D-48: The Story of Plurk
I partly blame my lack of blog posts to Plurk.
What is Plurk?
Wikipedia says:
Plurk is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send updates (otherwise known as plurks) through short messages or links, which can be up to 140 text characters in length.
Updates are then shown on the user’s home page using a timeline which lists all the updates received in chronological order, and delivered to other users who have signed up to receive them. Users can respond to other users’ updates from their timeline through the Plurk.com website, by instant messaging, or by text messaging.
Plurk is a very convenient way to give short updates on your life or your thoughts. I mainly use Plurk after Twitter started to die off some time back. Just to give a snapshot of how Plurk looks like, have a look at the following:
Yep, you can reply to each Plurk by plurking on the plurk itself (notice plurk is both a verb and a noun). It might be a bit hard to use at first, but once you get used to it, you can get really addicted.
If you use Plurk, feel free to add me. My Plurk profile is private, so you’ll have to be my friend in order to see anything I posted.
See you there!
D-53: The Story of a Moisturizer
It’s funny that the simplest items can remind me of so many sweet memories.
I’m currently having a patch of dry skin on the “inside” of my elbow (elbowpit?), so this morning I applied some skin moisturizing cream.
The brand is Rosken.
And then I remembered that close to 3 years ago, someone else noticed that my elbow (the “outside” this time) had a patch of dry skin. One fine day when we were studying on the school benches, from her bag she took out a small bottle of skin moisturizing cream.
The brand was Rosken.
I can’t remember where she got the moisturizing cream from. All I knew was that it was a really small bottle, probably a sampler from… the Big Walk maybe? It wasn’t exactly the same type as the one I’m having now. The one she had was a blue “Dry Skin Cream”, whereas the one I use now is an orange “Rosken Dry, Itchy & Scaly Cream with Vitamin E” (that’s a mouthful, I know!).
I remembered that she helped me to apply the cream, making sure that the entire patch was covered thoroughly. When the dry skin persisted, she gave me the bottle of skin moisturizer and reminded me to apply it regularly.
What she did wasn’t much by any standard, but it was a catalyst for the 2-year relationship that ensued 3 months later. Right now the empty, blue Rosken bottle sits inside a white box in my Bukit Batok apartment. The bottle is just a small fragment of a chapter of my life that I’d still like to keep for the time being.
As I finished applying the cream and dressed up for work, I smiled.
It is easy to remember the bad times and get hurt all over again.
But it also isn’t hard to dig the sweet memories and remember that at one point in time, someone had loved me and I had loved her too.
D-61: Vicious Circle
I find it funny that these days when I want to blog, I start thinking of the topic that I am going to write. By the time I’ve decided on how to write it, it will be quite late and I decide to write it another time.
But by the time that another time comes, I will have another topic in mind, and I will start thinking of how to write that other topic.
Repeat the process a few times, and you’ll realize why I haven’t been blogging a lot lately.
Seriously, I have many things that I want to blog about.
From the graduation gift given by the school, to the graduation gift that my brother sent me, to convocation, to graduation evening, to someone who has been special. But so far, none has been written, and at the end of the day, I have even more things to write than I can handle.
Funny, really, that after realizing all these, I can still blog about the thought process (i.e. this very post you’re reading) instead of actually putting the things I’ve always wanted to write into… well, actual writing.
Anyway, it’s time to sleep.
The reason why I’m still awake at this hour is that we were changing our air conditioners to brand-new units, and there was some dispute between the landlord and the air con guys.
Basically the air con guys didn’t carry the proper certificate to certify that they are certified (very odd sentence!) to install the compressor bracket just outside the flat. Without the certificate, if anything happens to the compressor (let’s say it decides to free fall nine storeys down and kiss someone down there), the blame will fall on the landlord and she may end up behind bars.
The company wasn’t happy when the certificate was demanded, and pulled the guys out of the project, leaving holes in the walls of the house where the air con units were to be installed.
Of course, the landlord wasn’t happy at all, and there were some arguments.
Eventually the air con units were installed, but they only finished at 10-ish. With dust all over our house and damage in some locations in the house. We had to spend the next hour or so cleaning up the house. That doesn’t even include resting, showering and waiting for my hair to dry, like what I’m doing right now.
Anyway. Time to sleep.
D-64: Exhausted
I’ve been away for a couple of days, and I’m totally exhausted. Mum and sis came by to Singapore on Tuesday to attend my convocation, and since then I’ve been trying to show them around Singapore. Unfortunately, this trip of theirs is not as good as I hoped it was, as the weather and other circumstances forced us to shelve a lot of our plans.
Anyway, I’m exhausted, and tomorrow is Monday. Time to recharge and start working again.
Till next time.
D-75: The Strategy
Apologies for the lack of updates for the past few days. I just didn’t really have the mood to blog.
Anyway, I missed my bus by half a minute this morning, so I had to take a cab to work and bid goodbye to 1.5 hours of pay. It isn’t the first time I almost miss or actually miss my bus.
Sometimes it is my fault (“oh, I still have 3 minutes left the last time I checked, let’s just take a leisurely wa… oh foot, that’s the bus!” *runs to catch the bus*), but sometimes it’s iris’s (“oh I still have 15 minutes to get to the bus stop, now let me just refresh the pa… oh foot, I only have 2 minutes!” *runs out of house*).
In the former case, sometimes I see the bus pulling away without me at the bus stop, in which case I know I’ll have to wait for about half an hour for the next bus. In the latter case, usually I don’t even get to see the bus at all. The only indication that I’ve missed the bus is iris saying that the next bus is coming in half an hour’s time.
Rather than waiting for the next bus and be extremely late, I usually choose to take a cab instead. When I have flagged a cab, boarded it, and told the driver my destination, a few things can happen.
The first is the driver beating me up to death.
The first is the cab overtaking the bus along the way to the expressway. This means that I’ve just missed the bus by a few seconds. I know I could have just told the driver to drop me at the next bus stop, but I’ll feel bad giving the driver a false hope of earning my 1.5 hours of pay. So usually I just pretend I don’t see the bus at all and carry on to my workplace.
The second is the cab overtaking the bus on the expressway. This means that the bus has left the bus stop quite some time before I reached. Since it is an express bus, the next stop would have been somewhere near my workplace, so usually I’ll just carry on to my workplace.
The third is the cab doesn’t overtake the bus at all until I’ve reached my workplace. In which case I’ll call 999 for investigation of possible alien abduction.
So I thought that this cannot go on all the time. I have to come up with a strategy in order to waste only as little money as possible. Here’s how it roughly goes:
Check iris at home and leave the house at least 10 minutes before the predicted or scheduled arrival, whichever is earlier. Really, this is the easiest way not to miss the bus, but knowing myself, I doubt this can happen all the time.
Check mobile iris when I’m walking to the bus stop.
If by the time I reach the bus stop, the predicted arrival of the next bus is still within the next 10 minutes or Arriving, then I haven’t missed the bus.
If along the way, the predicted arrival of the next bus changes from Arriving to half an hour, it means I’ve missed the bus.
If I can get a cab within 3 minutes after missing the bus, I’ll ask the driver to go to the last bus stop just before the expressway.
If I overtake the bus before reaching the bus stop, I’ll alight at the bus stop and flag the bus there.
If I don’t overtake the bus before reaching the bus stop, it means the bus has entered the expressway, and so I’ll ask the driver to take me to my workplace instead.
If I can’t get a cab within 3 minutes of missing the bus, I’ll ask the driver to take me directly to the work place.
Let’s hope that this strategy will solve my problem, and at the same time save me as much money as possible.
D-75: The Strategy
Apologies for the lack of updates for the past few days. I just didn’t really have the mood to blog.
Anyway, I missed my bus by half a minute this morning, so I had to take a cab to work and bid goodbye to 1.5 hours of pay. It isn’t the first time I almost miss or actually miss my bus.
Sometimes it is my fault (“oh, I still have 3 minutes left the last time I checked, let’s just take a leisurely wa… oh foot, that’s the bus!” *runs to catch the bus*), but sometimes it’s iris’s (“oh I still have 15 minutes to get to the bus stop, now let me just refresh the pa… oh foot, I only have 2 minutes!” *runs out of house*).
In the former case, sometimes I see the bus pulling away without me at the bus stop, in which case I know I’ll have to wait for about half an hour for the next bus. In the latter case, usually I don’t even get to see the bus at all. The only indication that I’ve missed the bus is iris saying that the next bus is coming in half an hour’s time.
Rather than waiting for the next bus and be extremely late, I usually choose to take a cab instead. When I have flagged a cab, boarded it, and told the driver my destination, a few things can happen.
The first is the driver beating me up to death.
The first is the cab overtaking the bus along the way to the expressway. This means that I’ve just missed the bus by a few seconds. I know I could have just told the driver to drop me at the next bus stop, but I’ll feel bad giving the driver a false hope of earning my 1.5 hours of pay. So usually I just pretend I don’t see the bus at all and carry on to my workplace.
The second is the cab overtaking the bus on the expressway. This means that the bus has left the bus stop quite some time before I reached. Since it is an express bus, the next stop would have been somewhere near my workplace, so usually I’ll just carry on to my workplace.
The third is the cab doesn’t overtake the bus at all until I’ve reached my workplace. In which case I’ll call 999 for investigation of possible alien abduction.
So I thought that this cannot go on all the time. I have to come up with a strategy in order to waste only as little money as possible. Here’s how it roughly goes:
Check iris at home and leave the house at least 10 minutes before the predicted or scheduled arrival, whichever is earlier. Really, this is the easiest way not to miss the bus, but knowing myself, I doubt this can happen all the time.
Check mobile iris when I’m walking to the bus stop.
If by the time I reach the bus stop, the predicted arrival of the next bus is still within the next 10 minutes or Arriving, then I haven’t missed the bus.
If along the way, the predicted arrival of the next bus changes from Arriving to half an hour, it means I’ve missed the bus.
If I can get a cab within 3 minutes after missing the bus, I’ll ask the driver to go to the last bus stop just before the expressway.
If I overtake the bus before reaching the bus stop, I’ll alight at the bus stop and flag the bus there.
If I don’t overtake the bus before reaching the bus stop, it means the bus has entered the expressway, and so I’ll ask the driver to take me to my workplace instead.
If I can’t get a cab within 3 minutes of missing the bus, I’ll ask the driver to take me directly to the work place.
Let’s hope that this strategy will solve my problem, and at the same time save me as much money as possible.
D-78: For The Beauty of The Earth
I think that things come full circle.
I used to listen to this song at one period of time a long time ago, in a similar situation. It’s a very uplifting piece of song. In fact, I described it much better in that post of mine:
Let me share with you this beautiful hymn, which I fell in love with after listening to it in the ‘Divine’ album. The song in the album was performed by the ‘Choir of Uppingham School’, which has definitely transformed the song into one beautiful and heavenly piece. Those who like choir songs should also sample this song as the arrangement is simply too amazing to resist.
How I wish I could blog like I did at that time. The version I found on YouTube is performed by ‘Saint Paul Cathedral Choir’, but it’s just as good.
Read more for the lyrics.
For The Beauty Of The Earth
Anthony Way
For the beauty of the earth,
For the glory of the skies;
For the love which from our birth,
Over and around us lies,
Over and around us lies;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our joyful hymn of praise.
For the beauty of each hour,
Of the day and of the night;
Hill and vale and tree and flow’r,
Sun and moon, and stars of light,
Sun and moon, and stars of light;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our joyful hymn of praise.
For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parents, child;
Friends on Earth and friends above,
For all gentle thoughts and mild,
For all gentle thoughts and mild;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our joyful hymn of praise.
For each perfect gift of Thine,
To our race so freely given,
Graces human and divine;
Flowers of earth and buds of heaven,
Flowers of earth and buds of heaven;
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our joyful hymn of praise.
D-78: For The Beauty of The Earth
I think that things come full circle.
I used to listen to this song at one period of time a long time ago, in a similar situation. It’s a very uplifting piece of song. In fact, I described it much better in that post of mine:
Let me share with you this beautiful hymn, which I fell in love with after listening to it in the ‘Divine’ album. The song in the album was performed by the ‘Choir of Uppingham School’, which has definitely transformed the song into one beautiful and heavenly piece. Those who like choir songs should also sample this song as the arrangement is simply too amazing to resist.
How I wish I could blog like I did at that time. The version I found on YouTube is performed by ‘Saint Paul Cathedral Choir’, but it’s just as good.
Read more for the lyrics.
For The Beauty Of The Earth
Anthony Way
For the beauty of the earth,
For the glory of the skies;
For the love which from our birth,
Over and around us lies,
Over and around us lies;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our joyful hymn of praise.
For the beauty of each hour,
Of the day and of the night;
Hill and vale and tree and flow’r,
Sun and moon, and stars of light,
Sun and moon, and stars of light;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our joyful hymn of praise.
For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parents, child;
Friends on Earth and friends above,
For all gentle thoughts and mild,
For all gentle thoughts and mild;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our joyful hymn of praise.
For each perfect gift of Thine,
To our race so freely given,
Graces human and divine;
Flowers of earth and buds of heaven,
Flowers of earth and buds of heaven;
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our joyful hymn of praise.
D-79: Closure
Finally, it’s over.
***
Thank you for the memories.
Thank you for giving me such a wonderful experience as my first love.
Thank you for bearing with me when we were still together.
Thank you for making me learn what love is all about.
Thank you for putting colours in my life.
Thank you for loving me.
Thank you for everything.
I’m sorry I can’t be your last love ever.
I’m sorry I haven’t done my best in the relationship.
I’m sorry I’ve taken you for granted.
I’m sorry for all the wrong things I’ve done.
I wish you all the best in your final year, and I hope you will find the right one soon.
I hope that we can remain as friends, no matter what has happened.
I hope that we can keep in touch, one way or another.
***
Don’t worry, I’ll be alright. Though sad at how things actually turn out, I also feel relieved and freer, after months of waiting and hurting and being hurt.
Now that I have nothing else to lose, it’s time to really do my best in everything that I do.
Meet up, anyone?
D-79: Closure
Finally, it’s over.
***
Thank you for the memories.
Thank you for giving me such a wonderful experience as my first love.
Thank you for bearing with me when we were still together.
Thank you for making me learn what love is all about.
Thank you for putting colours in my life.
Thank you for loving me.
Thank you for everything.
I’m sorry I can’t be your last love ever.
I’m sorry I haven’t done my best in the relationship.
I’m sorry I’ve taken you for granted.
I’m sorry for all the wrong things I’ve done.
I wish you all the best in your final year, and I hope you will find the right one soon.
I hope that we can remain as friends, no matter what has happened.
I hope that we can keep in touch, one way or another.
***
Don’t worry, I’ll be alright. Though sad at how things actually turn out, I also feel relieved and freer, after months of waiting and hurting and being hurt.
Now that I have nothing else to lose, it’s time to really do my best in everything that I do.
Meet up, anyone?
D-80: Let It Be
I’ve been hearing this song being repeated over and over again in various blogs, for various reasons. I do have my own reasons too. Maybe that’s the best course of action after all.
Sorry, feeling quite tired, so this is one of those short, cryptic blog entries.
Anyway, enjoy the song.
Read more for the lyrics.
Let It Be
The Beatles
When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me,
speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me,
speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be.
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.
And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree,
there will be an answer, let it be.
For though they may be parted there is still a chance that they will see,
there will be an answer, let it be.
Let it be, let it be…
And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light, that shines on me,
shine until tomorrow, let it be.
I wake up to the sound of music, mother Mary comes to me,
speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
Let it be, let it be…
D-80: Let It Be
I’ve been hearing this song being repeated over and over again in various blogs, for various reasons. I do have my own reasons too. Maybe that’s the best course of action after all.
Sorry, feeling quite tired, so this is one of those short, cryptic blog entries.
Anyway, enjoy the song.
Read more for the lyrics.
Let It Be
The Beatles
When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me,
speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me,
speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be.
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.
And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree,
there will be an answer, let it be.
For though they may be parted there is still a chance that they will see,
there will be an answer, let it be.
Let it be, let it be…
And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light, that shines on me,
shine until tomorrow, let it be.
I wake up to the sound of music, mother Mary comes to me,
speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
Let it be, let it be…
D-81: Fears
I was at Jurong Point on Tuesday, and braved myself and went into Cards n Such where I got the first present. I didn’t know what pushed me to go there. Part of me wanted to see that silly little bear again, part me of me didn’t.
The bear wasn’t there, as it’s probably out of production. Not surprisingly, the memories came flooding back, and if there weren’t my friends or anyone there I might have just cried.
Yet I know that if I want to truly move on, I need to confront my fears and see it right in the eyes. Going to the shop is one of the ways, by looking and realizing that it’s really over and that it’s not going to happen again, at least in the near future.
By doing it a few times over and over again, I’ll get used to it, and by then, I would have conquered my fear. It forces me to accept the facts.
I have no idea whether this technique will work, but I’m glad that I did it.
So, what do you do with your fears? Do you avoid them like plague, or do you face and confront them?
D-81: Fears
I was at Jurong Point on Tuesday, and braved myself and went into Cards n Such where I got the first present. I didn’t know what pushed me to go there. Part of me wanted to see that silly little bear again, part me of me didn’t.
The bear wasn’t there, as it’s probably out of production. Not surprisingly, the memories came flooding back, and if there weren’t my friends or anyone there I might have just cried.
Yet I know that if I want to truly move on, I need to confront my fears and see it right in the eyes. Going to the shop is one of the ways, by looking and realizing that it’s really over and that it’s not going to happen again, at least in the near future.
By doing it a few times over and over again, I’ll get used to it, and by then, I would have conquered my fear. It forces me to accept the facts.
I have no idea whether this technique will work, but I’m glad that I did it.
So, what do you do with your fears? Do you avoid them like plague, or do you face and confront them?
D-82: Sleepless
Too tired. Couldn’t sleep properly last night, as I was just washing my earplugs and so they weren’t fit for use, and my roommate snored. Got woken up at 3 am and couldn’t get back to sleep immediately. I tried my best to do work in the office, and got handsomely rewarded by falling asleep while standing in the train along the way back from work.
Got new pairs of earplugs, hope they’re better than the last one.
OK got to sleep soon…
D-82: Sleepless
Too tired. Couldn’t sleep properly last night, as I was just washing my earplugs and so they weren’t fit for use, and my roommate snored. Got woken up at 3 am and couldn’t get back to sleep immediately. I tried my best to do work in the office, and got handsomely rewarded by falling asleep while standing in the train along the way back from work.
Got new pairs of earplugs, hope they’re better than the last one.
OK got to sleep soon…
D-83: Batok? Buttocks?
One thing I’ve often wondered though, is how the name Bukit Batok came about. In Indonesian, the word “bukit” means hill, while “batok” can mean many things, from coconut shell to the (top of the) skull. Basically almost anything hard and half-roundish can be called “batok”.
So I asked my good old pal Wikipedia, and he said the following:
There are many different versions for the origins of the Malay place name Bukit Batok. Bukit means “hill” in Malay, thus the name of the town gives the impression of it being hilly. Batok, however, has several interpretations.
One version has it that according to a Javanese village chief in the tiny village of Gassing, coconut trees grew on the hills in the area and hence the name batok, the Javanese term for coconuts.
The Chinese interpretation is that the hills were of solid granite and hence called batu, the Malay name for “stone”, which was corrupted to bato and finally batok. Another version argues that the hill resembles a skull top and batok could also be construed to mean “skull top”.
Others felt that the cold air in the area, which led to coughs and colds, conferred on the place the name batok, the Malay term for cough. This could also be a reminder of the days when the area had a large granite quarry at Little Guilin; coughing refers to the sounds of the explosives used.
A more ribald explanation has it that the two hills in the area looked like green buttocks to the British, a word which suffered verbal mutilation among the Chinese to finally emerge as batok.
Quite interesting, eh?
D-83: Batok? Buttocks?
One thing I’ve often wondered though, is how the name Bukit Batok came about. In Indonesian, the word “bukit” means hill, while “batok” can mean many things, from coconut shell to the (top of the) skull. Basically almost anything hard and half-roundish can be called “batok”.
So I asked my good old pal Wikipedia, and he said the following:
There are many different versions for the origins of the Malay place name Bukit Batok. Bukit means “hill” in Malay, thus the name of the town gives the impression of it being hilly. Batok, however, has several interpretations.
One version has it that according to a Javanese village chief in the tiny village of Gassing, coconut trees grew on the hills in the area and hence the name batok, the Javanese term for coconuts.
The Chinese interpretation is that the hills were of solid granite and hence called batu, the Malay name for “stone”, which was corrupted to bato and finally batok. Another version argues that the hill resembles a skull top and batok could also be construed to mean “skull top”.
Others felt that the cold air in the area, which led to coughs and colds, conferred on the place the name batok, the Malay term for cough. This could also be a reminder of the days when the area had a large granite quarry at Little Guilin; coughing refers to the sounds of the explosives used.
A more ribald explanation has it that the two hills in the area looked like green buttocks to the British, a word which suffered verbal mutilation among the Chinese to finally emerge as batok.
Quite interesting, eh?
D-84: Bukit Buttock Batok-er
Some of you might have known that I’ve left my old residence in Jurong West to Bukit Buttock Batok. I moved together with the friends who shared that old house. This is the fourth time that I’ve moved ever since I came to Singapore close to nine years ago.
The first was from Winstedt Hostel when I was still attending the 2-month intensive English Language course, to the ACS (I) Boarding School. Internal moves within the hall for the next 4 years are not counted. Then I moved from the boarding school to the NTU Hall 5 to stay for a year. Then I moved out to Jurong West, where I stayed for 3 years. And now I’ve finally moved to Bukit Batok.
The thing about moving is that it’s so troublesome to pack up all my belongings, and then unpack everything at the new place. The small things are a killer, especially those which are a hassle to pack, but too meaningful to throw away.
Anyway, I digress.
The new house is not too bad, it’s near many makan (eating) places, from the hawker centre at the community centre just opposite my block, to the market 10 minutes away, to the restaurants in West Mall. The place is also quite near the MRT, which is only about 5-minute walk away.
Not that I take the MRT that often, since I have a direct express bus to my work place.
The house is quite spacious, though it’s smaller than the Jurong West one. And there are only 3 bedrooms, to be shared with 5 guys. Otherwise it’s quite nice, although the HDB block itself is quite old.
I particularly love the bath heater in the house, especially in the master bedroom, which I share with a friend. It’s so much of an improvement compared to the Jurong West house’s heater, which is not hot at all, except in hot days. The jet stream from the shower head is also very refreshing, something that the old house is, again, lacking.
I can see that our monthly water bill will shoot up from this month onwards. Oops.
So, I’m a Bukit Batok-er now, still a Westie. If anybody in the west wants to meet up somewhere nearby, feel free to give me a buzz.
D-84: Bukit Buttock Batok-er
Some of you might have known that I’ve left my old residence in Jurong West to Bukit Buttock Batok. I moved together with the friends who shared that old house. This is the fourth time that I’ve moved ever since I came to Singapore close to nine years ago.
The first was from Winstedt Hostel when I was still attending the 2-month intensive English Language course, to the ACS (I) Boarding School. Internal moves within the hall for the next 4 years are not counted. Then I moved from the boarding school to the NTU Hall 5 to stay for a year. Then I moved out to Jurong West, where I stayed for 3 years. And now I’ve finally moved to Bukit Batok.
The thing about moving is that it’s so troublesome to pack up all my belongings, and then unpack everything at the new place. The small things are a killer, especially those which are a hassle to pack, but too meaningful to throw away.
Anyway, I digress.
The new house is not too bad, it’s near many makan (eating) places, from the hawker centre at the community centre just opposite my block, to the market 10 minutes away, to the restaurants in West Mall. The place is also quite near the MRT, which is only about 5-minute walk away.
Not that I take the MRT that often, since I have a direct express bus to my work place.
The house is quite spacious, though it’s smaller than the Jurong West one. And there are only 3 bedrooms, to be shared with 5 guys. Otherwise it’s quite nice, although the HDB block itself is quite old.
I particularly love the bath heater in the house, especially in the master bedroom, which I share with a friend. It’s so much of an improvement compared to the Jurong West house’s heater, which is not hot at all, except in hot days. The jet stream from the shower head is also very refreshing, something that the old house is, again, lacking.
I can see that our monthly water bill will shoot up from this month onwards. Oops.
So, I’m a Bukit Batok-er now, still a Westie. If anybody in the west wants to meet up somewhere nearby, feel free to give me a buzz.
D-84: Bukit Buttock Batoker
Some of you might have known that I’ve left my old residence in Jurong West to Bukit Buttock Batok. I moved together with the friends who shared that old house. This is the fourth time that I’ve moved ever since I came to Singapore close to nine years ago.
The first was from Winstedt Hostel when I was still attending the 2-month intensive English Language course, to the ACS (I) Boarding School. Internal moves within the hall for the next 4 years are not counted. Then I moved from the boarding school to the NTU Hall 5 to stay for a year. Then I moved out to Jurong West, where I stayed for 3 years. And now I’ve finally moved to Bukit Batok.
The thing about moving is that it’s so troublesome to pack up all my belongings, and then unpack everything at the new place. The small things are a killer, especially those which are a hassle to pack, but too meaningful to throw away.
Anyway, I digress.
The new house is not too bad, it’s near many makan (eating) places, from the hawker centre at the community centre just opposite my block, to the market 10 minutes away, to the restaurants in West Mall. The place is also quite near the MRT, which is only about 5-minute walk away.
Not that I take the MRT that often, since I have a direct express bus to my work place.
The house is quite spacious, though it’s smaller than the Jurong West one. And there are only 3 bedrooms, to be shared with 5 guys. Otherwise it’s quite nice, although the HDB block itself is quite old.
I particularly love the bath heater in the house, especially in the master bedroom, which I share with a friend. It’s so much of an improvement compared to the Jurong West house’s heater, which is not hot at all, except in hot days. The jet stream from the shower head is also very refreshing, something that the old house is, again, lacking.
I can see that our monthly water bill will shoot up from this month onwards. Oops.
If anybody in the west wants to meet up somewhere nearby, feel free to give me a buzz.
D-85: Grad Shoot
Photo by Ethan
This was what I was out for (almost) the whole day today… after getting my residential address updated with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority and buying a new pair of shoes, that is. Too bad I wasn’t wearing the mortar and pestle mortarboard (cap) in the photo. The rest of the set should be uploaded later on, I think. I will be providing the link to the album once it’s ready.
Thanks to Ethan and Terence for taking photos for the four of us (Hendri, Grace, Berdine, Lynn).
BTW, the bloody old pair of shoes just sort of disintegrated itself when I was wearing it, leaving me with just 70 bucks left in my bank account to last me for 2.5 weeks. Well, actually the sole already separated itself yesterday, but I glued it back to the shoe, thinking it would hold.
It obviously didn’t.
D-85: Grad Shoot
Photo by Ethan
This was what I was out for (almost) the whole day today… after getting my residential address updated with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority and buying a new pair of shoes, that is. Too bad I wasn’t wearing the mortar and pestle mortarboard (cap) in the photo. The rest of the set should be uploaded later on, I think. I will be providing the link to the album once it’s ready.
Thanks to Ethan and Terence for taking photos for the four of us (Hendri, Grace, Berdine, Lynn).
BTW, the bloody old pair of shoes just sort of disintegrated itself when I was wearing it, leaving me with just 70 bucks left in my bank account to last me for 2.5 weeks. Well, actually the sole already separated itself yesterday, but I glued it back to the shoe, thinking it would hold.
It obviously didn’t.
D-86: I Love You, You Love Me…
Seen on my colleague’s C textbook (scribbled on the margin; syntax corrected for display on this blog):
char *lineptr[3];
lineptr[1] = “I love you”;
lineptr[2] = “You love me”;
lineptr[3] = “Fuck you”;
Oh dear, I wonder what was on his mind…
PS: I left the office to meet up with someone, and I actually went all the way back to the office to take the book that I accidentally left behind, just so that I can take the photo and put it up here. Oh, the things that I do in the name of blogging…
Oh, and I ended up being late for my dinner date with two friends.
D-86: I Love You, You Love Me…
Seen on my colleague’s C textbook (scribbled on the margin; syntax corrected for display on this blog):
char *lineptr[3];
lineptr[1] = “I love you”;
lineptr[2] = “You love me”;
lineptr[3] = “Fuck you”;
Oh dear, I wonder what was on his mind…
PS: I left the office to meet up with someone, and I actually went all the way back to the office to take the book that I accidentally left behind, just so that I can take the photo and put it up here. Oh, the things that I do in the name of blogging…
Oh, and I ended up being late for my dinner date with two friends.
D-87: Earplugs
Those who know me well will know that I’m very sensitive when I’m sleeping. Which means to say that I get stimulated very easily. Any slight noise can wake me up. It was the very same reason that I had to switch rooms when I stayed in hall as a freshman.
In addition, due to the insane property prices lately, I have to forgo the privacy of a single room in my old house, to share a room in the new house with a friend. Which means to say that I’m no longer single. Which I thought was fine initially since we only use the room for sleeping.
Oh, I didn’t tell you that I moved to Bukit Batok? That’s for next entry then.
What I hoped was that he doesn’t do anything funny when I’m asleep. Unfortunately, this friend is also a snorer. Imagine being woken up at 1 am, 4 am, and 9 am because of the snores. So I retaliated by forcing his eyes open and shining torchlight into his eyes.
Snores + sensitive sleeper = disaster.
The solution turns out to be simple, and is actually the same one I thought about exactly 4 years ago.
I bought a pair of earplugs.
The earplugs that I got are actually quite cheap ($1.55 for a pair), but they are also a brilliant device. I’ve always wondered how does a person insert the earplug such that it will block as much noise as possible.
The answer lies in the fact that the basic earplugs, like the one I got, are made of memory foam. Tell the earplugs something, and they will retain it for years. Deform the earplugs, and they will slowly return to its original shape.
So what you have to do is to roll an earplug, compressing it to a small cylinder, and then place it in the ear canal. The earplug will slowly expand and fill the gap.
The experience itself is worth blogging.
First you feel a foreign object (the earplug) entering your ear. And then with a rustling noise, the earplug slowly expands. As it does, the sound that you hear from that ear slowly fades, until the earplug is in a tight fit with your ear.
Do it on both ears, and the experience is quite surreal. Everything you sense with the other four senses are the same, only that you hear nothing, or very muted, if at all. The usual noise of the air con, the taps on the handphone as you send your last good night messages, the noise you’re supposed to hear as you toss and turn in bed–they are just not there. If you’re lucky, you can even hear your own heartbeat!
Well, that’s what you’re supposed to hear–nothing.
For some people, like me, I hear a slight ringing noise. It’s the same noise that I get when I try to shut both ears with my fingers. Wikipedia suggests that this condition is called Tiny Toon tinnitus.
It is not a disease itself, but can be caused by many reasons, such as “ear infections, foreign objects or wax in the ear (most likely the reason), nose allergies that prevent (or induce) fluid drain and cause wax build-up, and injury from loud noises. Tinnitus is also a side-effect of some oral medications, such as aspirin, and may also result from an abnormally low level of serotonin activity.”
Tinnitus does not seem to be a dangerous condition though, so I guess it’s fine.
BTW, did you know that memory foam are used for mattresses too?
D-88: Patience
Half an hour ago, this was a very angry post that may aggravate some problems.
But after talking to someone unexpected, it turned to a realization of what might have actually happened.
Maybe she was right.
Maybe what I really have to do is to be patient.
Don’t rush things. Don’t blame. Don’t get offended.
And give everyone some time to cool down and heal.
Because eventually, things will turn out fine.
D-89: Friends
These few days my playlist keeps on consisting of Mocca’s songs. I think that these past 3 years of my life can be summarized by Mocca’s songs, from their first album (My Diary) to the second (Friends). In fact I can probably write a blog entry just with their songs.
Thanks to all my friends who have been around me, in particular the ones who were there at the lowest period of my life.
Thank you.
Read more for the lyrics.
Friend
Mocca
If anyone can fill my world with joy and happiness
And cast away all of my loneliness
Always there beside me when I am down
And never left my face with a frown
It’s you! Yes, it is you my friend who can make it all come true
It’s you! Yes, it is true a friend in need is a friend indeed
If anyone can fill my world with joy and happiness
And cast away all of my loneliness
Always there beside me when I am down
And never left my face with a frown
It’s you! Yes, it is you my friend who can make it all come true
It’s you! Yes, it is true a friend in need is a friend indeed
When you’re around I wrap my self in a pearly smile
When you’re around you light the bulb inside my head
When you’re around I wrap my self in a pearly smile
When you’re around I dance and sway and kiss the ground
If anyone can fill my world with joy and happiness
And cast away all of my loneliness
Always there beside me when I am down
And never left my face with a frown
It’s you! Yes, it is you my friend who can make it all come true
It’s you! Yes, it is true a friend in need is a friend indeed
When you’re around I wrap my self in a pearly smile
When you’re around you light the bulb inside my head
When you’re around I wrap my self in a pearly smile
When you’re around I laugh and sing out strong and loud
D-90: 90 Day Jane?
Remember 90 Day Jane, the girl who promised to commit suicide after 90 days and blog about it every single day? This blog has nothing to do with it, and neither am I going to commit suicide, so don’t you worry hokay? Anyway it turns out that 90 Day Jane didn’t really commit suicide at the end of the 90 days, but rather she revealed that it was actually an art project of hers.
Just that in 90 days time, this domain will be disabled. So there won’t be any more squoar.com. After all, the very reason why the domain is called squoar.com is no longer there. So what’s the point of continuing the domain name, isn’t it?
Anyway, she should be moving to a new domain soon, while myself… well, I haven’t really decided. I haven’t even decided if I’d like to take another break from blogging, or whether I will continue in another domain, or even just carry on blogging on Wordpress.com.
Notice I didn’t write “stop blogging”, since it has never been my intention to stop blogging. Besides, I’ve attempted to stop blogging a couple of times, as you can see from the holes in my archives, but usually they never last for more than a couple of weeks.
D-91: A Week
It’s been a week since I started working in GEC. The first week was… well… quite hard to describe. It was exciting, knowing what I am going to perform in the company, as well as boring as I can’t really start yet as my PR is not approved yet. My direct manager is also not around, so I had to rely on the other team members to guide me along.
It doesn’t help that one of the laws also prohibits me from knowing anything about the project as long as my PR is not approved yet. Not surprisingly, of course I can’t say anything about the project here either.
So I spent the first week performing administrative tasks needed for new hires, doing some readings on the basic knowledge needed for the project, as well as trying to get used to the company’s internal systems, like the tools available on the company’s intranet.
One of the good things about the company is that all employees are issued with a laptop each. I got one of the Lenovo T61, which is apparently more powerful than my desktop PC. Too bad we can’t install any personal stuff inside.
Oh, and I got my first assignment too, although it doesn’t have anything to do with the project I’ll be doing.