Fighting for Life

I was just telling a friend that supporting the arts scene in Singapore is like keeping a terminally ill patient alive with support systems.

The government is really doing a lot to keep the industry alive...the grants...the performance venues...

Take away all the government supports and the arts scene wouldn't even have the strength to grasp its last breath. Sometimes I wonder, what's the point anyway, we can never have truly professional arts groups...we are just a bunch of crazy people with too much time to spare...playing masak-masak with one another.

Rescue of a Snail

Yesterday, I rescued 2 snails from certain death.

As I walked home after a wonderful dinner outing with some friends, a rather huge snail appeared right in my path. And I remembered a friend's musing...why do you feel guilty when you accidentally step on a snail ...(See previous blog entry Death of a Snail)

The path is dark... People busy sms-ing as they walk... So many factors against a snail's chance of survival on a concrete path...

So i squatted down to pluck the snail off the concrete ground and place it on the nearest patch of grass in the direction it was heading.
When i touched it, it retreated into its shell. But oh man, its suction power damn strong. I was so afraid that if I'm not careful, I'll rip the shell off the snail...eeeewwww...But I was slow and gentle.

As I completed my self-set mission, I could feel the woman walking up behind me giving me weird looks. Hmm...

I continued up the path with the woman still walking behind me...and met another snail...a smaller one this time. I thought, "okay lah, she probably suspect I siao already, I don't have to go confirming her suspicion." So I walked past Snail #2. But I cannot face the thought that the next morning, I'll see a mess of escargot on the path just because I cared about the opinion of a perfect stranger.

I retraced my path to Snail #2. As I plucked it off the ground, it retreated half way into its shell and stopped. Huh? Shell too small arh? And it was surprisingly easy to pluck off; it's not gripping the ground at all! What happened? It's ill? It's resigned to its fate? It knows it'll not come to any harm? See, the woman's correct. I'm mad. I'm starting to be concerned with a snail's thought and state of health.

First Date Last Match

TITLE: First Date Last Match
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DATE: 12/05/2005 07:29:47 AM
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It occurs to me that I have neglected informing all of you about the current theatre production I'm involved in.

It's a light-hearted romantic comedy about a women's search for her Prince Charming. We are playing at Music Dreamer Live! Cafe in Marina Square (actually it's sort of closer to Millenia Walk and Pan Pacific Hotel than to Marina Square main building itself)

Some of the comments collected from last weekend's performance follows. By the way, if you order your tickets thru me, you'll get a discounted tickets at $28 nett. Normal price is $35 + $2 SISTIC charges.

-----------------------------------

First Date Last Match opened over the weekend with one full house show!
Here are some feedback from the audience:

What do you like most about this production?
"The setting/format/location - different from normal productions" Chee
Woon Peng
"Storyline & music" Majorie Yeo
"The cast act very well" Yong Tsui San
"The voting part" Koh Chiat Ying
"The calendar was well printed and colourful" Tonie Hoi
"Everything!" Loh Sianglin

What do you like least about this production?
"Nope. Total enjoyment!" Grace Chua

The run ends on 15 Dec. Don't miss it!
Remember, you can enjoy the special price of $28 net if you order tickets
through me!

Dates / Shows (remaining)
10, 11 Dec (Sat, Sun) / 1pm, 4pm
7 (sold out), 8, 14, 15 Dec (Wed, Thu) / 8pm


The ETCeteras Production
In association with Music Dreamer Live! Cafe

First Date Last Match
Will she find her prince charming at the music cafe? Catch this romantic
comedy!
The audience gets to vote which guy gets to meet the girl for the final
showdown!

Written and Directed by
Lim Hai Yen

Cast
Leelian Chua (Love 97.2FM DJ)*
Garrick Wong (Dongli 88.3FM DJ)
Hong Shao Xuan (Xinyao singer)
Gilbert Oh
Huang Huimin
Lan Guangfeng
Huang Meiting

Dates / Shows
3, 4, 10, 11 Dec (Sat, Sun) / 1pm, 4pm
7, 8, 14, 15 Dec (Wed, Thu) / 8pm

$35 (usual price)
Includes one standard drink
Ticket price excludes SISTIC charge

Venue
Music Dreamer Live! Cafe
6 Raffles Boulevard #02-308 Marina Square www.musicdreamer.com
(On the linkway to Pan Pacific Hotel)

All audience will receive an exclusive The ETCeteras Desktop Calendar 2006

Check out more details at www.etceteras.org.sg

* artiste with Music & Movement

The ETCeteras Partners
Jurong Town Corporation, REDDOT CREATION, Milan Wedding Collection,
FirstFruits Publications

Our Sponsors
The Arts Fund, Romancing Singapore, National Arts Council, Speak Mandarin
Campaign

Official Magazine
You Weekly

Our Supporters
Heatwave (by Monsoon), ATF Kopitiam, Ink, Eight Percent, Attitude Emparo
Apparel, Open Up
----------------------------------------

First Date Last Match
A romantic comedy where the audience gets to vote which guy gets to meet
the girl for the final showdown! 3-15 Dec 2005. More details at
www.etceteras.org.sg.  Get your tickets from SISTIC now.

The 1Gb yahoo project

TITLE: The 1Gb yahoo project
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DATE: 11/30/2005 09:29:00 AM
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Did I mention that I've started a silly little project of collecting junk mails in a yahoo email account. Yes, the account that promises 1Gb of storage space.

I'm totally fascinated with the question of how many junk mails 1 Gb can hold. Anyway, my that yahoo account keeps receiving junks. Donno why also...

Right now, I've accumulated abt 15 thousand pieces of junk mail. And they just took up 6% of 1Gb. Cool hor. Wonder why anyone needs 1Gb for email anyway.

Yada Yada Yada...

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DATE: 11/29/2005 07:12:06 AM
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Since I so miraculously gained access to friendster today, I'll just write more. Kept getting "timeout error", so fed up. Maybe I should move my blog and myself to multiply.com. But then, the pple there is my another group of friends and...well...I don't feel like embarassing myself in front of them.

Actually I don't feel like embarassing myself in front of my colleagues too. But this blog started before my colleagues found me (in friendster, I mean. There is about 4 or 5 of them on my list now. Me darn popular siah...). So bo bian loh, they saw everything already. Too late.

Have pent up so many things I want to share with everyone...I don't know where to begin. I want to talk about this email I received about getting a ticket for commiting the offence of wasting food which supposedly happened in Germany.

I also want to talk about this guy who reminds me of that gigantic cartoon duckling...Can't remember the name...you know, the one that is so much bigger than his parents..and has his brain in his ass and nothing under his skull...still wears diapers and a baby bonnet... and flies...there's always flies buzzing around him. Is he from Warner Bros...or Universal Studio? Definitely not from Disney.

Not that this guy is stupid or what...I mean, he graduated from a university... You can't call a degree holder stupid, right?

I don't know... I look at him, I think of giant duckling in diapers, with pointy head. And he irritates the hell out of me simply by his presence...and I don't know why.

I think I'm obsessed with him. I'm acutely aware of him and my temper gets very short in his presence. Must be karma from previous life or something.

Oh, did I say I don't know where to begin? Seems I just did (begin, I mean).

So the story about being fined in Germany for wasting food have to wait until next time I log in successfully again. If that story is true, how dare anyone say Singapore is a "fine" city!

Darn....slow....

TITLE: Darn....slow....
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DATE: 11/29/2005 06:23:07 AM
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Access to friendster is so slow nowadays.

By the time i logged in, all my thoughts i wanted to put on my blog has flown away.

sheez..

I think, I'll shift my stuff back to blogspot...

Sleeping Cats

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DATE: 11/18/2005 08:40:08 AM
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As I walked back to office after lunch, I saw a cat napping in the warm afternoon sun. How I wish I can join it in its nap...

The next morning, a cat was sleeping on a bus stop bench when the bus stop is choked full of people waiting for buses to transport them to wherever they have to be to earn their living.

It looked so sweet and peaceful, twitching its tail occasionally. Nobody at the bus stop thought to shoo it away.

And I thought, isn't this what life is all about, having enough to eat and a place to sleep? If everyone can 知足常乐, then the whole world will be a Garden of Eden, where people will eat just enough (then we don't need slimming centers) and sleep when they are tired.

We will be carefree as the cats I saw. As Gerald Durrell commented, for animals, there's only 3 kinds of things in the world. 1) Things to be eaten. 2) Things to run away from. And 3) Things to have sex with.

I used to think that it is such a fortunate thing that Eve induced Adam to commit the sin of eating from the Tree of Knowledge. Garden of Eden is such a boring place. All Adam and Eve could do there was to eat, sleep and have sex. I was grateful that I wasn't stuck in Eden; there are so many fun and exciting things to learn and experience in this world. In a way, this fun and excitement was given to us by the evil snake (the one who convinced Eve to commit the sin). So upon reflection, the snake was not that evil afterall.

But then recently, I do wish we can live a brainless boring life, the way Adam and Eve had lived. It must be a sign that I am seriously getting old.

Death of a snail

TITLE: Death of a snail
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DATE: 11/15/2005 05:44:37 AM
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Accidentally stumbled across a blog written by a friend/acquaintance/junior/whatever.

He asked "why do you feel guilty when you accidentally step on a snail and nothing when u kill a mosquito, step on an ant or slaughter a helpless chicken?"

I'm sure he has never slaughtered a chicken.

And I think I have fallen in love with his contemplation.

Intuition

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DATE: 10/31/2005 11:41:30 PM
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There is a quote from Korean drama. "Why do you love him?" "I don't know. Love has no reasons."

That's one irrational feeling that is general accepted and celebrated in movies, tv, books, poems and whatnots.

What about the flip side of the coin? If love can be without reason, than so can hatred, right?

Apparently not. In all story forms, hatred had to be explained. Because he killed my brother. Because his father killed my father. Because he bankrupted my family. Because he was unkind to animals. Because he is unscrupulous. Because, because, because...

So why is it that I dislike this guy so much?

I hate the way he walks.
I hate the way he laughs.
I hate the way he speaks.
I hate the way he styles his hair.
I even hate the squeaks his shoes make as he walks.

I simply cannot stand him. Why, why, why?

He didn't do anything to incur my dislike. There really is nothing wrong with his walk, his laughter, his speech or his looks. And, when I'm rational about it, I really find nothing repulsive about him. But that doesn't stop me from getting irritated by the sight of him (and also by the squeaks of his shoes).

The detest is almost instinctive. Is it one of those intuition that gets featured regularly in movies? Maybe he'll turn out to be a psycho murderer or something along that line...

Colour House

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DATE: 10/22/2005 10:30:35 PM
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Colour House is gone!! The walls facing the streets are covered with mahjong paper. So I went into Wheelock Place to take a good look at the entrance.

There's no notice of "We are Moving!" or "We are Upgrading!".

What is happening?! Has it moved someplace else? Is it under renovation? Is it gone for good? Then next time I want to dye my hair where I go?

How can this happen...my favourite shop is gone...how, how how?

Majulah Singapura

TITLE: Majulah Singapura
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DATE: 10/15/2005 11:51:20 AM
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Met an interesting guy today. I'm still not very sure what his profession is...i thought he is a photographer...but then he was telling me about interviewing some old Chinese Opera troop masters...so he is in oral history?

He was enthusiatically telling me about getting precious history of Chinese Street Opera recorded before it's too late...the troop masters are already in their 60s, 70s, 80s.

Me being a quiet cool calm person, probably made him feel that I wasn't interested. Actually I think it's all very interesting, but I feel inadequate about conveying my interest...I know nuts about opera...what can I say?

I think it's cool that somebody is collecting the history of singapore..not the political history (we have govt documents to turn to for that)...but the history of everyday life...

I think we know more about how the Greeks lived than how our grandfathers lived...Singapore is progressing so fast that things that should be familiar are not.

And the weirdest part is that these unfamiliar bits are so close to us that they don't seem very interesting...

I'm sure you don't know what I am talking about, because I'm not very sure what I mean myself...

The songwriter for our National Anthem, Majulah Singapura...did he know how appropriate it will be, how we have taken the lyrics to heart? Singapore has marched on ahead so fast, it is dropping bits of herself behind in the past without realising it. By the time we realised we've missed something...it's too late because the previous generation is dying, the current generation has little memory of it and the next generation will have no knowledge of it.

I mean, my parents grew up in a Singapore kampung and yet I don't even know what a Singapore kampung look like. There are kampungs in Malaysia, but Malaysia is not Singapore.

Time passes differently in Singapore than the rest of the world... our short history of 40 years is about equivalent to a century for others...our history is not short at all...it is just highly compressed.

Majulah Singapura...Onwards Singapore...

Theatre

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DATE: 10/14/2005 06:47:26 PM
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The theatre circle is a completely different world. I get involved in theatre once in a while and I can feel the difference most strongly. It is a place where you can be yourself without fear of judgement. We hug one another, we share our food, we are receptive to all forms of self-identities...except if someone believes himself to be god lah...

This also means that, sometimes I get a little disorientated. The social norms of the normal world applies in my 9-5 working life while the social norms of theatre prevails in my afterwork time...switching between these 2 different "code of conduct" on a regular basis makes me lose grip on what is the normal "normal" and what is the theatre "normal".

I wonder if others also feel this way. Never got around to asking others if they face the same problem because that will suggest that the theatre's "normal" is abnormal and such suggestions are absolutely taboo everywhere.

A Love Affair

TITLE: A Love Affair
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DATE: 10/08/2005 06:33:02 PM
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Been rather busy recently. Not getting enough sleep...cos I'm helping out in a theatre production and rehearsals ends at around 11.30pm. By the time I return home, I still have to stay up to make props, or do "paperwork" ( you know, props list, cast's entrance and exit sequence, bump in schedule...) Then the next day, I still have to drag myself to work.
I don' know why I am dong this...It's so stressful, I don't get paid for it and I'm getting dark circles around my eyes... Every time, I 'll  promise myself that this is the last one...but every time the next one comes around, I'll remember all the nice bits and can't resist getting involved again...a love affair, it is.

Allow me to introduce my current love interest to you...Hope you'll come and give your support.
---------------------------------------
For more information, please visit http://www.etceteras.org.sg
TICKETS ON SALE NOW AT SISTIC!
Please note that the same price applies for all seats at each show, so
book early to get the best seating.

the ETCeteras presents its 15th original theatre production

T. K. K.
a multi-lingual adventure comedy
(deng 99)

Tay Kwee Kwee, Tung Kiu Kiu Tammy, Thiong Kit Keong, Teo Kim Kong, Tiam
Keng Kim, Tsiu Kian Kee Tony ?¨C they have nothing in common, except
perhaps for a few chanced meetings in their lives, and that ubiquitous set
of initials.

So they meet, and they bid goodbye; they miss someone, and they evade
another.

Over the course of several decades, path crossed and wishes intertwined,
they become pawns in a waiting game.

From the director of "Madam What's Next", "Want United People" and "Papa
Not At Home", this new play opens on 13 October at Jubilee Hall.

"T.K.K." brings together a multi-talented team which includes Chermaine
Ang, Ka-Y, Peter Sau (cast), Lim Wei Ling (production design), Chuan
(music and sound design) and Dorothy Png (lighting design) who has put
together a time-warped journey layered with anticipation, procrastination,
atonement and patience.

Director and Playwright Lim Hai Yen returns to the local theatre scene
after completing her M.A. in Directing at Goldsmiths College, University
of London. As Artistic Director of the ETCeteras, she will spearhead the
"Taking-Off Season" with this tale of timeless truth.

PERFORMANCE DETAILS

Produced by the ETCeteras (Hai Yan Deng Ren)
Performed in Mandarin, English and Dialects
Date: 13 to 16 October 2005
Time: 8 pm
Venue: Jubilee Hall, Raffles Hotel
Ticket Prices: $28 (Thu); $38 (Fri); $43 (Sat); $33 (Sun)
Concession: students, full-time national servicemen and senior citizens
enjoy 10% discount; JTC Corporation staff enjoy 20% discount; Enjoy $5
discount when you present the Hong Shao Xuan's 20-year album CD featuring
TKK theme song "The Way We Were" (available in all major music retail
outlets now)

GET YOUR TICKETS AT SISTIC TODAY
ONLINE: http://www.sistic.com.sg

HOTLINE: 6348 5555
Please note that the same price applies for all seats at each show, so
book early to get the best seating.

FLYBAR
Flybar Frequent Flyer Programme members can claim rebates at the performance.

FOLLOW SPOT
Follow Spot members can redeem free ticket from SISTIC and enjoy 50%
discounts for up to 4 tickets.

ENQUIRIES
Email: ticket@etceteras.org.sg
Phone: 64789910

FOR MORE DETAILS AND PICTURES, VISIT:
http://www.etceteras.org.sg

FIND OUT ABOUT TAKING-OFF WITH THE ETCETERAS SEASON:
http://www.etceteras.org.sg/takingoff/

--
The ETCeteras
http://www.etceteras.org.sg
tel 64789910
address 60 Biopolis Street, Genome #01-05 Singapore 138672

Thunderstorm

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DATE: 09/12/2005 09:34:04 AM
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Really thunderstorm arh...kept seeing lightning on my way from office to Toa Payoh Central....flash flash flash...scary man... I sort of try to make sure only one foot is on the ground at all times or at least my 2 feet are placed as close to each other as possible... to reduce the potential difference between my 2 feet in case lightning strike mah...

That's the theory behind why birds don't microwave themselves when they rest on high-voltage power lines...not that we can see any high-voltage power lines hanging around in Singapore nowadays. Sorry arh, got such weird thinking...I'm an electrical engineer mah.

Don't remember when's the last time I was out and about in a thunderstorm...don't remember ever being so afraid in thunderstorm leh... must be a sign of old age... to be afraid of death...

But then, come to think of it, by virtue of the fact that quite a bit of my friends are in insurance (as agent lah, or broker lah, or personal banker lah...), I think I'm worth more being dead then being alive. So next time I'm out in a thunderstorm again, I'll comfort myself with this fact... Then I don't need to tired myself out trying to stand on one leg and trying not to look foolish.

Invisible Miracles

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DATE: 08/19/2005 10:49:56 PM
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Early morning, along Orchard Road...I was waiting at a traffic light and the roads were wet from a bit of drizzle.

As I waited, staring at no particular spot, a car drove past, spraying a misty bit of water....and rainbow! I saw rainbow on the spray! It was the most beatuiful sight!

As the spray died, the rainbow's gone. Then another car drove past and another glimpse of rainbow. It was like....I don't know how to description....as if there's a rainbow hiding just 2 metres away and it's playing peek-a-boo with me.

Has anyone else seem it too? Was I the only lucky person to be at the right place, at the right time, with the sun shining at the right angle?

It was fascinating, and the wait at the traffic light can take forever for all I care. I just want to stand and stare at the "invisible rainbow".

It was such a miraculous experience...I wonder if there is a "moral of the story"... Perhaps as a quote from one of the local play goes, "There's no moral, it's just a story."

National Day

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DATE: 08/12/2005 06:09:20 PM
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Finally a PH again! Haven't have a PH for so long...

The only thing I don't like abt National Day is that, u don't get to choose whether u want to watch the NDP anot. It's all that's on the TV....and u know what? Channel U and Ch8 were exact sama-sama. Yah lah, both also Chinese channels showing NDP, so why bother to get different narrators....

Even the commercials were the same....u can switch between channels & no one will notice anything. As bo liao as me, I also discovered that the commercials on Ch5 also the same, so u can switch between Ch5 & Ch8 and u get the "commercials also got dual sound" effect...the synchronisation is amazing....

As we get older, NDP seems to get more boring...and given a choice (eg. LOTR on another channel)....erhm......i'll be watching NDP...

Yah, patriotism built so deeply into mi bones, I'll still kill myself with boredom just so I can watch the "Story of Singapore" told in yet another fascinating spectacularly labour-intensive blockbuster way. And we get to hear narrators say the same old thing...Yin Sui Si Yuan (Drink Water, be grateful to its source)...
"Next time I drink water, I'll be grateful to the Tap."
"No, should be the Kettle."
"No, the Tap"
"No...Malaysia."
"...."

The surprising bit about this year is the full force participation of the military...haven't seen it in years....usually we only see the airforce and commando. This year also got artillery (dragging their missiles which managed not to look impressive), armour (tanks still look like tanks even 60 years after WWII), signals (when training on field, do they really use those bulky units to communicate or have they progressed to Nokia?) , navy (towing their boat like a broken down car), civil defence (with lots of dry ice and looking like Swensen's Earthquake)...have we quarrelled with Malaysia lately?

Speaking of airforce and commando...I've always thought parachuters are very impressive and I loved watching them. During my attachment in ST Aero, I got to see from afar, parachuters practising from a C130 (not very sure..it could also have been a KC130). Saw them everyday as I leave the office...thought that was the most beautiful sight.....until one day.....it occured to me that it actually looked a lot like a big green bird going to toilet in mid-flight...haha...

White Elephants

TITLE: White Elephants
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CATEGORY: Current Affairs

DATE: 09/08/2005 03:52:24 AM
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The last Sunday of August was an exhilarating day for Singaporeans.

8 white elephants appeared outside Buangkok MRT station (for those who were not in Singapore, they are cardboard cut-outs lah, not the flesh and blood type).

One MP, Dr Vivian something or other...(sorry, name too long, can't remember) was there on a walkabout. He was amused by the cute elephants and he got the message.

As for me, I was exhilarated. I never knew we have such creative people in Singapore. The elephants are really cute, like something from a Disney cartoon. And the message they want to put across is so subtle and yet so strong.

At last, someone has heed our government's plead to speak up and be creative. He/She has manage to do both with one action...how about that!

Then this week, we heard that the police is investigating on this case of...erh...vandalism?....unlawful putting up of posters?....Not very sure wat crime was commited.

*sigh* 10 years of trying to get people to speak up...I can see that effort going down the drain.

Here we are, trying to convince our parents that the Malayan Emergency is over, there's no more communist threat and so there'll be no more witch-hunting, we can say what we think without fear...I can see our efforts going down the drain also.

Maybe they just want to find the guy to give him a pat on his back for his guts and creativity? We must have Faith and Hope in our Good Strong Clean Efficient Government.

Why did AQ not get fat?

TITLE: Why did AQ not get fat?
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DATE: 08/05/2005 04:34:21 AM
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Have been to USA recently. It's my first trip there. Used to hear how large a portion all their meals are, but din really appreciate just how LARGE it really is.

And salty...their food are always too salty. So I had to drink a lot of water. And because of their large helpings, I tend to eat more than usual. Combine this with the loads of water I drank, I'm sure I've gain weight through the addition of FATS and WATER RETENTION...Words that are taboo to women.

So I start to really appreciate just how miraculous it is that AQ didn't grow fat while studying in USA. E is also in USA..working as auditor...haven't seen her for a long time...wonder if she has grown fat anot. Nex time she comes back, we shall see...

My luggage in Newark and other sad things.

TITLE: My luggage in Newark and other sad things.
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DATE: 07/31/2005 10:48:47 PM
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Came back to Singapore yesterday early-early morning. Was around 6am when I finally cleared the custom after going to toilet, walking that blasted long corridor from the gate and shop a bit at the DFS.

Home was just on the other side of the glass panel...I wanna go home n sleep...quick-quick...where's my luggage, where's my luggage? I waited and waited...wah lao, why so long....Maybe plane big, passenager too many....it was overbooked, the flight...I waited for like 40 minutes (or is it 50?)....then i looked up at the display screen...alamak, my flight # disappear liao...what? Luggage lost arh?! Someone took by mistake?

Bo bian loh, went to the L&F counter to report loss...the gal at the counter actually told me that, yah, it takes about 40 mins to completely unload a plane. huh?! Flight # disappear liao, u still wan me to wait? So i went into the office to fill up a report. In the mean time, they got the ground crew to search for me. Yah, all luggage unload liao. No, din see that bag.

Bag really lost arh...die lah, chocolate all melt liao....what if they find it for me a month later...think of all the maggots...

What to do? Go home n sleep lah. What else to do? Already waste 1 hour waiting like an idiot liao. So went home & sleep until noon. Woke up and called the L & F office. Yeap, they found my bag. It's still held by Delta Airline in Newark. Why? Donno, but SIA has requested for its return. When will that happen? Probably tomorrow. Yah, probably.

I have 2 watches in that bag...one that goes tick-tick-tick; another beeps every hour...do they think it has a bomb in there? Possible you know. USA very very paranoid nowadays. When I boarded at Changi, my sewing scissors was confiscated because it is sharp n pointy. Okay, fair enough. I might use tat 6cm sewing scissors to threaten the pilot into driving the plane into the White House...afterall, we will pass very close to Washington DC. Can't take any chances...

Then in Newark, my nail file ( which i have used as a screwdriver, a can-lid opener...anything but a nail file. It's a nifty tool) gets confiscated also. Because it's sharp and pointy. Yes, I can see that a pilot can get terrorised by a 4cm metal nail file. What about my nails? Do you think it is sharp and pointy enough to be used as a tool of terrorism? I can use them to gouge out the pilots eye's, you know...no, wait. Bad move. A blind pilot is useless...I better try gouging out a air stewardess' eyes instead.

I left a trail of sharp pointy things on my way to USA. And my bag managed to get itself retained in Newark on my way back. They seem to have a knack of making themselves leave my person. Have I not treated them well enough? My bag doesn't want to come home...

So, in depression, I switched on the TV to watch a rerun of Jue Dui Superstar results. And I get to see the guy I was rooting for get eliminated from the competition. Xie Weicong...he's the perfect superstar. Got the looks, can sing okay. What happened?! Isn't today depressing enough already? Channel U is his jinx or what? Why did he failed in both "The Next Big Thing" and Superstar? He is the only one who got into the semi-finals for both, you know. Maybe his jinx is Quan Yifeng?

Among the 5 contestants, Weicong is the one who stands out. Other than him, who else? Derrick can be a star, but a superstar? Hmm...he's short, and he's kiddy...okay lah, 5566's Tony is short also. F4's Vic is kiddy also...but short AND kiddy...he's going to be The Little Brother forever, how to be superstar? But since Weicong is out, I'm rooting for Derrick this time. The way he imitated Lamb Chop and Barney was sooo cute.

After a depressing Jue Dui Superstar, I have to go back to office. Yes, it's a Sunday, and yes, I'm still concussed from jetlag. But what do you expect? I'm a workaholic, right?

My Sister the Oracle II

TITLE: My Sister the Oracle II
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DATE: 07/24/2005 01:57:08 AM
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You know, I really think my sis got psychic power. That day we were watching the results for Jue Dui Superstar, she actually predicted who's going to get eliminated and she even predicted the order of elimination. I mean, wow, okay lah, it's easy to guess who get eliminated, but to know exactly who goes out first?!

NKF Toilet and that online petition

TITLE: NKF Toilet and that online petition
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DATE: 07/15/2005 10:26:18 PM
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I wanted very much to talk about that Golden Tap and Imported Toilet Bowl. But without the backing of SPH, I didn't think it will be wise of me to open my mouth.

Then there is this famous online petition (http://www.petitiononline.com/nkfs/petition.html) which garnered 42557 signatures in 4 short days.

"Did I put my name on that online petition?", you wonder. No, I did not. Because I believe Durai should not be ousted from NKF. Anyone of you knew of NKF 15 years ago? It was just one of the many charity organisations in Singapore. At that time, the one with the highest profile was Community Chest, with Sharity Elephant as its mascot...remember?

It was Durai who put NKF into the hearts of people in Singapore. In fact, he was so successful that I stopped contributing to it after seeing its beautiful building as I travelled on PIE.

Having an NKF building is not an extravagance, it is just the opposite; it is much cheaper in the long run to own the building then to rent an office space. It is the same principle as the fact that paying the full amount for a HDB flat is much cheaper than taking a housing loan from a bank. But do you know of anyone who pay for their HDB flat without taking a loan? Everyone is stupid or what? Why take a loan and let the bank earn your interest? You get my point?

Ironically, NKF's downfall is its success...his success. You cannot be successful if you want to get sympathy. The essense of charity is to get people feel guilty that they are leading a good life when there are people suffering.

And for some of us, we give to charity to alleviate our feelings of guilt...sort of. Then we discovered that the CEO of the charity is earning 20-30 times more than us, thus making him 20-30 time more guilty than us; so we are not that guilty afterall...so we are not guilty afterall...so we don't have to feel guilty...so we don't have to give...

When NKF expressed support for Durai at the beginning, I applauded their integrity and cursed their stupidity. If NKF wants to continue being successful, they have to drop Durai. But wthout Durai, NKF will not be where it is today. I will think less of NKF if it denounced its CEO so easily after all he has done for it.

Durai's only fault is that he has become so successful nobody dared gainsay him. He had lost his way in his empire...yes, i would say he has built an empire out of NKF. There was no one to give him advices and keep him in touch with the rest of the world. He was a man who flew too fast, too high...a little like Icarus in Greek mythology.

The only thing I cannot understand is why he took on an SPH reporter? Because of his wins in his defamatory cases against 2 individuals in the 90's? SPH has to protect its employee...if not because it is a great and supportive employer, then at least because it will be a major "lose face" situation if Durai wins. There is a Chinese saying: Before you hit the dog, see who's its owner.

Us Charitable Singaporeans

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DATE: 07/11/2005 06:20:15 PM
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The news headlines these days shows how charitable we are...

This is old news, but well...the court is hearing the case now, so it's back on people's mind.

Huang Na, the cute little China girl, received a little over 100k in donations at her funeral...well, okay, her parents get the money, not her.

I guess we are just not articulate enough to express our sorrows and regrets with words. The money is our way of saying sorry...Sorry that Singapore was not safe enough for her...Sorry that she was murdered and left to rot in the "almost" wilderness (Don't think we can find any real wilderness in ultra urban Spore).

The fact that all 3 of her parents (there's a step-father lah) were jailbirds was besides the point. I mean, she is so young and innocent; what her parents do has nothing to do with her. The fact that the money will inevitably end up in the hands of those less than honest parents, is also besides the point. I mean, what you expect us to do? Burn the money as offerings to her meh? Don't be stupid lah, that's against the law leh.

We are such a charitable and emotional and, dare I say gullible and naive, people.

I wonder...if her parents had put her up for sale in the human trafficking market (black market, of cos), will she fetch 100k?

My Sister the Oracle

TITLE: My Sister the Oracle
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DATE: 07/07/2005 10:13:37 PM
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Actually I wanted to title this as "My Sister the Prophetess", but thought I shouldn't provoke the Al-Qaeda pple with the use of the word "Prophet". They have just blasted London, so better tip-toe around them.

We were watching the IOC announcement of the host for 2012 Olympics just the day before (06Jul). There was a clip of Tony Blair promising that London will deliver on facilities and security for the Olympics.

And my sister commented, "Security? Bomb and let you see arh..." Within 20 hours from the IOC announcment, 7 blasts rocked London.

But I must assure you, my sister is in no way connected to the AL-Qaeda...and Oracle is the name of a big IT company.

Dilemma

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DATE: 07/06/2005 03:12:49 AM
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A colleague requested to friendster with me...

That means she will see or has already seen my blog...

Oh dear, oh dear, what i do, what i do?

Want to add her anot?

She's a good friend, but...that means now i cannot complain too much about my company and other colleagues in my blog lah... Else accidentally leak from her how?

Maybe i should start writing in web language, then maybe she wouldn't understand. (No, my dear, I'm not hinting that you are old.)

Actually already has a colleague in my list. But that guy's friendster is like bai sui wan. One mth donno got login once anot.

Ah, weblogs... places where angels fear to tread...

War of the Worlds

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DATE: 06/30/2005 03:48:48 AM
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It opened yesterday in Singapore...Thought I'll be watching it. Afterall, it's yet another familiar story from childhood...shows how much I know myself... I think Tom Cruise sort of squashed my interest.

Wonder what's it like. Considering that we grow up on a diet of X-files and Independence Days and that crazy Mars Attack, this isn't a very interesting story...nothing new. Well, it was fantastic when HG Wells wrote it, but that was like 100 years ago, literally..

But then, it's Spielberg's. He has never disappoint us. So maybe it's worth watching.

Wonder what's the ending. In the original, the world was saved by some microscopic, undead strands of protein (otherwise known as the Flu Bug)...works fine in a book, but would be rather lame in a blockbuster.

Oh yes, our MOH is  getting prepared to go into emergency state for the spreading of the Killer Flu. Hmm...we don't know when we'll need them to save our world for us (them as in the Killer Flu, not our MOH). Love Thy Neighbour, I say.

Scaredy Cat

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DATE: 06/27/2005 07:15:12 PM
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I think I'm a chicken...

With the anonymity gone, I can't seem to write a damn thing...

This New Blog Thingy

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DATE: 06/21/2005 05:48:35 AM
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Being a rather backward person, I got onto Friendster only just this year. It is actually a rather boring place... What can I do here... except collecting friends into a neat digital list. Maybe I'm spolit by all the fanfare on multiply.com

Had a blog somewhere in cyberspace. Due to a madly short project deadline, I stopped blogging for a while. I think I'm getting old... Have completely forgotten the stupid password...

Oh well, might as well start afresh. That old blog was getting too dangerous... In my less than sane moments, in the middle of the night, in front of a innocent looking computer, I've supplied hordes of blackmail materials...

Will restart my blogging on Friendster..so that I got something to do while visiting.