she needed me to buy some stuff for her and as I was waiting the snaking queue(it's incredible how every weekend,the queue at each NTUC checkout counter become 30 strong while during weekdays,you'd be hard pressed to find a total of 3 at all counters.Where did these people come from?),I had nothing better to do than look at razors,which were displayed conveniently near the counters.I noticed something which I thought was worded weirdly.

One of the groups of items on display was the Schtick(nice name,imagine the slogan:Give yourself some Schtick)Extra II disposable razors.On the packaging,the manufacturer had the good sense to type this piece of information:"Sensitive with Vitamin E".What's this statement supposed to mean?After adding vitamin E to the strip,the razor becomes sensitive?So it carefully avoids cutting you?Or it emits a "ooo ooo aaa aaa"sound whenever someone gets cut?Ok ok,I know that it meant that the vitamin E in the strip would soothe one's sensitive skin but hey,not everyone knows what vit E does.We're not all nutritionists you know.

Actually,all I want out of a razor is that it shaves cleanly.That's it.So Gillette,Schtick or whatever company out there,just make a razor that shaves well and have blades that lasts longer.There's a recent Gillette advertisement that asks customers to enjoy a smoother shave by changing their blades more often.They even give a 20% discount.Hahah.Those jokers.Do they know how expensively they price their blades?I'd rather shave until the blades go blunt than bleed through the wallet for a smoother shave.Smoothness is overrated.And who cares about having vit E or say,aloe vera on the strip?What am I supposed to do with it?Lick it to get my daily dose of vit E?Run it all over my face to let the aloe vera strip freshen my skin?Imagine the marketing:Get a shave and get healthy too.

Oh,I still can't go into the main subject yet before mentioning something I found amusing.Last week,Jean Grey told Jubilee and me an amusing tale about Wolverine.It seemed that Wolverine and JG went to a meeting with our 2nd God and some external parties and that during the meeting,2nd God pointed to Wolfy and said that"Hey,this is the man who is our **** and has access to ****."According to JG,who was sitting close to or next to him,Wolverine was suppressing the faintest hint of a gleeful smile at the attention and recognition given to him and his,erm,prowess.

I guess the guy must really be on cloud nine hundred and ninety-nine at that particular moment.Congrats to him,I am so happy that he's happy.But the whole episode does nothing more than amuse me.I can't believe someone can get high over something so 鸡毛蒜皮.It's almost laughable.JG mentioned that Wolverine seemed to relish being recognised to be in some kind of power,he probably postively revels in it.Fair play to him.I just have a word of warning for him.

The so-called power he possesses isn't really his to begin with.It's not his exclusive right.The only reason why it currently is is because he seems reluctant to share certain things with JG which should not be the case.JG and Wolverine are supposed to be a team.And that means working together and sharing information.Witholding something to use as your trumpcard is churlish.But I guess it's how society works.Make yourself indispensable at all costs,with exclusive skills and/or resources that others do not possess.Wolfy will do well to remember though that if he is ever to lose this exclusiveness(of resources,not skills because seriously,most of his skill sets are borderline average at best,that is,besides data management...and we are not a data management department),he'd have nothing to offer besides a prodigious workrate.And a prodigious workrate isn't a skill set.

Another person I'd like to mention is Banshee again.Banshee has joined JG and Wolverine's team and sometime last week or before,he went to JG's desk(when the news first broke that Rogue wanted him to join JG and Wolfy's team)and told her pointedly that he's not intereste din joining the tea,to not depend on him to do any work and that he doesn't want to maintain databases...etc.The prick.Would he have the guts to tell Wolverine the same thing?

N.O.

No.

Jubilee and my take is that he's trying to tell JG that if she needed help with anything,she'd have to look elsewhere.He'd take care of his own arse and/or anyuthing that Rogue or Wolverine might ask him to do.So it's "JG,good luck,take care,I don't care about you" for him.It's our take so it might not be true.But I hate this kind of attitude where you set up stall to deflect work from you the moment you know work is coming...and you direct it at the easiest person to target.For me,if work comes and you have to do it,just bite the bullet and do it.Nobody wants additional responsibilities but when it comes,you simply do not shun it.It's irresponsible.

Ok,I finally am going into my main topic.The past Saturday,I finally managed to catch the Takeshi Kaneishiro sci-fi flick Returner after countless times missing it.Mind you,I had to give up my EPL match for it(Spurs vs Bolton.Lucky I gave it a miss.My team lost)and I wasn't disappointed.Returner is a good movie with a very good lead but I'm not going into the movie.I am more interested in its concept.Time travel.Basically,a young girl travelled back in time to prevent a war against aliens from materialising.She succeeded.What interested me was the moment she did,she started faded away.Later,it conspired she travelled back in time to save Kaneishiro from pre-destined death.

Of course,as with any time travel flick,there is a paradox to the plot.If the girl can stopped the war,it'd mean that the prior version of her never existed,unless there is now two separate versions of reality.And the fact that Kaneishiro is saved,instead of being dead.It's likely to trigger what is known as the butterfly effect which would cause even more changes in future events.These plotholes don't make sense...but who watches a sci-fi for sense?

The butterfly effect is part of the chaos theory,an idea advocated by Edward Lorenz in the 60s.Basically,the chaos theory proposes that systems - no matter how complex they may be - rely upon an underlying order(which means things are not random) and that very simple or small systems and events can cause very complex behaviors or events.A famous example of how the butterfly effect would work is in the famous Ray Bradbury short,A Sound Of Thunder,where entire civilisations and languages were changed because a single butterfly was killed.

I think all of us have some regrets in our lifes or feel that if we could turn back time,there'd be certain things we'd do differently if we had the chance.But in view of the butterfly effect,things could turn out vastly different from the current reality if we had altered things.There are also certain things that I think I'd like to do differently if I have had the chance so I'm going to postulate how differently things might have turned out...

Event 1:
I'd really would have liked to have stayed in TJ with my secondary school friend pals.And if I had changed my course choices accordingly,I'd have stayed there easily.But if I had done that...

Effect
First,I'd never have met my TPJC friends and won't really get the chance to interact with people from neighbourhood schools.You know TJ,it's all KC,TKGS,St Pat's,Dunman brainies down there.But my studies would have definitely improved because it's such a competitive environment(I am one of those types who works better when there is external stimuli or motivation...in other words,no initiative).I might have earned a scholarship...who knows.I might possibly have taken up law and become extremely successful and then headhunted.

But then I'd be tempted to join my friends in all that they did...including joining the Temasek Titans.Alluding to a previous post,Dan might then have found me attractive as well(besides Jon).He might have started chasing me and woken up non-existant gay tendencies in me and I end up having a boyfriend instead of a girlfriend...which then,would lead to my mum disowning me because she can't bear having a gay son and driving me out of the house.

The civil service didn't condone gays then so despite having a scholarship,I'd be forced out.I'd have to go into the private sector while becoming an activist for gay rights.I'm probably join PLU and become an active member.Imagine I'd never know Christ because I'd never have met my Business Christian friends in university because I'd be in law.

Conclusion:
Gay homeless disowned activist lawyer.Boy,am I glad I didn't stay in TJ or what...

Event 2:
There is this girl in my TPJC class called Wendy whom I really liked.I chased her briefly before inexplicably I gave up.Pardon me,I was young then.But she's the only one whom I can't help but feel might have been the one.Why?Because she's the only I am incertain about the outcome because I never really knew her that well.The others I have liked or been with,I am certain we cannot make it.I'd sure have liked to cahse her until the end of the universe and back until I get her.

Effect:
I'm a one-woman man so I'd end up with her.I'd still make all the same choices as now and wind up going to the same stupid faculty and doing the same stupid job.The only difference is that I'd be either married or close to marrying by now(Wendy must be married by now,I have no idea) which means I'd be saving up and borrowing loads of money for the wedding and house and blowing it all in one single event...and she might possibly want to kids too.

With her around,I doubt I'd spend a lot of time with my drinking buddies cum childhood friends.But I wouldn't have money to go for drinks anyway...

Conclusion
In-debted poor penniless married civil servant.Hey,there's no difference from now...besides the married part and with a lot less drinking mates.Doesn't sound appealing.

Event 3
I really wish I worked harder in university rather than go swimming at the pool,playing squash and just serving the church.Actually serving the church has nothing to do with me being an average student but I think I'd never have taken a leader's role in VCF and worked in two functional groups in campus...church and VCF.It took up a huge chunk of my time but actually I don't really regret it one bit.I'd like to serve,just not as a leader.I don't have the qualities to be one,that I thought was always clear to me but I was kind of forced to be one because there wasn't anyone else who'd do it.

Another thing I would have done is to look for a job three months before I graduate.I think I'd have ended up in the private sector then.And it'd probably ahve been a bank job or something like that.I could still have wound up a civil servant of course but let's the other way

Effect
Well,having started in the private sector,I'd probably find myself retrenched during the economic downturn,especially considering the fact that I have a total lack of iniative and drive(something you can get away with in civil service).But it'd be hard to find a job in the current job climate and I'd be forced to work part-time.But my dad still wouldn't be working anyway so I'd be under trememdous pressure.These financial issues will weigh heavily on my mind.I'd start suffering from depression and will have to be admitted into IMH for medication and help.My dad still wouldn't be working despite all that so the problem is never solved...and my condition deterioates.

Conclusion:
IMH inmate who thinks monopoly money is real money.My mum would be working her arse off trying to support the family...finally,my brother learns to be sensible.My dad is still not working...

Geeez...I guess there is nothing I want to change after all....And the horrible part is...I wrote more nonsense than I did on the main topic...howz that?!

PS:The Butterfly Effect is,of course,not that simple.Neither is the chaos theory.Don't let me mislead all of you,Einsteins...

Friday, October 22, 2004
Come Back Home Huang Na!

Unlike my other posts which go into grotesque lengths,this post will be relatively short and concise,in comparison.But that's because it's about a serious matter...here I go.

It's distressing when a kid goes missing and is not heard from or seen in days or weeks.It gets even more so when it's your kid we are talking about.But how many of us have ever had to suffer such anxiety,pain and heartache?Not many.So there won't be too many people who'd understand how Mdm Huang Shuying must feel now.I don't pretend to either.I can only sympathise and to say I can empathise as well will be a rather blatant lie.That wouldn't stop me from praying for her and her child who's gone missing since Oct 10 though.And I am praying for the two of them.If you have the time,set aside a little time for them as well.

Little Huang Na,a very cute little Chinese girl who's here to study,has been missing since Oct 10.It's Oct 22 today so it's been 12 days since anyone heard from her.Her story has apparently gripped the nation and these have been countless good Samaritans who have stepped forward to help her or another.There is a lot of good in Singapore,it's just funny that it always takes "big" unfortunate events like this to bring it out.If only we could show such kindness on a more consistent basis daily.This will be a much better place to live in.But that's not the main point here that I want to get across.It's more important we pray that Huang Na be found soon.

I understand from reports that a Malaysian man has been identified as one who can help in the investigations and to locate the child.Basically,I think that means he's a suspect(?)For whatever reasons or ways that he might be linked to the disppearance of the little girl,I hope that he be found soon to further the search.Has a picture of the guy been released?Maybe it should be to alert the public to the location of this guy.It'd certainly make the search a lot easier.

I am a bit fearful,to be honest.I read in the Straits Times,that the last time such a big case of missing child occurred was in 1986,when two kids,then 12-year-old schoolmates Keh Chin Ann and Toh Hong Huat,vanished. They were never found, and are now considered legally dead.Hunag Na has not been seen or heard from for 12 days now.For such a bright child,it's a very long time.And if everybody is aware of her disppearance,it is extremely strange that she has not been spotted as yet.I am not going to jump to speculations as to what has happened or is happening.I don't want to write them out because I don't want to believe what might happen.

So little Huang Na,please come home now.Wherever you are.Your mum has been crying and looking for you all over the place.She has been greatly distressed by your absence.How could she expect that after a short trip back home to China,she would suddenly lose you for the moment?It must be the worst nightmare of any mother come true.

And little Huang Na,a whole nation is urging and hoping for you to come home.So please do.And put your mum and our minds at ease.

Uniquely Singapore

This morning(or more precisely last night but the news only appeared on the broadsheets this morning),I was greeted by a devastating piece of news that affected 90% of guys on the island...YES,ESPN 来阴的 and suddenly announced that they'd increase the subscription price of the sports group channels by some 80%.Of course,ESPN had hinted at such a increase a couple of months back but still,when the final announcement came,it hit me like a tsunami.Wham bam slam.I am all dishevelled and distressed.I am not the only one of course.

The papers reported a whole range of viewers bitching about the price increase but curiously,none of them decided to drop their subscription despite the price increase.They just went moaning,moaning and moaning.Losers.Cowards.Moaners.Hmmm,not unlike me then.It's always comforting to know you're not alone.And like them,I won't drop my subscription anyway.I'd just succumb to th demands of the evil corporations.We Singaporean men are just a bunch of weaklings after all.You can hold us ransom to anything if you threaten to cut our EPL subscription.Seriously,girls,try it on your men."I want that $5000 diamond ring...or else,I cut your EPL subscription."They're drop down on their knees and beg you to have mercy.You'd get that diamond ring.Trust me.

I won't talk about ESPN more because I had written about them in a previous post.But for subscribers of cable TV,I want to bring notice to you of this series of advertisements for EPSN (more precisely EPL) that showcased a series of peevish men(with lovely wives no less)who are absolute slaves to EPL.One showed a guy lying in bed with his lovely wife in a similarly lovely negligee(the wife,not the guy)who acted like an infantile jerk when his wife hid the remote from him.He flipped flopped in bed so much,the wife finally relented and handed him the remote.Another advertisement showed this fat ugly guy on a sofa who threw tantrums at his lovely petite wife with gorgeous tanned skin because she had hid the remote from him too.Despite her best attempts to pacify him,that guy acted like a total jerk unless the understanding wife too relented and gave the remote to the idiot,who then acted like a total infantile watching his favourite Arsenal score a goal.For the first advert,I have only one thing,this guy must have no sex life with his wife.In bed with a beauty in a negligee and all he wants is to watch an England football match?!Is he a 太监 or what?As for the second advertisement,I thought the advert clearly showed that the wife was working and probably needed some peace to work and so hid the remote to prevent the guy from switching on the set and blasting it at volume 50.Well,the understanding guy,after getting his remote,decided to watch his match at precisely volume 50.Jerk jerk jerk jerk jerk.Girls,if you have such a boyfriend or husband,please dump them.And if you look anything like those 2 girls in the adverts,please come to me.

Three paragraphs of writing rubbish later,I'm going to go back to talking about being uniquely Singapore.This was,of course,an advertising campaign to attract tourists into Singapore to visit our fabulous(I do love Singapore,it's my home,you know).There was some hoohah when some advertising guru from HK commented that "Uniquely Singapore" says zilch about Singapore.Oh really?Talk about HK's campaign then.It went about using this "吃了就买，买了再吃"(something like that lah)tagline.Ok,it's about HK being a shopping and eating paradise but I thought it also meant HK will turn you into a pig who only knows how to eat and shop because there's nothing else to do there.And a shopping/eating paradise?Sure or not?HK is the only place which sells product samples to consumers.I think the word to describe HK shopping should be rip-off.As for food,ok lah,fair enough.

But still,all that hoohah has made me think about what's unqiue in Singapore,something we can use to sell to toursist who come here...erm,couldn't think of too many unique point so here I go...

FOOD
Can't go wrong with that.I think we have some stuff very unqiuely Singapore where we are the best in this kind of stuff.Hainanese chicken rice,curry puffs,pandan cakes...erm.Seriously,I can't think of anything else that Malaysia isn't better at churning out than us.Their bak kut tae is easily better than ours.Go to KL to know what I'm talking about.Laksa?Maybe,because Penang laksa is a different dish altogether so can't compare.Cha Kway Teow?Malaysia's one actually much better.In truth,with the closing down of old hawker centres,we don't have a lot of good hawkers left anymore.You have to go to the older ones to find good food.Even then,our standards have steadily declined with more and more food stalls approaching that dreaded foodcourt standard.

Oh,by the way,I don't know if all you guys know this but there are separate tourist and non-tourist sections at Newton Circus.If you don't want to get ripped-off,eat at the non-tourist section.How to tell the difference?The non-tourist section tables have NO numbers on them and the stall vendors won't approach you to buy from their stalls.From what I know,the tourist section is out in the open while the NT section is under the roofs.Check out the tables before you sit next time.

Oh,having said all that,there really isn't anything unque about Singapore food...not much lah.Next point.

MERLION
Erm,to tell the truth,that's nothing unqiue about the Merlion.The only thing unique about it is that it shows that our government will invent fictional myths just to bluff tourists.What in the world is a merlion?Brainchild of STB?It's not even any symbol of a national identity.How do you say that to a foreigner?"I identify with the merlion because it has unqiye capabilities,it can swim swiftly while mauling people underwater."Right.but of course,this makes us unique...we are the only country who can keep inventing myths to keep the tourists dumbfounded.Let's setup the Mysterious Flying Birdman 鸟人 statue at SDP headquarters and the Struggling Office Boy monument at Hougang Centre.For the SOB(oh damn...co-incidence,this acronym is exactly the same as "son of...")monument,I'd be responsible for inventing the myth myself.In 877,there lived a dashing Brad Pitt lookalike at the current site with Hougang Mall stands.He was a great man who knew everything and fought like Achilles.He slew tigers with his bare hands and romanced his women like Casanova.He was 1.90m tall and had a lovely physique like...do you realise the problem here yet?Hougang Mall could very well be built on reclaimed land,which means SOB cannot live there at BC 877.But the details about SOB are fairly accurate though.

SINGAPORE GIRL
Actually not the airline girl with her ten-inch thick make-up,peek-a-boo sarong kebaya and gentle smile directly only towards ang-mohs.I am talking about the average girl on the street because they're already very attractive.Girls,you have no idea how pretty you really are.A marketing campaign should just be centred on all the girls living on this island as they are lovely enough.So use it for the nation and earn the foreign dollars for us all.That's sexist,you say.What about the local guys,why can't they do their part and attract women tourists?Are you crazy?Please look at the ESPN/EPL Starhub ad to see what the average local guy is like.

NEWATER PLANT
Make this a tourist attraction...show them we drink our own piss and while they are here,they'd drink our piss too.This could be as part of an eco-tour you know.We then bring them to Chek Jawa,the only remaining piece of swamp we have and also the area where Joi Chua filmed her MTVs.They can do the exact twirling actions she did in her videos.There's also area D where they can pick up used blank rounds and oh,the zoo.And 小桂林 too?Erm...right.

SHAKE A HAND WITH MM SESSIONS

Our MM is so famous throughout the world,he should be a tourist attraction.We can arrange a special booth at Takashimaya where he sits all day shaking hands with people.It's be a once-in-a-lifetime thing and it won't come cheap.Each 5 second shake costs $50.Exceed that and we behave exactly like Starhub,we do per-second billing charge,each second $15.Imagine the revenue he'd generate,it'd be like the sixth biggest industry in Singapore by itself(the other five being bio-medical,electronis,shipping and logistics,banking and financial services and VCD piracy).And the startup cost is low.and our beloved should have plenty of time to perform such a job since he's only the MM.There's the PM and SM before him who can cover his duties in the government.

I think after all these suggestions,it can be established that I'm not much help to the government generating ideas to pump up tourism.I'm quite useless at that actually and everybody can see why.No creativity.Typical civil servant.It's little wonder that I'm doing other stuff in the civil service instead.Like writing blogs.Unless they wanna market my blog too...?I can take very little commission you know...

Thursday, October 21, 2004
Say Something Banal

I spent a huge amount of my office time yesterday amusing Iceman,Dazzler and Prof X during lunch or during a training session,which we skipped.Most of it was spent talking about crap actually.During lunch,when I had a stomachache and didn't go out to have lunch with the rest of the X-Men team,I spent about 1 hour in the pantry(until 1:30)chatting with Dazzler,Iceman and Prof X.The topics we talked about ranged from strawberries,which Iceman bought from a vendor in the canteen but which tasted crap to spray-on stocking,which I say I would spray on my face one day when I'd need to rob a bank.If that day comes.I also had a question,if they had spray-on stocking,would they have spray-on fishnet stocking too?Well,later in the day,Jubilee suggested using a stencil.Great idea.

That first paragraph amounted to nothing actually,I was just trying to fill up space.But I spent a lot of time talking to Dazzler and discovered a few things about her.First,she is one year older than me.I never knew that.Second,she's a Piscean,just like me.I don't think I knew that either.Third,she said she'd stay here for another 3 or 4 years before moving on.I definitely didn't know that.Dazzler has become more subdued now as a person but compared to us,she's still like "a flickering candle" trying to light up a place(the office)that is totally dark.That's a bit like Jubilee.What some of the Office X-Men call "in denial".But without them,life will be a lot less colourful.

Our boss,Rogue,just came back unexpectedly today when she's supposed to be on leave.I have no idea why she's back.Frankly,I don't want to know.I'd rather she be away but her presence doesn't mean much to me anyway.As long as she stays in her hole,leaves us alone and munches on her daily diet of report papers,she's happy and I'm happy too.But Banshee is back.His presence immediately unmistakeable and unmissable,punctuated by his irritating way of talking.He sounds a lot more insincere,know-it-all and cocky than you can ever imagine.Something you have to experinec for yourself.

Prof X went for an interview with a bank yesterday late last night.Apparently,the boss who interviewed him simply demoed for him the work he has to take up(without any confidentiality)and well,seemed to imply that long late hours are required(surprise,surprise huh?)Prof X,being the model civil servant,seemed aghast at this suggestion.Work long hours?That's against the civil service code of conduct.And it seems that the boss also suggested that he come back on weekends to learn the ropes or if he wants to leave early during weekdays,to work on weekends as well.So of course Prof X told me that he is "considering"the offer the bank will put up and only a really good offer

All the stuff that I wrote so far has nothing to do with my topic but they are already pretty banal so far.So you can imagine how bored I am.And maybe how boring as well.Anyway,my topic has more to do with the banal greetings that we assault each other with every day.I was at the lift lobby this morning going up to my office when two,erm,workers,who know each other(I don't know them),greeted each other with the all-too-common "How?" and for no reason,I suddenly just thought to myself,"How what?!"What kind of a greeting is "How?"

In reality,we all do banal greetings one time or another.In fact,greetings are probably supposed to be banal anyway but wah liao,sometimes I really wish don't have to start a conversation by asking stupid stuff.I do,in fact,try to do away with it as often as possible but hey,life is hard.Sometimes,it's unavoidable.Well,let me see...I am in fact losing my train of thought because Jubilee is disrupting my thoughtflow with a series of emails.But I want to list out a number of inept openings we always use...for instance,"How?"

I never use "How?" myself but I've seen people use it before.Usually my reaction to a question like that is "Huh?" and that'd at least force the person asking the question to be more specific.Seriously,"how" what?Are you asking about my work?My lovelife?My aching back?My mood?What are you talking about?I don't mind a "How are you?" or "How's you been?" because somehow it's more polite although essentially it's the same question as "How?"

I have had people asking me,"How's your weekend?"and that I also think is an inept question.Weekend then weekend lah.What's the big deal?I think people,for one reason or another,seem to envision weekends with exciting escapades or sporst or whatever but come on,this is Singapore.Whatever answer we are going to give is just going to provoke a non-reactional "Riiiight" from anyone.What can you do in Singapore seriously?I went to watch a movie,I went shopping,I went out with my boy/girlfriend.Islept at home the whole day and stuffed myself like a pig.I went wakeboarding and broke my nose.It's the same things we do over and over again.Singapore is too small to do a lot of things.Have you ever heard anyone say "I went mountain-climbing over the weekend."?

Of course,the clincher of all these "How" questions is the formidable "How is everything?" question.What in the world do you expect me to answer?I usually give them my usual "Huh???" look at them but what'd you expect me to say otherwise?My walk with God is going great although on Thursday,I tend to feel rebelious.The bathroom in my master bedroom is leaking badly and I haven't had time to get the plumber round to fix the damn thing.Oh,my boss hates me...wow,man!How's everything?Good choice of question.I think someone could make our lifes a lot easier by just asking us straight..."what's the meaning of life?"At least,then our long meandering answers could be fun to listen to.

Anyway,my office just migrated to XP and the whole damn system works at a snail's pace right now.I could be blogging a lot less from now on.You know what's the real problem though?They've removed almost all control of the system from our hands so that we can't install,change or remove antything.That includes the cacahe in the PC.Big Brother is watching and he'd whip my butt real hard.It's just too bad.I have a very firm butt.

Having said all that,I do recognise banal greetings is a form of courtesy.What else can you possibly start with?"You look good!"?Using it on a guy,he'd think you're really being fake.Using it on a girl,she'd think you're trying to pick her up.But that's not the point.We all,sometimes,need to pretend to be interested in someone or something even if we couldn't care less.And greetings take care of that part.Just get it out of the way.Of course,that's not always the case because we do want to know if anything "big" has just occurred in someone's life and we weren't aware of it.That's why I did use the word "sometimes" as a qualifier,you know.

Oh,anyway,this blog about banality is banality itself exemplified.We can't run away from these greetings so I am justing being whiny about it.Pardon me and my idiosyncrasies,I am a Piscean after all.And Pisceans are weird people.Very weird people indeed.

Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Kill The Planet

This morning as I was sitting in the bus on my way to work and minding my own lousy business,I saw something and thought this was possibly(?) the first time this had happened to me.I saw a relatively dark skin-toned Indian girl board the bus and thought that this particular lass was actually really lovely.She isn't the North Indian style fair type like I said but neither does she possess the Psylocke/Dazzler type of skin tone(that is quite dark).This girl was very slim and well was dressed in normal executive clothes.Those sleeveless types.Her hair was straight...unless most Indians who usually have wavy tresses and well,her eyes are quite magnificent.Large and pretty.Weird why I want to mention.Maybe I'm trying to prove a point that skin colour doesn't matter to me.

The TNP yesterday had reported on Cameroonian club Planet FC and the various lies and half-truths they had told to try to get into the S-League.Today's edition of the Today tabloid further added fuel to the controversy that Planet is generating.Let me list the various fabrications and half-truths that the club had told.

First off,when they came to Singapore,they had stated that they were from the second division.I think any tom,dick or harry would assume they mean the second divison of the Cameroonian natioanl league or something right?No,after some probing,they confessed that they are in fact a third division team.And not just any third division team.They are a team playing in some unkown amateur league in some province in Cameroon.Translated into Singapore terms,I think they probably play in void decks.

Second thing,they had used some formal authorisation letter from the Cameroonian FA authorising them to play here.But a check with the CFA by a journalist reviewed that the letter was a fake.Written in Englsih,the CFA said that one of the officials who "endorsed" the letter did not even understand English.Hahahah.Planet,in their defence,said that it was an issue of money(are they implying corruption,which is a serious charge?)and that the CFA was trying to get them to go back there.That there was jealousy against them and that if they had not gotten papers,how could they get out of Cameroon to play?Oh really?let's get to the next point.

Planet had based their credentials on the fact that they won the Thai Queen's Cup,a quite prestigious tournament,earlier this year.Problem is...the tournamnet has not even started yet.Planet then clarfied that they had in fact won the PRINCESS CUP(from Queen to Princess,what a demotion!),an amateur tournamnet and blamed the tournamnet officials for not giving them the right name.My question is,as a professional outfit,you don't even know the name of a competition you're participating in?Do they know that it's very laughable.Connecting it to the previous point,taking part in foreign amateur tournaments does not require a team to obtain permission to travekl abroad.Because it's merely amateur,does one think maateur officials would take the trouble to research on the credentials of a participating team?

Frankly,I won't even talk about the financial vaibility or stability of such a dubious outfit but it seems that despite all these loopholes,the FAS still went on to host this "team" for two weeks,covering all their expenses and is thinking of allowing them to join the S-League.Can someone seriously tell me if this organisation isn't run by morons or what?And it's a national body!Says a lot that a bunch of idiots are presiding over a body that holds millions in their coffers and produces national teams that lose 0-7 to small Arab nations.In fact,they can't even market their own league right after pumping millions into it.How terrible.And imagine how the sponsors must feel.It's like throwing money away...or burning it to start a campfire.That's not even my main grouse though.

I don't understand this fascination with getting mediocre foreign teams to participate in our league so as to "increase public interest" and "improve the standard of the league".For the former,one is assuming that they are trying to attract expatriates.Problem is,one must assume that these expatriates are blindly loyal to some form of nationalism and support teams from their country through thick and thin,with NO regards to what crap the team is.Are theyr taking spectators for fools?People can see for themselves.You see a lousy team,why would you want to support it?in fact,they'd probably stay away because they might feel it's not a fair representation of the standards their teams are capabale of producing.That it's a disgrace.

As for "improving the competition",how do you improve a competition by introducing foreign teams that lose consistently to local teams?Improve what,may I ask?The looks department is it?Because the Japanese,with their platinum bleached blond hair,look more like fashion models.None of the foreign teams so far have done anything to improve the league one bit.They only reinforce the fact that the local league has no identity to speak of.And by the way,one really shouldn't call it the S-League then,it should be called the UN-League.

I just get the idea that it's a local malady that we are always so fascinated with foreign talent and think that they are extremely good and all that when in truth,they are hardly,if no better,than local talent.In fcat,sometimes,they are worse than local workers.But no,we insist on paying them good wages to come here to work and deny similarly good local workers of their chance.I can't understand why.

And this fascination with foreign talent will ultimately cost us.I am not being xenophobic to suggest this but think about it,why should foreign talents pledge any special or particular allegiance to Singapore?Because they have lived here for a long time and feel at home here.Don't kid me.In their hearts,they still feel more a part of where they came from than they are Singaporeans or local PRs.They may be here,some of their friends and their immeidate family.But eveything else is back home elsewhere.And that'd be closer to their hearts.

As for Singaporeans...why would we want to be second-class citizens in our own backyard when we can be second-class citizens in other much bigger countries?At least there'd be space for us to move around.

Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Gay Men

What a strange topic for me to want to talk about but I can't resist,can I?No I can't.The topic of gay men or more precisely gay encounters came during last Friday's drinking and makan session with my secondary school cum university pals.Yeah,these are the guys who went to exactly the same secondary school class(out of the 4, 3 of them even attended the same priamry school as I did...in the same class)and some of them to the same faculty of NUS Business.Let's just say that we basically grew up together,watched football together and drunk barrels of alcohol together as well.Great bunch of buddies.And some of them...seemingly undeniable gay magnets as well.

Anyway,before I continue further,let me talk about something else first.I was tempted to write another post about this but felt that what I really had to say was too short for me to want to write a separate title.So it's getting stuck here.I even thought about the topic title I'd have given it."Everybody's Marrying".Named after the Keane song "Everybody's Changing".I think about this kind of minute stuff before I write.Even if it's nonsense.The title of this would-be post tells you mcuh about what I'd have written.

I went out with some of my army pals for dinner yesterday and one of them dropped a bombshell on me.Yes,he's getting married.Next January.That's about three months from now.You know how fast that is?Fact is I didn't even know that he had a girlfriend.Last I went to reservist with him during March,he never mentioned it to me.Ok,he told me he did tell other people and thought it would spread through some of the bigmouths in our platoon so he didn't thought about informing me personally.But anyway,that's not the matter.He's marrying after a 9 month courtship.Wow.That's fast.If it was someone like me,I wouldn't even know how much I genuinely love a person after a year,let alone spend my life with her.It just shows what a "pondering" person I am.

The topic of marriage had also came up during my Friday night drinking session with my longtime buddies.Basically all of us are single now but we were speculating who'd get married.I'd give them nicknames to facilitate writing about them.There's Ike(the hunk),Mills(the drunkard),Jon(the hardworker)and Sly(the girlfriend trophy collector).Anyway,of course,we speculated that Sly would be the one to get married first,after he's had more relationships than the rest of us put together.He disagreed.It seems as if the first person to get married is something none of us particularly desire.Weird.But it probably has to do more with the fact that we haven't even got anyone in sight to talk relationship,let alone marriage with.

After talking so much,I think I'd just put a stop and a conclusion to this short topic before embarking on the main point.I seriously think all guys my age has found that age has caught up with us and the notion of settling down is becoming more and more real and close to us.I even sense some desperation creeping in for certain people.I don't know if that includes me.If I wanted to,there is somebody I can chase quite easily but I don't think I would want to do that.Because while I may like her,I don't think she's someone I'd want or could be together with.It's simply just two different things,liking someone and being with someone.Some people knew that I was quite active in going after her some time back and asked me about it but almost as a u-turn,I've changed my mind just as quickly and stopped all advances.I just told my friends who asked me that I was lazy and didn't go after her like I should.Which is true in a certain way.They say the best way to gauge if you like someone enough is to see if you think you can go on a trip with that person alone.I guess I didn't know if I could manage that.Personally,I feel it'd be better if I didn't encumber any girl with my ponderings until I can figure myself out.

Back to the topic of gay men then.Why did a bunch of normal straight guys start talking about gay experiences in a pub on a Friday night when they are surrounded by brevies of beauties at other tables?I have no idea why but hey,we are certainly not queer although we might have been a little insensitive making gay jokes(I cracked the majority of the jokes and in all fairness i was directing it at my buddies,not at gays).To all the girls who happened to be around the 5 of us at Paulaner Brahaus(this has become something like our joint...besides Balaclava where we sometimes go as well),especially the group of 5 girls seated at the table next to ours,I say we didn't mean to be insensitive in any way...and that you girls are very cute!And well,we are certainly not queer,just that some of us have more attraction to gays than others.

Sly had started the ball rolling by asking Jon about his infamous(amongst us)encounter with a gay classmate(let's call him Dan)during his JC days and Jon,perhaps under the influence of alcohol,was happy to furnish us with the details.Jon had been good friends with Dan during his JC days when Dan would confide in Jon his life and all his secrets.Apparently,Dan came from a single parent family and his dad was never home nor around for him.He only had a sister but never had a father figure in his life.Apparently,Dan also liked to cross-dress since young,wearing women's make-up and all.Jon never suspected anything was wrong as he was close to Dan and thought that eveything was as they were because they were good friends.

However,during one PE lesson,Dan slipped a love letter into Jon's bag where he confessed his feelings for him beyond friendship.Jon was shocked.But being young and probably not best equipped to handle such things,he avoided Dan like the plague.Dan was persistent though but finally one day,Dan finally called Jon on the phone,crying and asking why Jon had avoided him.Jon proceeded to blast him over the phone.I was there when this occurred.

But things did not quieten down after that,Dan was persistent in his pursuit of Jon.Even after graduation from JC and during NS,he would call Jon up and go to his house to look for him.As Jon had told his mum about the matter,she helped Jon out whenever Dan came a-calling.But Dan never stopped.He even made a tape containing various love songs that professed his love for Jon.But all these actions never came to fruition.

Eventually,Jon met up with Dan to clear up matters between the two of them once and for all.It was then that Jon said he realised that Dan had not expected anything in return from him.He just wanted to tell Jon of his feelings and that's it.Nothing more.How true is that,I don't know.Do you chase someone so hard and not expect reciprocations?I find that almost hard to believe but maybe I'm being cynical.But seriously,no man can do so much for another person(guy or gal)without expecting anything in return.He'd want that person to at least like him or not love him back.That's just my thought.

So that's it.Sly too had his own stories and I won't go into details but it seems that there are some common threads that run in thses stories.In Sly's case,the guys were also from single parent families and lacked father figures.To them,a guy friend who trusted them was more important than any girlfriend.One of Sly's stories' protagonists was even sexually abused by his relatives.No no no,Sly wasn't the one sexually abused lah.It's one of the guys who liked him.

From the details that I heard from the various stories,there seems to be always cause-and-effect reasons that resulted in these men's gay tendencies.Things that resulted in them becoming more interested in menthan women.The lack of a father figure being an outstanding reason,seemingly at least.I once heard from a friend that gayness was something that was both nature and nurture.That people are born gay.I never bought that idea and never will.To me,I don't think God created man in such a way.Men were born to love and protect women and that's that.Eve would be pretty redundant otherwise,don't you think?

Still,I think understanding such cause-and-effects can help people to understand,if not help, gay people better and not look at them in a strange light.Of course gay people don't think they need help but I'm sure they'd at least like to be understood better.And of course,I can't colour every gay with the same brush and say all guys are necesssarily motivated by such causes and reasons.Who am I to say that?But maybe,just maybe,where counselling can help to turn a person straight again where past wrongs can be reasoned out and "corrected",we should approach that possibility.No offence to gays.Because seriously,besides their sexual orientation,gays are probably better people than most straight people are.

At the end of the day,peace man.I don't dislike gays but that doesn't mean I agree with homosexuality.I can understand but don't agree.Just like you can choose your lifestyle.But we each need to understand and maybe respect each other's choices.That may run contrary to my last paragraph I know where I advocate counselling but that's only in cases where cause and effect is obvious.So I don't think I'm wrong.

Yesteryear's Idols

Howdy folks,today's Tuesday,long time no blog.How was your weekend and Monday,folks?Enjoyed yourself?I am sure you did...,except Monday that is,when you had to crawl out of bed on a drab Monday morning and drag yourself back to work in the office.What a horrible way to begin the week.Even after 3 years of working,I can't get used to it.But for me,yesterday was made a whole lot better when Rogue suddenly took the afternoon off for medical.So yeah,effectively we won't see her for the rest of this week because she is on leave from today till Thursday.It's times like this when we know God is good.Oh,erm,what a terrible thing to say.Don't snigger.She's supposed to go on course on Friday for a satff appraisal course for supervisors but apparently she told Banshee she might be around.Weird.How can she skip the course?Unless she figures that no matter how many times she takes the course,she'd still do our appraisals the same old crappy way she always did anyway...so why waste time!Clever Rogue.

Yesterday was a horrible day for blogging.I was hopping mad yesterday.You know why?It's because an hour and a half of blogging was lost because of a bad server.Yesterday,after typing my masterpiece(which is this piece),I clicked the "Publish Post" button and the screen showed a server error message.Try as I might to go back to the previous page,I kept getting the same server error message.After a while,I decided to give up and log in again,hoping somehow the blog server would have saved the post I so carefully composed.It didn't.#$%^&*.What kind of crap is this???What did I do to deserve this???Actually I know who to blame.The bloody government of course.Everything is the government's fault.Why can't they spend more money and buy better quality servers so that employees like me can work and blog in peace???Can't they even do something simple like that right???Oh you say that they paid me to work and not to blog???Aren't they the ones who advocate work-life balance in the first place???Blame blame blame....others.

It's taken me a long time to pen this topic...and it's just taken longer because I have to retype every bloody word all over again.Also yesterday,just as I was in a blazing mood to retype,Shawdowcat suddenly plonked herself at my desk and I had to stop typing.The headaches of a secret blogging movement.I'd hope that I can finally publish this today without any glitch.Just as a precaution,I'd save the whole damn thing in Word before I click "Publish Post".Don't want the same wasted effort as yesterday.

Anyway,last Friday lunch,the X-Men had an interesting discussion about yesteryear's idols and where they are now.By yesteryear's idols,we are talking about a couple of the 80s premier 玉女.Some of you fellows born in the early 80s probably have no idea what we are talking about.Never mind,just read on about what this uncle has to say,ok?

First,let me again,go on a short detour and talk about Joi Chua 蔡淳佳.During the Friday lunchtime discussion,Iceman talkd about her and how her songs seem so 新瑶 and very different from the music climate of today which is dominated by R&B and hip-hop.He said that she was probably born in the wrong era and if she was came out during the age of 新瑶,she'd be really popular and famous.But in this present age,she might be a little out-of-place.Jean Grey told me during yesterday's lunch that her dad bought Chua's album and that the genre she dabbles in is more jazzy than folksy.Fair play.I didn't buy her album so I don't know.But either way,jazz and folk are uncommon genres in the present Chinese music scene so she's still vastly different from a lot of pop singers around.

Still,fair play to her.She has done well.From what I know,she had been top of the local RIAS charts for 4 weeks,which means she has sold quite a number of albums locally.Congrats to her for doing well.I have one minor complaint though.Have you guys seen the trailer advertisements on TV plugging her album.The one where they show a series of MTVs for her various songs?Are those MTVs low budget or what?! Because from what I can see,all the new MTVs seem to be showing is her running in some wasteland in Tuas surrounded by waist length wild lalang and grass with various assorted jungle vegetation.In fact,it looked like some kind of army exercise area to me where soldiers have to hack through with parangs(actually I think it's Pulau Ubin and I don't think I'm wrong).How Joi can pretend to be idyllic and happy in a jungle with wild vegetation standing at almost her height is beyond me.Somemore,she wasn't wearing jungle fatiques or anything like that.Instead she's wearing this open and flowy dress exposing her delicate arms and legs to the grass and mosquitoes.Wah liao eh,I bet she was itching to death druing the entire shoot.Can't they find a better location?She looked like she was doing a tourist promotional video for a nature reserve or something.

Back to the 玉女 topic,Apparently Iceman saw Vivian Chow 周慧敏 in a Taiwanese talkshow 康熙来了 where she appeared as a guest to talk about herself.The show's on cable,channel 52 at 10 every night if you are interested.Anyway,according to Iceman,Chow was very PC in her answers and very boring.Not a surprise then,she still hasn't changed in that aspect.What's changed though is her appearance.She looks really old now.Actually from pictures I saw of her in magazines and Chinese evening dailies,she already looked old...ok,she looked her age but that's the sad part.Chow used to be the fantasy of many young men like Iceman(not me,I liked Joey Wong 王祖贤 more).Now,she looks like an auntie.Ok,still a great looking auntie but an auntie nonetheless.Time is relentless and merciless...even on beauties like Chow.

Speaking of 玉女,we of course cannot ignore the recent attempted comeback of Charlie Yeung 杨采妮.She re-entered the entertainment scene in the new Jackie Chan flick,New Police Story,but again she is another who suffered from age.Obviously she can't look as youthful as she did when she left the scene so abruptly all those years ago but seeing her now,looking older and a bit knackered,it's painful.Seriously,I'd rather she didn't come back and leave the audience with great memories.But I think she was forced to return,being in some dire financial straits.But what can she seriously acheive?That's no way she can relive former glories.There are too many younger and now,prettier lasses out there who have taken over her place and more pretty newcomers will come in and overshadow her.

Then of course,there is Joey Wong who apparently is preparing for a new movie role.But recent tabloid pictures of a bloated and fat Joey with her large tummy hanging outside of her pants have left a lot of people shaking their heads.How did the svelte and beautiful Joey end up like this?She of course said that she was preparing for her role in the new movie but no one has bought that.Again,disappointment at the current plight of another yesteryear idol has left a lot of men like me feeling...they should never come back into the public eye like this.

Of course,the return of yesteryear idols really started from 费翔 who made such a dramatic return a couple of years ago.It launched a series of returns of former mega-stars who tried to recapture some past glories,including Samuel Hui 许冠杰 and 风飞飞.But none of them were particularly successful.If nothing else,I think there is a lesson there to be learned by other former stars hoping to make a return to make a quick buck.George Lam 林子祥,please take note.

Let's divert the topic for the ending because I want to talk about Taiwanese idol serials 偶像剧 for a change and why I particularly hate the Taiwanese version.It's simple really.Just a couple of reasons.

Taiwanese idol serials have this tendency to potray ruffians,who treat their girls or other people badly and rudely,and gangsters as romantic heroes.Which is something I totally do not get.Why is gangsterism desirable in any way?Is it the bad boy appeal to girls that the TV producers are trying to capitalise on?Look at the number of jerks on screen masquerading as heroes.In Meteor Garden 流星花园,let's face it,F4 was nothing but a bunch of rich and spolit ruffains who treat people badly and get away with it because they have tousled long tresses and hence are supposed to be cool.In The Outsiders,斗鱼,they celebrate gangsterism outright.For what?A good and gentle guy with tousled hair can just as easily be a great lead.Just look at Bae Yong Jun 裴勇俊 and his popularity in Asia.Actually anotehr thing I can't stand stems from the fact that because ruffian behaviour is perceived to be cool,half the time,the characters in the serials are fighting or shouting at each other.Must be the Taiwanese culture or something.Can't they be more refined?

Another reason why I don't like Taiwanese serials is because they have seriously stupid plots.The pop group Energy recently acted in some serial called Dance Of Michael 米迦勒之舞 that have such a ridiculous plot,any intellectually challenged person watching it would probably find it stupid and insulting.And then there is the serial blood vomitter 何润东 and his stupid serials where he usually dies but not before vomitting buckets of blood through some incurable disease,probably stupidity.For a sample,please look at 雪地里的星星.Hey,the Taiwanese are even stupid enough to retry a Beach Boy remake called 原味的夏天 using 邱泽 as the lead.I also vomitted blood myself watching this serial.But then again,fair play to them.We did attempt our own stupid Beach Boys remake called 随心所遇 with Tay Ping Hui and Ix Shen as the leads.To me,they looked more like a bunch of unemployed beach bums who didn't have a decent job and spend their weekdays buying $2 tickets into Sentosa and playing beach volleyball horribly.

Anyway,the idea of the gangster as a romantic is not new at all.It probably started in the 80s when the HK movie making empire started churning out these Andy Lau,Chow Yun Fatt,Leon Lai,Aaron Kwok gangster movies where they starred as righteous and romantic gangsters who get hacked into pieces at the end.Girls,take note,gangters use parangs to hack people...to death where necessary,where's the romance in that?And anyway,if you girls are really so hard up for bad boys,I have a great idea for a 偶像剧 plot that'd have you girls swooning all over the bad boys in the show.It'd be an idol serial about Al Qaeda suicide bombers.You can't get anyone more bad as that.I can imagine all the girls swooning over all these idols already...or at least their bodyparts after they blow themselves up.

Thursday, October 14, 2004
Insurgents needed.HAHAHAH!!!

A number of high ranking government officials,in today's papers,were quoted to ask for more "subversives and insurgents" to join the civil service.That the "Unquestioning" need not apply and that leaders in the civil service "should not be obssessed with the numbers game".In Mr Ho Kwon Ping's words,a call for a civil service "revolution".I don't know about any of you and how you fellows feel about this rallying call but I find it so funny and stupid.I also laughed out loud.I have two words for all these "passionate" leaders and their rallying calls:"Yeah,riiiiight."If only you see how divergent views or different opinions get clamped down and smashed to smithereens at the middle and ground level,you wouldn't bother us with such rhehetorical hogwash.

I just want to look at my own department for s start.Not to long ago,Rogue sent out an email about the unit not coming up with enough staff suggestions to meet the quota.So we were told that "we got to do something about it in the next two weeks".What?Tell me,is that a numbers game we are playing.Let's not even talk about that.We have a god here who's obssess about getting 99% for everything.Fitness pasing rates.Donation rates."Staff morale"percentages,staff suggestion ratios.Etc etc etc.And now you turn around and say don't be obssessed with numbers?Seriously,don't kid us.They have no idea how stupid they sound in reality.If they criticised leaders for their obssession with impressive numbers,about 80% to 90% should be sacked.We won't see that,will we?

Another point they talked about was the need for "young and energetic" people who could offer fresh and different perspectives to the status quo.Oh ho ho ho,reaally?Again,let's just look at my own little X-Men team.Yesterday,some of the X-Men team members had a 4 Hour meeting about some important issue.During this meeting of impressive length(quote that as a work stat,quick!),there were occassions when viewpoints and opinions were exchanged but eventually,nothing real and concrete was decided or settled.Hell,Cyclops didn't even know what the agenda was all about and the meeting set out or managed to accomplish.At the end of 4 hours,things went in a cycle until DANG,solutions were offered from Rogue's POV.Any other suggestions that were different from hers were shelved.Or swapped aside.Actually,why not just brief us?It'd be much easier and wouldn't take 4 hours.

What erked me most was the accommodating yes-man Banshee,who sailed along with the prevailing viewpoint of the moment,agrees with everything that's being said without thinking and quickly turns around when opinions sway against that viewpoint.And of course,whatever Rogues says,if and when he deciphers her mind is set,he goes about defending her POV.Oh yes,with men like him,Rogue must feel secure in her knowledge that she is the supreme being who gets everything right.

I heard from Jean Grey that Rogue and Banshee were exchanging knowing glances throughout the 4 hour ordeal.Sometimes,I was also having my own "knowing glances" exchange with Colossus.But most of the time,I was more like showing a disgusted face while Colossus was rolling his eyes.I don't think we managed much eye contact then.Well,Wolverine was having his own "knowing glances"exchange with his notebook.Understandably,it wasn't very responsive.But most of all,I am sure Rogue and Banshee enjoyed their own little private moments of adknowledgement.How great of them to be so chummy.How could they not be?Rogue has apples and Banshee polishes them to perfection.Shiny apples make people happy.And Rogue likes her apples shiny,I think...so do a lot of other management like her.

It's clear that Banshee will go far in this organisation as compared to someone like me for instance.I don't pretend to agree,I don't even pretend to enjoy.For a wonderful organisation like the government,that is a no-no.Let me see,they need insurgents,is it?But look at what they do to them.Mr Ho Kwon Ping got to see the day only because he was co-opted.And so did a number of other politicians right now.Where's JB Jeyaretnam,may I ask?Selling books in a torn t-shirt as far as I know.Poor fellow,oppose for f#$%?Get bankrupt somemore.This is what you get for insurgency and subversive behaviour.Bankruptcy.As for insurents in the civil service,they porbably get their names written into little black books,get marked for Cs and Ds and get the cold shoulder treatment.Until they learn to "respect" the boss's POV.Or at least agree with it.Then yeah,come out of the fridge please.That's冷藏for the uninitiated.

Can the media and the leaders please stop all such rhetorical mass media lip-servicing and actually leave us alone?Like they actually care or mean it.Nothing will change.They know that and we know that.Butt-kissing and yes-men are still going to get ahead.Banshee will tell you that himself.And if middle management don't dish out impressive figures for the gods to appreciate,they won't have anything else to show.Certainly not brains nor talent.Most of them that is.It's a waste of bloody space and time reading this kind of rubbish being sprouted in public.An alleged Ben Affleck fling has more truth embedded in it than these statements our leaders make.And it's certainly more entertaining as well.

Maybe I got to be fair to ceratin people,some leaders are more enlightened than others and see the light.As compared to others who love the congratulatory pats on the back they get from subordinates who worship them like the gods they want to be.There are good leaders and there are bad leaders.Probably we were hearing the good leaders talk in this instance.But they are few and far between.Majority wins and we know where the majority lies.

Such a heavy topic...I think I need to lighten up the topic a little by talking about some media trivia.We just read in the news yesterday in the TNP about two "celebrities",Sheikh Haikel and Cheryl Fox,getting their butts hauled up to CNB for alleged links to a busted cocaine trafficking syndicate.Haikel and Fox were tested and then released.So far.But innocent until proven guilty so I am giving them the benefit of the doubt yeah.But I can enevr look at the two of them in the same light again...hah.

I never actually liked Haikel anyway.To me,he is just a big fat ugly but rich brat who does nothing but go on TV,act a bit and think he gives funny and cool comments.His rap is crap.But he's rich so he gets away with it.Annabelle Francis must sure be glad she married the right man.Such a pity.Actually,I always wondered what can such a pretty girl see in such a guy?It's just because I don't like him I guess.I am sure he loves Annabelle deeply and treats her great.But Osama and Saddam can love someone deeply too.Dones't make him a good guy.Maybe he has good qulities I don't see.Oh,he's rich...

As for Miss Cheryl...how can I now not look at her pretty face and imagine her snotting cocaine when the cameras are away and the TV is showing some media clip.When the cue comes,she'd straighten her hair,look splendid and read the teleprompter again.Never spotted any sniffing before though.But how could you,Cheryl???You pretty thing.I am so disppointed.Compounded to that is the fact that she came from my alma mater,TPJC.She was my senior.Imagine.We could have been together.I spotted some eye-rolling amongst you people???Come on,anything is possible.We even managed to turn urine into Newater you know...

Anyway,Cheryl darling,come to junior's arms for comfort here.I will comfort and protect you,my love...until you go to jail or a drug rehabilitation centre...

Wednesday, October 13, 2004
Leave王 & Leave后

Typically I start my blog with something that has a totally different trajectory from what the title of the blog,this blog is no different.Let me begin by telling you fellows a real life ghost story that Jubilee told me.I don't know if this story is scary or not because I wasn't immediately spooked or freaked out by it.You might find it scary,who knows.So read the following three paragraphs hugging your pillow...

This story was "contributed" by a colleague's brother who is serving his NS at Tekong right now.They were told to Jubilee who then told me the stories.Anyway,the first story is about Guard Duty at Tekong's new camp...wait,come to think of it,which camp was she talking about?The NEW new camp or the older new camp?There are three camps at Tekong.One is the really old Camp 1 with the single-storey bunks(and the infamous three-door bunk.I served my BMT in that camp.It's not that scary),the other is the HDB style multi-storey buildings Camp 2 which is not that far from Camp 1.The third,of course,is the spanking new resort style camp which I will name Camp 3.Is it Guard Duty at Camp 2 or 3?Anyway,word has it that 3 guards doing the night guard duties were patrolling the grounds when they saw a girl in her 20s whom they had never seen before standing at a distance looking at them.One of them stupidly called out to her and asked her to go home.She just stood and looked at them.Then the weirdest thing happened.The girl started following them from a distance as they went back to their bunk to sleep after standing down from their duties.She followed them all the way to their bunk and stood outside the bunk,staring at them,all the time not talking.The guys tried to sleep but I guess they must be scared shitless.The guy who called out to her happened to sleep near the windows facing the corridors and he got really spooked by her.So he switched on the lights and woke up everyone in their bunk who all(?) saw the girl.After that,the girl walked away/disappeared.The colleague's brother wasn't one of the 3 guards but he was one of those people who got wokened up and saw the girl...

My immediate reaction was...could there have been civilians living at Tekong?I actually think there are but most are living at the pier or thereabouts.If the event occurred at Camp 2,there is no way that any person will walk all the way in there just to wander around in the dead of the night.It's a long way to walk in...coming close to 3km,if not more.What about the canteen vendors at the camp?Do they stay there?I don't know,they might but the contention is,if that was girl was a canteen vendor(or vendor's daughter),they would have seen her before.Believe me,in a camp crawling with men raging with hormones,they'd notice any girl in the camp.What about Camp 3 then?I can't comment about that camp as to whether civilians stay in that camp...be it vendors or whoever because I have been to that camp only once and didn't see every part of it.It might be possible.Even then,my point of contention will again be that the guys must have seen her before if she worked there at the camp but they haven't,so...Anyway,come on,a girl appearing at a military camp in the dead of the night,who never speaks a word?Who just follows people in silence and stares at them?Living person or not,it's spooky enough.And if it's a ghost,OMG,it's even worse...a lot worse and it's really a close encounter.

Besides this,there was another unrelated story where the same colleague's brother woke up in the middle of the night and saw someone sitting at the end of the bed on his shoe cabinet/rack(which doubles as a chair),looking at the guy sleeping opposite him.So this person's back was facing the colleague's brother.The guy apparently wasn't anyone from the camp.The brother wisely curled up in his blanket and went back to sleep.Something I would have done as well.See nothing,know nothing.

Scary enough?Well,hopefully you read this during daytime?But anyway,even if not,take note that it happened in Tekong,not the main land.Tekong is "known" to be a very "dirty" place with all kinds of rumours and stories going around.Whether these are urban myths or not(or at least some of it) is not up to me to say because I have never encountered anything unusual in my five months there.Maybe I was just lucky but during our time there,no weird things like this happened.But the stories above are true life accounts and actually occurred.So arrive at your own conclusions.

Now back to my main topic after serving a scare to all you readers.Let me talk about Office life and how Cyclops is a Struggling Officeboy.As everyone who reads this blog will know,Cyclops and his fellow X-Men have a most incompetent leader in Rogue,who sucks the life-force out of all her team members but doesn't know where to put all that excess lifeforce away.So she consolidated all that valuable life enrgy and condensed it into the form of a baby.Yes,Rogue is pregnant.I hope she doesn't touch her child immediately after she gives birth to him/her.Imagine the lifeforce draining out of the baby.What a scary thought...

Banshee is,of course,Rogue's loyal minion who uses his sonic scream to scream stupid ideas over and above everybody's head so we all have to take it in.I have had a run-in with Banshee during these past couple of weeks and we are not on talking terms.Not that we ever talked anyway but now when we see each other,we develop the uncanny ability to see through each each other like that person isn't there.Suits me fine.He's nobody to me anyway.

Of course,another thing is that some of the other X-Men conspired conspired to turn my desk into a canteen.So whatever foodstuff they brought to work are all dumped onto my table for reasons best known to them.I am sure some of you are thinking that they really love me and want to feed me everything.Yeah,right...the stuff they bring...out of every 100 pieces,I usually only eat 1 of them.Even probablity is against me.Besides this,they also conspire to turn my desk into a lunch table too.Wah liao eh...what love they have for me!I am so loved,I am bursting all over from luurve.My desk is right now a bedrock habitat of teeming colonies of many different life threatening bacteria and viruses that the world has never witnessed before in the entire history of mankind.I know that somewhere on my desk,lies the bacteria that is the cure for AIDS.I just have to locate and pinpoint down exactly which corner of the desk that colony is residing at.Wish me luck.

Just about the only thing that fills me with pride is the amount of leave days I have left in my disposal compared to everyone else in the branch...ok,except Banshee the lackey.Everyone else is usually on leave one way or another.But let me proudly crown the respective Leave King and Queen of my branch.Drum rolls please...

The Undisputed Leave Queen of The Branch and Undisputed Heavyweight User of Leave(unisex)is JEEEEEAN GRRRRRREY!Yes,the psionic queen of crazy thoughts cannot be defeated in her liberal use of leave and the tiny number of days she has left at he disposal.In fact,in our branch,it's an insult when someone says you have less leave than Jean Grey.That cannot happen and should not happen.When it does,one is obligued to hang his/her head in shame and面壁思过.It is that serious an offence and should not be takened lightly.Pushing her tightly for both titles is of course,our very own head,Rogue.She can never allow her subordinate to take all the glory and not take part in the action.No sir.That would be totally disrespectful to her if Jean Grey grabs the title without a good fight.We watch with an interested eye as to how things develop between these two for the title fight of Leave Queen and Undisputed Heavyweight User of Leave(unisex) titles.Actually,there's still Nightcrawler who is the major dark-horse in the race for these two titles.I neglected to mention her because she is teleporting herself all over the Office and as a result,I rarely see her at all.But rest assured,she is fighting hard to consume all her leave too.

The title of Leave King is a lot more closely fought.I have a deep suspicion that Colossus and Wolverine are neck to neck on that one.Colossus migth be edging at the moment.Of course,I don't think Banshee nor Cyclops are lagging far behind.The guys are so leave liberal,we hardly have any left.

Actually,should the Leave Queen and King be the ones that have the MOST leave left and not the other way around.If that is the case,Shadowcat or Jubilee should be Leave Queen while Banshee or Cyclops should be Leave King.

God,this blog must really be coming from a very bored worker indeed.Fancy fighting over leave.A bunch of losers you say.Really?Look at my face...see the hurt on my face???No???Oh I guess there isn't any then.

Finally I remember to say something I wanted to say earlier,which sane woman throws a 4-year-old girl down from 6 storeys?And now the poor girl is dead.For what?What did she do to deserve this?Because she is somebody's daughter?What kind of a senseless thing is this?Even considering whatever quarrels and prejudices a person can have,who'd throw a 4-year-old toddler from a high-rise building?I still cannot imagine.Face the gallows.You deserve it.I only feel pity for someone whose life was taken away from her when it has barely started.