Monday, June 06, 2005
Marbles Dropping

Hmmm,it's been 11 days since I last wrote anything,doesn't time just fly or what?Did any one of you miss me?Huh,huh,huh?Come on!!!Because as Brad Pitt says:"Come to Daddy".Or as Angelina Jolie should (but didn't) say:"Come to Mammy".I mean Mummy.Nah,I'm just taking the piss.Why would anyone miss me?

Anyway,the fact that I haven't had much to gripe about over the past 11 days indicates one of two things.They are:

1) Life is seriously good.I struck 4D,won a Volkswagen in a lucky draw and Fiona Xie confessed her amazing love for me.

2) I am seriously jaded to the point of retardation (of my mental faculties,that is).

Well,I am not driving and I am also nowhere near Caldecott's favourite pair of love pillows so you go figure which state I am in right now.

Last Thursday,I went for MINDEF's psychometrics test.Step one of my grand masterplan to get out of this hellhole.So how did the thing go?

For starters,I am really getting retarded.Those tests where you are supposed to see patterns out of different shapes and etc.I used to see them quite easily.Now,bloody hell,I am having trouble just trying to decipher what's on the paper...the problem is,you're not supposed to decipher.You are just supposed to just look and recognise.Recognise what?How the hell should I know?

The second part was slightly easier.We are supposed to read passages and then see if several statements following that are true,false or needed more information to determine if it's true or false.What MINDEF doesn't figure out is that I have read so much BS during my time in civil service that I truly do know what's the real deal.What do you mean by whether the statements are true,false or needed more information to be verified.Everything IS false!!!What do you mean by you need more information?Are you incompetent or what?!That's what your boss would tell you,wouldn't he/she/it?

I also realised I am an old fogey.Most of the nubile young (female) things in the room were born in 1982/1983.And they are nubile indeed.Is there a Wendy there?I think she was the uno numero who finished the pyscho tests first.HELLO WENDY!!!You pretty thing (and I mean it hor),remember me?I am the baldy who came out after you...no no no,not literally.I came out because I finished the test right after you,not because I was going after you.But if you want me to,I sure can.

Ok,I am not even that old compared to some of the REAL old fogeys in the room...and I mean old.These guys/gals probably met Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles when he first landed in and discovered Singapore.

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Today,in the excellent ST forum page,the excellent Joseph Wong raised an excellent question about hearing excellent marbles dropping on the excellent floor above his.Somemore it only happened at night.And it happened in more than one unit that his family stayed in.Phuah.And according to him,marbles dropping on the floor of the unit above yours is a common phenomenon happening all over Singapore.So ladies and gentlemen,I implore all of you to check your marbles and see whether they're in place.Lest they drop and start spooking your neighbours downstairs.

For me,I haven't really heard any marbles drop in the unit above mine.Maybe that's because two elderly folks stay in the unit above mine and they don't like to play with marbles?Or maybe my house is not haunted?But then again,why would some ghosts with marbles haunt poor Mr Wong wherever he goes?What did Mr Wong do to deserve this?Is he a serial killer who went around killing people with marbles and now the spirits of his victims are coming back to haunt the man?

But then again,it could just be a HDB building fault.

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Have you guys noticed nowadays that everyday is a flag day?Everytime you go to the MRT to work,there is almost certainly to be a student holding a tin can with stickers asking,"Do you want to donate?" (Either that or they stand in one corner and look like they expect people to WALK TO THEM to donate...wah liao,you think people too much money ah,voluntarily walk to donate?!You do flag day then do a proper job.Walk up to people and ask lah).I usually would donate because come on,it's hard work standing in the blazing sun,holding a tin can and asking a stingy nation to donate...I don't need to make things harder for them.But nowadays,the sheer number of flag days is just getting out of hand.One day you got community chest,next day you have Fiona Xie's chest.Who are we supposed to donate to?People where got so much money everyday also give meh?

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Don't know what the music baton is all about but this is it:

Total volume of music files on my computer:
No music files on my computer.I store them all on CDRs.I am onto volume 4 now,so 4 X 700MB,you get 2.8GB.

The last CD I bought:
Franz Ferdinand's self-titled debut.I can also tell you the next CD I'd buy is Coldplay's X&Y.

Song playing right now:
None...literally.

Five songs that I listen to a lot, or that mean a lot to me:
But since I got two arrows,I'd name ten.The songs are not the ones I listen to the most but as of now,I like them best (or always liked them).I'd even tell you guys why.


1) 朧月夜~祈り (中島美嘉)

Probably Mika Nakashima's best song to date with a haunting melody.It is decidely less commercial than most J-pop.But then again,no one has ever accused of her of being commercial.And as an I-Weekly reviewer said,it's a pity she's not more popular.


2) Always On My Mind (Elvis Presley)

Pet Shop Boys introduced me to this song with their campy,high-energy singalong version,but Presley's version came closer to the spirit of the song.

"Maybe I didn’t treat you
Quite as good as I should have
Maybe I didn’t love you
Quite as often as I could have
Little things I should have said and done
I just never took the time
You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind..."

These are words that you'd always end up finding yourself saying to someone important to you.


3) God Moving Over The Face Of The Waters (Moby)

Not a song but an instrumental piece.Standalone,if Jesus truly needed a soundtrack for his miracle, this may be it (Moby is a staunch Christian).But this track also keeps playing in my my head because it was tagged to the ending of the movie "Heat" where the Rob De Niro died.In that context,it can bring a tear to your eye.


4) True Love Waits (Radiohead)

This song was never properly recorded (in a studio).The version I heard was a "live" perfromance and it never left my head.I had also heard shite versions of it though which means that this song must be done "properly".And when done right,it's achingly beautiful.


5) 海上花 (罗大佑）

Modern Mandarin lyrics is usually a bunch of rubbish,which is why 林夕 and 方文山 stand out much because these two comes closest to being poetic in their choice of words.I like this song because of its words.Primarily,its use of imagery to convey its feeling of love and longing.Think Jolin could sing anything like this?Or even Stefanie?


6) Live Forever (Oasis)

Oasis before they became shite.Oasis while they genuinely had dreams...

"Maybe I will never be
All the things that I want to be
But now is not the time to cry
Now’s the time to find out why
I think you’re the same as me
We see things they’ll never see
You and I are gonna live forever..."

In our hearts,yes,we are.


7) 简单爱 (周杰伦）

Love should be simple.Coupled with a singalong melody,it's simply lovely.


8) Now We Are Free (Lisa Gerrard)

This is the song you hear at the end of "Gladiator" when the Russell Crowe character died and was "reunited" with his family in the other world.Hauntingly beautiful.


9) Broken Heart (Spiritualised)

I used to listen to this when I feel hurt.I don't do that anymore but this song means a lot to me because it has healed me a great,many times.


10) Sorry,I'd have to leave this blank. This should be reserved for that special someone for whom I will have a song with.And you never know what that song is until that moment comes.

Honorary mention:

明年今日 （陈奕迅）

I'd Remember (Madonna)

爱相随 (周华键）