An Eye for An Eye Leaves the World Blind - Gandhi I may be too vindictive for my own good. Trust If there was a theme for this week for me, it would have been entitled "Trust".The issue of Trust has come up so often this week that it has really got me thinking. In our complex human society, trust is the glue that binds individuals who have come together to interact.With friends, you share secrets, you act so as not hurt them, you do things for them without them asking.All these take a certain amount of trust to be granted and received.What happens when that trust is lost? I have been on both sides of misplaced trust this week, both as the person who lost it because I did something wrong, and as the person whose trust in someone has been misplaced.Tiring man.Sigh. Drama Why oh why?Is my life full of such drama? I clearly do not enjoy having to deal with them...Am I doing things subconsciously for such drama to befall on me? I certainly do not think so, because I don't treat the people involved differently.Its tiring, and its going to be painful. But this band aid is coming off. Random Musings III The longer you leave a band-aid on, the more its going to hurt when you finally decide to rip it off.So why wait?Rip it off sooner. TLC Price Hikes! This is stupid.On the back of record profits, all the Temasek-linked companies (who probably got the nod from "up there") are taking turn to raise prices. You wonder if the CEOs were all gathered and given one by one approvals on who can raise prices, the order they can go in and the time to make announcements.So first we had SPH, then SingPower, then Singtel... what next?Of course, the reason given is always the increased cost of raw materials, and to maximise shareholder value.But our market is quite unique.A lot of these companies are "nationalised" - linked to a government funded company. As such, shouldn't they be made to help check inflation, rather than increase the effects?Minister says Singapore is likely to face a recession. Salaries are being cut. And the TLCs raise prices. Irony, no? The Smiling Weasel So...We went on a roadtrip to KL. And we were very fortunate that although we were breaking the speed limits both on the way up and way down, there were no road blocks.But we did have an encounter with the boys in blue in Malaysia.The situation was this.Basically, we were having a night out on the town. A local friend had picked us up and being the designated driver, he did not drink. The rest of us had a moderate amount... not enough to get drunk, but definitely enough to develop the late night supper pangs.And so, we drove back towards KLCC and pulled into an open air carpark to input our destination (some mamak) into his GPS. All of the sudden, a police car pulled over, asked the driver to get out, and upon finding out that we were all Singaporeans, started accusing us of taking drugs.We were adamant that we were clean, but there Mr Policeman was smiling, shining torches into our faces, saying well we should just follow him back into the station for a urine test. The best part was, he was smiling throughout (like some good service provider) when we were insisting we were just looking for a mamak.Eventually we got bored and offered him a "tip" to let us off. Do you know what the best part was?After we paid him off... he gave us directions to a mamak. "-_-Sigh.... Radish Men are quite poor things.Women do expect men to provide for them. Whilst I have no issues with this, fact of the matter is, what is my payback?Hence, I am of the opinion that if you want me to give freely and willingly, you need to give me something in return. Complicated Just when you thought you know someone, you wake up one day, and realise that you don't know him at all...Life is really complicated. Confused Why does something that feels right also feel so wrong?Shall be looking to take my mind off things....Catch you all on Monday! Rambling Something is wrong with me.As a friend commented during lunch, I'm rambling. Incoherent, Irrelevant, Nonsensical....Need to find out why. Grr... Identity Crisis You know how it is... People zhng their cars all the time, by placing spoilers, decals, or in this case, funny signs.There is nothing wrong with the picture above.But on closer inspection...........Its on a Toyota. "-_-Identity crisis or does he own a Honda that his partner uses to send the kids around? Maximise the Bike Something that caught my eye... Innovative way of loading more stuff onto your motorbike. Looks dangerous though. Change When one has to change too much to accommodate your partner... perhaps you were too incompatible in the first place. An Addictive (and Neverending) Game Play Never Ending Level Moving Away from Competition So I have a friend who is migrating to New Zealand. I asked her why.She said its to get away from the fast pace of life here which does not allow her to "live like a human", and that she would like to bring up her 2 kids in a place where the kids can experience childhood and the parents don't feel pressured to send them to enrichment classes from the age of 2 onwards.I agree with her comment somewhat, but can help but think...In every major city (which Singapore is going to be) life is always fast paced. It breeds success. Similarly, parents send their children to classes to give them a heads up in life (although i agree, this has to be done in moderation). So in moving away, she is looking for another playing field to play in. Or as the title of this post suggests, moving away from the competition.Well, she says she is only trying out for a few years. But i think, if you intend for your kids to play in this field in the future, then its better to start them playing here now. But who knows what the future holds right? The Elephant in the Room Don't you just hate it when communication fails and parties stop talking to one another? This results in problems that will hover around but no one wants to talk about it, and hence it does not get solved.Its like having an elephant in the room, something that everyone can see, but no one talks about.Until the proverbial sh*t hits the fan.By which time, it might be too late to even talk about it.Communication is so important. The Geek At Heart Perhaps its a combination of the sleepless nights, the evenings at home, and watching B3 playing his Wii...But something got me thinking...Sure I know how to have fun, enjoy myself at parties, hold my drink, and in general, live life decadently...But end of the day, I am a geek at heart.Perhaps its a result of the strict upbringing in a conservative chinese household... or perhaps its just more nature than nurture...But there is nothing I like more than to sit at home and watch my Anime / Discovery / Nat Geo, read the latest issue of Popular Science or Newsweek and generally do boring "geeky" stuff like driving up and down the KPE to see where the exits are.I now believe that being a geek is my "base". And I wonder how I should reconcile my 2 halves. Growing Up Its going to hurt... but at least I think I'm growing up. Time Flies Time really doth fly...Its almost the end of the year, and the beginning of party season.Sept birthday bash, Oktoberfest, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Xmas, New Year...F1 parties this week anyone? Absolutely Random I think its a shame that women let themselves go after marriage / they have kids.But hey, she seems happy.Yeah yeah, shoot me for being shallow. House Thank goodness, House is back on TV. Go catch Season 5 now!More Hugh Laurie's arrogant greatness. =) Ache My back and arm muscles are Wii-lly (really), wii-lly sore from exercise yesterday. =PUrgh. A Minor Altercation Had a minor altercation with a close friend last night arising from some miscommunication (i think) as a result of Jack and Rai's stunning (and loud) performance.That was settled, with no hard feelings after the incident.On the drive home, I quietly smiled to myself...I was pleased that we had reached a deeper level in our friendship. I had always believed that friends must be able to feel comfortable enough to flare at one another occasionally, and take comfort that all will be well the next morning.A trial by fire so to speak. Friends who bear grudges easily are not worth having, in my book.We have arrived at another level. =)I'm pleased. And sorry for any misunderstanding, Mr Lo. Numbed Perhaps it was because I was sleepy...Perhaps it was because I wasn't paying attention...Perhaps it was because I had the impression it was what it was...But 2 nights ago, I sneaked a can drink from the fridge. I thought it was Pepsi. Opened it, and finished it. Sugar craving settled, I went to bed.When I woke up the next morning, imagine my shock horror when I realised it was a can of Sprite! Now either the sugared-fizzy drinks are getting so sweet that tastebuds can't tell one from the other, or it was one of the reasons above.I think its the former to be honest. Eek. No more sugar drinks for me. Thought for the Day This is Hilarious! Confucius say......woman sitting in jelly have her ass in jam....man with penis in peanut butter, fucking nuts....man who puts penis in vaccuum cleaner, get sucked off....boy who lay girl on hill, not on level....man who lose key to girlfriend apartment, get no new-key!...he who finger girl during period, get caught red-handed....he who smoke pot, choke on handle....woman who wear g-string, high on crack!...he who stand on toilet, high on pot!...boy who go to bed with sex problem on mind, wake up with solution on-hand!...girl who bathe in vinegar, walk around with sour-puss!...man with hand in bush, not nessarily trimming shrubs!...man who masturbate into cash register, soon come into money!...he who masturbate, screw only himself!...he who walks thru airplane door sideways is going to Bangkok!...dumb man climb tree to get cherry, wise man spread limbs! Thought for the Day Top ten things that sound dirty in golf but aren't 10. Nuts! ...my shaft is bent9. After 18 holes I can barely walk8. You really whacked the hell out of that sucker7. Look at the size of his putter6. Keep your head down and spread your legs a bit more5. Mind if I join your threesome?4. Stand with your back turned and drop it3. My hands are so sweaty I can't get a good grip2. Nice stroke, but your follow through has a lot to be desiredAnd the number 1 thing that sounds dirty in golf but isn't:1. Hold up...I need to wash my balls first Thought for the Day Haha... Slap me blue and call me Susan!I just got forwarded an email from an Anji Ng...Anjing? ("means silence in Mandarin")Why do people do this to themselves? Haha...