The day Orchard Road stood still… (& muddy) Ironically, this is a very first time Orchard Road gotten flooded this badly in many years. How badly exactly? See for yourself: Water as high as 1/2 metre, as reported… Poor Hermes’ pretty much flooded, together with Starbucks & Wendy’s. Care for some 水货 & ‘milo peng’??? Buses and cars having a hard time trying to move around the Scott Road area… A random thought… How come the dustbin didn’t get swept away by the flood… Hope the Mini didn’t stall and need an overhaul… Some says it’s due to diversion of the Stamford canal for building of Orchard 313 that caused this flooding. Others say it’s just another random act of Nature to prove our govt is always talking cock (cos apparently they made a comment some years back about Orchard Road not being likely to get flooded at all). And of cos, with today being the Dumpling cum Dragonboat festival, some says it’s cause no one has been dumping the dumplings into the river, thus the flooding. Perhaps it’ll be a good day for dragonboating at Orchard? Perhaps they should really consider moving the Duck Tour down to Orchard just for the day… More details below… More Photos & videos: mrbrown: Someone call the Minister of Freak Incidents! Orchard Road flooding! News: Heavy floods turn Orchard Rd into Orchard River Floods in central S’pore Video: Facebook video - Liat tower area flooded Lucky Plaza flooded The REAL reason why guys watch World Cup… Because of things like this… HANDPHONE TRICK!!! Uneventful day… Bah. Long breaks come and go. Before long it’s been 6 months since I’m into this job. I wonder how much longer can I endure, both mentally and physically. Meanwhile random stuff to note… my 1st catches from UFO Catcher machine! turns out this 1’s particularly easy. The Kuromi & My Melody pair! kinda small but beats having nothing.. Anyway I went JB on 9th Jun around 6pm and there was a long jam. While wondering what happened, someone exclaimed that there are thick black smoke rising into the air. Turns out a lorry caught fire and they need to call in the firefighters. Photos below: Geez it’s burnt up pretty badly. Never had I encountered this in my 10+ ~ 20 years of going JB. Nevertheless, for the lottery punters, the lucky no. is 1999. Go buy!!! That’s all for my random post! I’m kinda too lazy to post anything abt the museum visits or whatsoever. So pray hard I’m ‘hardworking’ enough to post about the upcoming trips. zzzzzzz About JIPABAN.com.sg Recently, a new all-in-one online shopping mall called jipaban.com.sg has been launched by the founder of Nuffnang with the aim of 1) providing shoppers with a one-stop shopping mall, and 2) providing retailers a platform for them to market their salesware to the shoppers. A fabulous idea, indeed. But recently I’ve came to hear of a few complaints. The most common ones being the absence of notice of ’shop rental’. Most folks thought the platform is free to use (like Nuffnang), or probably have some commission-basis system like ebay & the likes. However, they didn’t expect that the min. rental is like $600 for 6 mths. And to top it up, the awareness of this kicks in only towards the end of the registration. While a simple browse thru the FAQ reveals the disclosure of this important fact, nevertheless the platform is priced at a rate which can’t be self-justified considering there is no proven track record or the required critical mass for the platform to self-substain. Nevertheless, a brilliant idea that took form and shape, and I noted there’s 69 shops listed now. So do check it out! Jipaban.com.sg Good Service, Bad Service There’s been a fair bit of big hooha these few years about good service, and it matters especially in Singapore where a 10% service charge has been literally ’slapped’ upon customers, creating a situation where there is no additional benefit to provide good service on top of what’s required. Recently a friend of mine has encountered a really case of bad service & have raised a complaint, but to no avail however as the restaurant has yet to respond to her complaint or provide any form of acknowledgement of receipt of their complaint. This is really outrageous and shouldn’t be happening. By the way, this incident happened at No Signboard Vivocity outlet (so perhaps you guys would know which outlet to avoid as well). For details of the letter, read on below: Hi, My husband and I were the first customers at your Vivocity branch on Saturday. It was empty when we entered, and we subsequently ordered some dimsum. When we called for the bill, we were the first customers to ask for the bill, which I paid for with my Citibank Dividend card. As my water glass was empty for sometime already because no one filled it up, when the bill returned for my signature, I asked the server to top the water glass up. Subsequently, when I took my receipt from the bill folder, there was no credit card within. The server firstly said “Impossible, I put it inside.” When I pointed out that it was not, she started glancing over on the table and at my wallet. I explained that the other Citibank card was the Citibank Tangs card. My husband searched my bag. It was not around my table. She then went back to the counter looking for it. She repeated “It’s not possible” a few times in chinese, and she was just looking around, not actively searching. I was the one who got on my knees under my table to search for the card. For 10 minutes, besides standing around my table and looking and glancing around the counter, she did no active searching, except between the newspapers that I was reading. I explained that I did not take the credit card, to which I can only describe as disbelief on her face. She offered no apologies. There was no further assistance from any other staff, and no expedition to any senior staff or management. After 10 minutes, she asked me for my number and name so she could contact us if someone found it.I asked to see the manager, which she replied was not in yet. I asked to see the most senior staff around, to which she went grudgingly. When the senior staff came, I explained everything to her (because obviously the other staff did not) and pointed out no apology was offered, she only meekly whispered “sorry” with no sincerity. After taking down my details, I left the restaurant. At that moment, I had already cancelled my card, since I have no assurance from your staff that it could be found. 2 minutes after I left, the senior staff ran after us, explaining that she found the card tucked somewhere else. It was already too late, the damage was done. Now I am granted the inconvenience of having to wait for my credit card to be replaced from the bank. Imagine if I was a tourist, having to call my bank to block the card and request a replacement?! I was lucky that no travel was required from me this week for work, because then I would imagine the amount of inconvenience that would follow! All I wanted was a nice simple brunch at your outlet. Instead, I was offered the feeling that our credit cards were not a priority to your establishment. I repeatedly told the staff that my financial security could be compromised since they lost the card, what if someone took it and used it?! They only returned blank faces back to me. No apologies was given, until I finally lost my temper after  10 minutes. No proper assistance and no expedition was given. This must be a big joke. Your establishment obviously does not care for proper customer service nor sequence. I will not even dream of dining at No Signboard now, since my credit card was treated with such little respect and priority. Shouldn’t your staff know by now that it is important and even a basic thing to not lose the customer’s credit card, much less imply that the customer herself lost it?! You have no idea how angry I am. The amount of insincerity and indifference suffered at your restaurant will keep me and my friends away from your restaurant for a long time. Be assured that I will spread the word of this incident to the community. I will not be able to have that 15 minutes of my life back, when I was treated with such incompetence of service (that’s the only phrase that suits this scenario). I am also from F&B and the service line. I know it’s easy for the credit card to drop out of the bill folder. That is why you pay more attention to it. It’s not rocket science, but a simple and easy step to do. and that does not exonerate your staff of being more cautious, because it’s money! I really wonder what your establishment is doing to prevent that. From what I see, nothing. Your staff have my number. Yet your manager has not called to apologise. This really shows me how much your establishment cares about its customers. I can bring my money elsewhere to dine. Just because I’m not a VIP, doesn’t mean that the basic customer shouldn’t be treated with the same and equal amount of respect. I too had my fair share of good & bad service as well. The most recent one was encountered at Overeasy, where we asked for the bill like almost 10 times in anger (by the 5th, 6th time) & was wondering why the delay. It was only upon further questioning that they revealed that they couldn’t find my colleague’s credit card. What an ridiculous scene it was then! Eventually we gotten the card back with NO apologies (or discount or whatsoever) and it was at least  1.5hours after the 1st time we asked for the bill. By then everyone’s weary of waiting & it was just past midnight (aka midnight surcharge for cabbing). It was downright ridiculous & I’ve sworn that I’ll never go back to that place again. Of course, it’s easy to complain as what most people realised. Especially in Singapore, Singaporeans appear to be quite stingy especially when it comes to tipping and complimenting good services. Personally, I had wonderful experience dining at Greenhouse at Ritz Carlton, where the waiter will occasionally ask for our feedback about the food & areas of improvement from our dining experience. My dining partner only casually mentioned that the crab from seafood section didn’t taste as fresh as expected, & shortly after the manager came over to address our concern & offered a fresh & newly cooked serving (which we kindly declined as we’ve had our fill). The manager in turn offered us wine on the tab as apology for the shortfall in our dining experience. I must admit, even though the buffet @ Greenhouse isn’t as great as that @ The Line, nevertheless the service level of Ritz is enough to attract me back for more. In addition, I personally felt the manager’s response to our feedback was above & beyond what’s expected of him as both of us had the *cough* young student (aka poor) look. Then again, one might argue that a place like Ritz definitely displays higher service quality due to its reputation & prestige. Similarly, we encountered a UFO-in-salad case at Aston & was pretty disgusted. However, we didn’t make a fuss & merely informed the young (probably part-time) waitress about it & continued to finish up our steak. Upon paying the bill & leaving, the Asst manager came up to apologise to us about the blunder, & gave us complimentary meal for 2 for our next visit. While the value isn’t really great, it is the gesture that really counts. As compared to Manhattan Fish Market where we found a strand of hair in our fish & chips (& we can lift the entire fish up by it!!!), all they did was to merely say sorry, offer to change & give us a 10% discount since we didn’t throw up a fuss. I wasn’t too pleased about it since it involves food & hygiene, but what’s done’s been done so there isn’t much point harping over it, except to spread the message. If only the other F&B providers could learn from the above positive examples, I’m pretty sure good news will spread quickly by words of mouth & it will eventually be to their advantage. Also, the above complaint has been reposted in the following blogs: http://jaywalk.blog-city.com/no_signboard_no_service.htm http://jeshuafreak.blogspot.com/2010/05/no-signboard-sibei-fail.html World Cup Fixtures (courtesy of JesuaFreak) Courtesy of JesuaFreak, who gotten it in a ready-to-copy-paste format on his blog… Schedule for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa from June 11-July 11 following Friday’s draw here (all times GMT): First round: GROUP A Friday 11 June Match N.1: Johannesburg/Soccer City (1400, 10pm Singapore time), South Africa v Mexico Match N.2: Cape Town (1830, 2.30am Singapore time), Uruguay v France Wednesday 16 June Match N.17: Pretoria (1830, 2.30am Singapore time), South Africa v Uruguay Thursday 17 June Match N.18: Polokwane (1130, 7.30pm Singapore time), France v Mexico Tuesday 22 June Match N.34: Bloemfontein (1400, 10pm Singapore time), France v South Africa Match N.33: Rustenburg (1400, 10pm Singapore time), Mexico v Uruguay GROUP B Saturday 12 June Match N.3: Johannesburg/Ellis Park (1130, 7.30pm Singapore time), Argentina v Nigeria Match N.4: Port Elizabeth (1400, 10pm Singapore time), South Korea v Greece Thursday 17 June Match N.19: Bloemfontein (1400, 10pm Singapore time), Greece v Nigeria Match N.20: Johannesburg/Soccer City (1830, 2.30am Singapore time), Argentina v South Korea Tuesday 22 June Match N.35: Durban (1830, 2.30am Singapore time), Nigeria v South Korea Match N.36: Polokwane (1830, 2.30am Singapore time), Greece v Argentina GROUP C Saturday 12 JuneMatch N.5: Rustenburg (1830, 2.30am Singapore time), England v United States Sunday 13 June Match N.6: Polokwane (1130, 7.30pm Singapore time), Algeria v Slovenia Friday 18 June Match N.22: Johannesburg/Ellis Park (1400, 10pm Singapore time), Slovenia v United States Match N.23: Cape Town (1830, 2.30am Singapore time), England v Algeria Wednesday 23 June Match N.38: Pretoria (1400, 10pm Singapore time), United States v Algeria Match N.37: Port Elizabeth (1400, 10pm Singapore time), Slovenia v England GROUP D Sunday 13 June Match N.7: Durban (1400, 10pm Singapore time), Germany v Australia Match N.8: Pretoria (1830, 2.30am Singapore time), Serbia v Ghana Friday 18 June Match N.21: Port Elizabeth (1130, 7.30pm Singapore time), Germany v Serbia Saturday 19 June Match N.24: Rustenburg (1130, 7.30pm Singapore time), Ghana v Australia Wednesday 23 June Match N.40: Nelspruit (1830, 2.30am Singapore time), Australia v Serbia Match N.39: Johannesburg/Soccer City (1830, 2.30am Singapore time), Ghana v Germany GROUP E Monday 14 JuneMatch N.9: Johannesburg/Soccer City (1130, 7.30pm Singapore time), Netherlands v Denmark Match N.10: Bloemfontein (1400, 10pm Singapore time), Japan v Cameroon Saturday 19 June Match N.25: Durban (1400, 10pm Singapore time), Netherlands v Japan Match N.26: Pretoria (1830, 2.30am Singapore time), Cameroon v Denmark Thursday 24 June Match N.44: Cape Town (1830, 2.30am Singapore time), Cameroon v Netherlands Match N.43: Rustenburg (1830, 2.30am Singapore time), Denmark v Japan GROUP F Monday 14 JuneMatch N.11: Cape Town (1830, 2.30am Singapore time), Italy v Paraguay Tuesday 15 June Match N.12: Rustenburg (1130, 7.30pm Singapore time), New Zealand v Slovakia Sunday 20 June Match N.27: Bloemfontein (1130, 7.30pm Singapore time), Slovakia v Paraguay Match N.28: Nelspruit (1400, 10pm Singapore time), Italy v New Zealand Thursday 24 June Match N.42: Polokwane (1400, 10pm Singapore time), Paraguay v New Zealand Match N.41: Johannesburg/Ellis Park (1400, 10pm Singapore time), Slovakia v Italy GROUP G Tuesday 15 JuneMatch N.13: Port Elizabeth (1400, 10pm Singapore time), Ivory Coast v Portugal Match N.14: Johannesburg/Ellis Park (1830, 2.30am Singapore time), Brazil v North Korea Sunday 20 June Match N.29: Johannesburg/Soccer City (1830, 2.30am Singapore time), Brazil v Ivory Coast Monday 21 June Match N.30: Cape Town (1130, 7.30pm Singapore time), Portugal v North Korea Friday 25 June Match N.46: Nelspruit (1400, 10pm Singapore time), North Korea v Ivory Coast Match N.45: Durban (1400, 10pm Singapore time), Portugal v Brazil GROUP H Wednesday 16 JuneMatch N.15: Nelspruit (1130, 7.30pm Singapore time), Honduras v Chile Match N.16: Durban (1400, 10pm Singapore time), Spain v Switzerland Monday 21 June Match N.31: Port Elizabeth (1400, 10pm Singapore time), Chile v Switzerland Match N.32: Johannesburg/Ellis Park (1830, 2.30am Singapore time), Spain v Honduras Friday 25 June Match N.48: Bloemfontein (1830, 2.30am Singapore time), Switzerland v Honduras Match N.47: Pretoria (1830, 2.30am Singapore time), Chile v Spain ************* Last 16: Saturday 26 June Match N.49: Port Elizabeth (1400, 10pm Singapore time), 1st Group A v 2nd Group B Match N.50: Rustenburg (1830, 2.30am Singapore time), 1st Group C v 2nd Group D Sunday 27 June Match N.51: Bloemfontein (1400, 10pm Singapore time), 1st Group D v 2nd Group C Match N.52: Johannesburg/Soccer City (1830, 2.30am Singapore time), 1st Group B v 2nd Group A Monday 28 June Match N.53: Durban (1400, 10pm Singapore time), 1st Group E v 2nd Group F Match N.54: Johannesburg/Ellis Park (1830, 2.30am Singapore time), 1st Group G v 2nd Group H Tuesday 29 June Match N.55: Pretoria (1400, 10pm Singapore time), 1st Group F v 2nd Group E Match N.56: Cape Town (1830, 2.30am Singapore time), 1st Group H v 2nd Group G ********************* Quarter-finals: Friday 2 July Match N.57: Port Elizabeth (1400, 10pm Singapore time), Winner N.53 v Winner N.54 Match N.58: Johannesburg/Soccer City (1830, 2.30am Singapore time), Winner N.49 v Winner N.50 Saturday 3 July Match N.59: Cape Town (1400, 10pm Singapore time), Winner N.52 v Winner N.51 Match N.60: Johannesburg/Ellis Park (1830, 2.30am Singapore time), Winner N.55 v Winner N.56 ***************************** Semi-finals: Tuesday 6 July Match N.61: Cape Town (1830, 2.30am Singapore time), Winner N.58 v Winner N.57 Wednesday 7 July Match N.62: Durban (1830, 2.30am Singapore time), Winner N.59 v Winner N.60 3rd-place play-off:Saturday 10 July Match N.63: Port Elizabeth (1830, 2.30am Singapore time), Loser N.61 v Loser N.62 Final:Sunday 11 July Match N.64: Johannesburg/Soccer City (1830, 2.30am Singapore time), Winner N.61 v Winner N.62 ******************************** Now the startling revelation & the REAL truth behind the pricing of WC 2010 by Singtel & Starhub (S$70 for early birds, S$90+ for late morons), as rightfully pointed out by Kingmeng here: Ok, let’s assume you watch all 7.30pm & 10pm matches on weekdays/Sun & ALL matches on Fri/Sat. and u can only choose 1 of the 2 matches if they are showing at the same time. u can only watch 38 of the 64 matches which includes matches like Algeria v Slovenia & New Zealand v Slovakia. zzzzzzzz… Obviously, whatever the providers say about the pricing would be irrelevant since they do not take into consideration the economic cost of catching all matches. When they mentioned that it’ll work out to approximately S$1+/match, they meant if you do catch all 64 matches. Unfortunately, the truth remains that it is near impossible to catch all matches real-time even if you do try to stay up late (unless u have 2 box-set & 2 TVs), thus revealing the fallacy of the S$1+/match bargain the providers proposed. Of cos, we’re talking about catching the matches live (afterall, there’s little point in watching if the match’s been played & the teams’ been kicked out of qualifers). So should you sign up for this? It really depends on whether it’s worth paying that much and catching that little matches. Personally, I would rather just go to the nearest coffee shop screening this & give them my $$$ for a beer or 2. Test of Faith In a snap-finger decision, I took the plunge and went in for the kill. Yes, I cropped off everything and went bald. A hard-to-stomach decision, but a necessary evil considering the status of hair health & the difficulty in routine topical application of medication & treatment. So how am I handling it now? Better than expected, ironically. My only complain? A repeat of the silly antic from 6 years back when I enlisted & was shaved bald. Yes, that very first post-haircut shower was always hilarious. I had the same “-squeeze shampoo & slap onto hair- oh shit, too much shampoo” reaction. Hopefully, things could only get uphill from here. On a side note, I realised Grad dinner’s just barely 2 months away. Guess I’ll probably be there still pretty bald. :S Overwhelmed… 愛情は　なんてこわいもの だから　逃げたり　求める 大人だとか　子どもだとか もう関係ないよ Love is such a scary thing That’s why we run away as we search for it It no longer has anything to do with being an adult or being a child Sometimes, it just gets too overwhelming, that I need a drink… Cos sometimes, life just felt like a broken record, going on & on with the same broken disc pitch. A darkening period… Ironically, I’m doing the JP Morgan run even though: 1) I’m on leave. Sibei zzzzz…. 2) My knee’s not yet back in a decent form. I’m not speaking of even prime or peak form. In fact, it hurts when running anything over 2km. 3) eh… ok there’s no 3. Anyway I completed the run. Not too fab a timing at close to 40mins since the stupid knee started hurting around the 3-4km mark & render me incapable of running continuously. Furthermore, the corporate ‘dri-fit’ was !#^$@^$@ that even my colleagues also complained they almost kena heat-stroke since it’s not very breathable. Nevertheless, my 1st long run in a long time, and the fact that the knee pain only sets in ard the 3-4km marks suggest that my rehab effort is effective to some extent, albeit perhaps I shld have just continued running since it wasn’t that painful like last time to render me limping for 2 days. Now, given that I’m on leave till next Friday, what should I do? No holiday plans, no nothing. & too broke to visit the IR. Re-blog jeshuafreak.blogspot.com - 4 Types of Love 4 Types of Love [taken from jesuafreak's blog] 有一种爱,明明是深爱,却说不出来. 有一种爱,明明想放弃, 却无法放弃. 有一种爱,明知是煎熬,却又躱不开. 有 一种爱, 明知无前路.心却早已收不回来 indeed… Nocturnal Bah. I almost forgot why I kept zzzzzzz at work. Downtime 1 of those not-too-glamorous moments, when Liquidblade’s down again & I revisited the good old http://cowg0esm0o.blogspot.com/ No frill, no fanciful content, just the good old style whining. Now comes the moment when I have to decide if I were to continue staying with liquidblade, move completely to wordpress, or take a step back to blogspot. Tough call, even without factoring the random element of me losing my mind. Yes, I am. Every now and then, I almost lose my mind & munch away on bags and bags of chips, simply because I felt so horrible and do not know what to deal with it. A self-damaging move, but nevertheless self-gratifying in ways one would love. For now, I only hope I can last a couple of weeks more before the long break. There’s only that much a rubber band can bear being stretched. I’m right now being stretched way too much without given the chance to rest & ease the tension. Government & Productivity Well, once again and again, this year’s budget day is all about productivity, and trying to increase ‘real’ productivity in comparison to wage growth. Ironically, someone found this during one of the cabinet meetings… Courtesy of http://www.insanepoly.com Perhaps our highly paid ministers (in fact, highest paid in the world) should do something productive for once, like pretending to scribble something? 3 Months… 3 months into my 1st job, I look back and wondered how exactly I lasted through them, especially for the 2nd month. The nature of my job demands that I have skin as thick as cow’s hide to bug the clients and handle their verbal abuse, endurance that of an Ox to last the hours during the midnight rush, and patience like that of a snail while trying to get work done. Ironically in a sad way, I possess almost none of them and the fact that I’m a new hire obviously does no justice in mitigating these formers as no one cares about us during the peak. In fact, the gut feel that I gotten from my clients is that we are generally perceived to be like houseflies. Constantly flying around them and buzzing them, annoying them to no avail. Yes, we’re really that dreaded by most. Coincidentally, there was a tiny weeny mini sweetener that comes in the form of a $50 pay increment, + a supposedly pro-rated half month bonus that got ballooned up even though we barely joined for a month. Nice, but not enough at all in any way to retain us. People still come and go. Given the nature of the correlated/pegged pay grade and range in our industry, I was shocked that the raise was nowhere close to any of the other fellow big players. Not that I’m a fan of following blindly for the highest, but at least I was expecting the raise to match that of most of our fellow counterparts. Which didn’t materialize obviously. In fact, my fellow newcomer left within a month of joining for ‘greener’ pasture. To be honest, I wanted to tag along and leave too, but the difference between us is that we both went for the interview for the same position at the same company, but she gotten the position while I didn’t. Guess I wasn’t exactly cut out to be competitive in job-hunting. Side-tracking for a moment, our 1st month was pretty enjoyable, with stable 8-5 kind of working hours and everyday spent on training and related matters. Sadly, things changed drastically when we hit the 2nd mth (Jan). 8-11 sort of became the norm, and that does not take into account the 12-3 part back at home. Never mind if there isn’t OT pay. Never mind if there is a 5 days cap on OT off-in-lieu. Never mind if it’s long working hours. But what really ticked me off was that I incurred a total of 40+ over OT hours on job (ignoring hours spent post-work at home working still & after considering some discounting), and yet they still have the guts to tell me I’m charging too much OT hours. Downright ridiculous. Especially when there’s a big budget for this 1st-timer client. Luckily, the subsequent engagements weren’t as bad. Nice people, street-smart colleagues and seniors, etc. Not that the former was really that bad, but that last straw really ticked me off. Bringing things back into the perspective of ‘greener pasture’, I was semi-grateful that I didn’t make it over as through these 1st few engagements in the same industries, I gotten to realise that the so-called ‘greener pasture’ is pretty much a faux. Despite the much-attractive higher starting pay, apparently the job scope is so mundane & repetitive that it really bores me. Not that mine’s interesting, but hey at least I get to travel around free for work on a daily basis. In the months coming forth, honestly I have certain expectations of how I’ll like to have things develop and lay themselves out in front of me. Afterall, I’m never that much a fan of managing expectations. But I guess for starters, maybe I should really give some deep thoughts and start to manage bits and pieces of my expectation. Guess that’s all, from a boring and half-dead me. zZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz  *drool* Happy Chinese New Yr to all!!! For all those who ish still reading this hor, happy new yr to all + a special song for u all~ Hiatus Once again, as usual. Afterall, the usual 8-11 work schedule’s wearing me out faster than expected, to the extent signs of losing control and ‘flaring up’ are starting to show. Geez, bad bad bad… On a side note, perhaps I’m ageing faster than I expected as well. *Sigh* Sometimes, I feel like shouting out but has no mouth. Oh the irony. Like hello pussy~ And…I wonder once again when will I get to see my transcript and wear my academic regalia… Merry Xmas all!!! This year’s Xmas’s a little different at St. Jeff, where our host Tiong had something in store for all of us… A self-made video dedicated to us barflies… And not to mention, it’s followed up by his self-created version of “12 days of Xmas”!!! On the twelfth day of Christmas, CowBoyBar gave to me… The 12th men for the other team (referee kayuuu).* 11 times this week i dun have a seat (on the train). 10-Gawd we’re almost done. Dinner at Mezza-9. ** 8 Google Wave invites. 7 NSFW links. 6 hours wasted in office Plurking. 5 PINTS OF SUPERCHILLED KILKENNNNYYY!! *** 4 xmms. 3 Wala furniture 2 MSV headlights and an AC/DC cd. Hey! The actual plurk is here. Have a merry Xmas everyone! Disappointment revisited I can’t help but feel discouraged, and with a serious sense of self-doubt present, I honestly despise you. Yes you. That pathetic you who was but just all talk and no substance. 3.5 years worth of hard work, only to go down the drain just with a B- and a B+. 3.79/4.00 for a GPA, “good” indeed. Sadly, Summa Cum Laude’s at 3.80. As if falling short of your own target isn’t bad enough, you topped it up with a wonderful start and finished off with a crash-n-burn fall, spiralling into decline.. Fabulous indeed. If it’s of any consolations, it’ll probably be the fact that you’ll top the list for that bucket of FAILs. Perhaps it’ll repeat itself again at work. As usual. Perhaps it’s really just good that you give up. And stop trying too hard. -Sign off, your alter ego Weary… Life after Uni’s been rather monotonous, dry and draggy. It makes me feel weary all day long, if not for great colleagues at work. Perhaps it’s time to relook at things in life now… No wonder they say corporate slavery pulls out the worst in people. Xmas Gifts for sale! (in stock now! limited qty!) Hi all, remember my previous post on xmas gift pre-order? I’ve ordered extras and for those who are keen, do check them out below! The rates here will be slightly lower than that on my sis’s blogshop (http://pinkprincess-sales.blogspot.com/) due to festive season. Note that prices include postage by normal mail. For registered mail, extra charge applies. To order, kindly leave me a comment with your email address (or even better, email me directly!) with the following details: 1) Name, address & contact number 2) item name, qty & color/design (if applicable), and I will reply ASAP to confirm your orders with payment instructions. So have fun browsing! 1) 7-colors changing Snow Flake Wall Light Ideal for Xmas! Mounts onto surface via a suction cap, and is lit up by a multi-colors LED. Selling at $11 each (comes with batteries!) In stock: 6 units 2) Suck UK Keychain Bottle Opener (HOT!!!!) Comes in Silver & old-school Bronze. Selling at $5 each. (Outside selling around $15-20 in shops, elsewhere online selling $8-$12ea) More info avail here: http://www.suck.uk.com/product.php?rangeID=15&catID=6 In stock: 4 silver & 2 bronze 3) Milk Glass Table Lamp (HOT!!!!!) Selling at $9 each in stock: 4 units Oriented-activated, meaning the lamp will light up when the glass is upright and will auto-off when it is inverted. (Illustration: ) Body made of Acrylic glass and lighted using white LED inside, powered by 3 AAA-sized batteries (batt not included) 8.5cm x 5.5 cm x 13.5cm, and comes in a cute moo moo cow paper box package. [Note: box may have minor cosmetic defects like smudge & tiny scratches due to transportation & shipment] 4) Sound-activated 7-colors changing candle LED lamp Now you can switch off your lamps by ‘blowing the candle’ off with the in-built sound sensor! Selling at $4 each. Batteries included. In stock: 3 units Candle lamp will change colours while on and will not overheat. LED has an expected lifespan of 100,000hr. It is around 4.5 x 10.1cm big. 5) Trash Bag holder Selling at $10 In stock: 1 BLUE Can be easily attached to any flat surface (in particular glass/laminated table/tiles) via its suction cap, allowing for holding of any plastic bag to be used as a trash bag. Can be placed in toilets, kitchen, bedrooms and even living rooms, or wherever else desired. So hurry and order your gifts now before Xmas’ here! Spree Closed hi all, spree’s closed early cos of fairly overwhelming responses.. Meanwhile I’m toying with the idea of helping my sis out part-time with her spree as I have an interest in such innovative and nice light lamps. So stay tuned for future updates. Weary It’s barely the prelude to the start of new chapters in my life, yet I’m already all weary both physically and mentally. Not to mention, emotionally as well. Expectations, what a dreadful necessary social evil. Not exactly the usual me to keep revisiting the same damn issue again and again, but it’s exactly like that cracked nail that haunts you back every now and then. Perhaps it’s time to rethink what I truly want and take the plunge, instead of sticking with what I have at the moment. Truckload of FAILs “It doesn’t rain but pours.” How true apparently this saying is. Awhile back, I have a truckload of bad news coming in. First, my Oxford Brookes University (OBU) Research & Analysis Report results release. Apparently, I failed. If failing wasn’t bad enough, I FAILED terribly. 3 out of 4 criterias, which is horrible. I mean, honestly, what’s the odds of failing that badly? Bah. On the redeeming side, at least I did know how to reflect properly. -_-||| Miscellaneous FAIL news here and there, like… - how I failed to get an internship this summer despite going through 5 interviews, - how I didn’t manage to get a new ’sponsor’ after my previous ’sponsor’ terminated the arrangement for uni fees (apparently, they resumed the ’sponsorship’ under the same name except for an additional “Endowed” in the title). >_ - etc etc etc… (watashi sibei FAIL desu~) The series of FAILs makes me wonder if Aug 23rd’s gonna be another FAIL for me just like the last 2 yrs. Maybe I shld try less hard and aim to get out by the 1st elimination round so I can get my $100 asap and go shopping etc, instead of lasting for 4 rounds and not getting into the championship decider. =( There’s been so much FAIL recently that I suspect my dog don’t even respect me. Bah. Of cos, I had a great laugh the other day when another dog kicked grass in front of my dog at his face. To quote JF, “wah your dog’s really at the bottom of the foodchain.” =P And guess who’s currently donning the Collar of Shame?? *wink* That pitiful look obviously ain’t getting him any extra food since he’s on a strict diet for the next few days due to digestion problems. And of cos, I’m much poorer (in self-defined poverty in fact, due to a hefty vet fee). In other (happier) news, there’s been a couple of events happening that brightens up my days. Like the annual ARC and its associated fun… (with Vice Raids common as usual, as what JayWalk would term it as) And the long-awaited Wii-cum-MJ Parteh~ (With its associated typical random funny happenings of the day) With the oncoming sian-ness of the school term starting again and the academic phrase of my life coming to an end soon (in fact, in December!), I can only hope that all goes on fairly smoothly without much hiccups and meanwhile, I guess all I can say is… It’s been a fairly smooth AY2008-2009. To 2008, a year filled with despair and recession, and onward to the end of 2009, where hopefully recovery’s in sight. Movies: any idea? Randomly, I had a brief flashback of a korean/japanese movie which I watched in school back then, but never had the chance to complete the movie due to time constraint. Hence I’ll like to seek help in identifying it. The movie is about this little kid who was left by his mother to stay with his grandmother in the rural village. Being a city boy who’s spoilt, he makes a fuss of everything (like the fact that there isn’t video games, TV, and even Fried Chicken wings!), so much so that the grandmother is helpless but tries to pacify him (like buying a chicken - a luxury food in the rurals - when he demands fried chicken wings). One of the scenes that I clearly remembered is when they went to the nearby town to get supplies (food and eh… a rope i think?), then the grandson tricked the grandmother and boarded the bus without her, leaving her to walk all the way back home, which is a ridiculously long way. Nevertheless, there’s some touching scenes like how 1 nurse the other when the former’s having a fever (can’t remember who). So if you’ve any idea, do help!! =) Failure, Setbacks… Well, things haven’t really been going smooth for me all these while. Maybe the only smooth thing that’s ongoing is the rate at which my hair’s falling off my head. *facepalm* The recent IPPT flops, the treadmill kamikaze, the failure to achieve a PASS for my OBU BSc project (aka a Second Upper from OBU, which actually is not really widely known in Sillypore), and many more… All these no doubt builds on and cast doubts over my own ability, or rather the lack of. In fact, the declining trend within me is becoming obvious. I’m wilting, with a short lifecycle and an even shorter peak, just like that of a butterfly. Heck, even butterflies are prettier/more handsome/etc than me. *facepalm* And these increases the uncertainty I have of my final ACCA paper’s results, which sets the tone for the remaining 1/2 year left. -Haiz- Perhaps it’s time to relook at things in life, and find back that mojo that’s been missing in a long time. Meanwhile, let’s just slack and wait for that letter from UK before deciding whether to resubmit my project. =) With all due respect to my stupid self, I wish this nonsense will stop when I start my job hunt soon. ^_^ overwhelmed again A hairy (or not so hairy afterall) trouble I’ve been dealing with, the soon-to-come graduation woe, the already-here job hunt dilemma… And to top it up, that stupid IPPT. >_ Now, the last thing I need is something else to add on to the trouble-list. *faint* ANA Merlion Commercial (Taken from mrbrown.com) Courtesy of  mrbrown.com reader “Browned”, who took the effort to sub this. =D UOB strikes back! (With poor attitude, that is) If you haven’t read my previous blog posts on UOB, you may want to take a couple of minutes off to do so: UOB’s ‘U-Turn’ with UOB NOW debit card - 8 Sep 08 UOB & their disregard for consumer rights… - 13 Jun 08 UOB’s NOW card - ~FAIL~ - 28 May 08 So what exactly is the issue now? For a long time (almost a year), I have stopped using my UOB card(s) [if you take into consideration my Campus Debit card & my red UOB NOW card] in favour of other cards due to various reasons. As a result, I have concurrently stopped any transactions (in particular deposits) into my UOB account, leaving it at a not-so-nice balance of $15. As soon as I made a nominal transfer of $50 to my UOB account on 1st July (cos of the GST credit $$) for misc purpose such as EzLink/Cashcard topup, they deducted $18 from that sum immediately which I assume is for the debit card fee. Now here’s the catch, the card’s expiry is 05/12, which means renewal would be on 1st June. If that’s the case, why didn’t UOB contact me or whatsoever regarding the outstanding fee? No doubt on my part, I had been forgetful about termination of my card, which led to this situation. But on their part, they ain’t any better either if you consider the fact that they literally ‘forced’ the red NOW card down our throat and make us pay for its usage. Right now, I’m pretty upset about this minor episode of stupidity and had in turn transferred out the balance (which ain’t much anyway) and will be going down to UOB to check things out and seek an explanation. Hopefully, they would cancel the card charge & I can terminate the card but still keep my account. If not, I figured I’m still pretty cool with just having POSB and OCBC accounts. =) Update: apparently they did get the card request I filed during the weekends and called me back about it. So they’re helping me cancel that NOW card and reimbursing me the $18 charge. =) Guess I’m pretty satisfied with them doing that. =) Jin Long Hiatus With loads of nonsense going on, blogging seems like a luxury in many dimensions. And furthermore, the current H1N1 mass spread ain’t making things any better as most of us are now pretty wary of who we mix with or where we visit. That being said, I wonder why no one bothers to really evacuate when another lady sneeze/cough/etc during the Mango/Zara/etc Sale. Oh well, typical (stupid) Singaporeans. On a brighter note, Butterfactory’s back up again after a 1 week closure for clean-up as it forms 1 of the key H1N1 cluster. Of cos, RP forms another. But that being said, why RP? Why not any of the other polys? That is something which really leaves much for pondering. *hmmmmmm* Rare updates A ironic update, since i hardly update nowadays. see more Funny Graphs On a side note, I passed by a Soy Joy roadshow booth at bugis, and had the chance to try the raisin & almond flavoured soy bar (if that’s what they called it). Ironically again, it wasn’t exactly what I had in mind about its taste. Like most fruit bars, it’s amazingly dry (nothing wrong with that), but the raisin and almond taste is horribly bad with the soy combination. In fact, i think most energy/fruit bars out in the market would easily taste better I guess. Then again, this brand’s product’s unique selling point is its low fats content, so perhaps we shld just wait and see… =P