Catastrophe The laptop crashed last week out of the blue, rendering all of my saved data in the hard disk unrecoverable. After days of running around in panic, trying to salvage data with uncle J's help, it turns out that the hdd was totally fried. Data gone. Lucky most of my impt data was in my thumbdrive, which I immediately backed up in my desktop. The stupid HD laptop bay is damned frustrating. To open it up, I need a phillips screwhead, a starshaped screw head, and a long-nose plier just to remove the 3 different sets of screws for the mounting. I spent more than $300 buying a set of screwdrivers, and 2 new HDD; one internal 2.5" and one external to serve as a backup drive. Problem solved? Nope. Firstly, installing the new hdd into the laptop was a mistake. I didn't have an internal CD drive, and somehow the bios didn't allow my HP laptop to boot from the USB CD drive. So cannot install. I had to strip it back out and plug the HDD into my desktop, using a 2.5" ide adapter which Uncle J kindly lent me. Tralala, Format, partition, install winxp, update, update, update.....Thinking that now I have a bootable hdd, I plugged it out and installed it back into the laptop, and turned it on..... Bloody thing couldn't load. !@#@#!@#!@ It keeps hanging after the screen where you choose to either run normally or boot in safe mode. Now for the kick in the balls: I plugged my desktop HDD back in (which I previously removed when I was installing stuff on the laptop hdd), and it won't work!!!! now, it keeps hanging after the 'Verifying DMI Pool' screen. I tried playing with the bios settings, switching IDE and power cables, master/slave configs..... nothing. Still cannot work. So now I have an inoperable desktop and an inoperable laptop. Ironically enough, my laptop HDD now works on my desktop. Argh. Why won't it work on my laptop?? Could it be because the new 5200 rpm hdd can't be supported by my laptop motherboard? The old one was only 4200. Or could it be that when my laptop malfunctioned, the damage was to some part other than the hdd? Then why can't I read my old hdd?? And why did it show severe bad sectors during recovery?Argh! Why is this happening to me??? The more I think about it, the more I feel that life is like a game. A poker game. Sometimes you are dealt winning hands, and sometimes losing hands. It's a fallacy of all these self-help advice that suggest that ultimately, one has to take full responsibility for the cards one is given. That if one is in a bad situation, it's down to a personal flaw, or attribute of character. Trying to convince oneself otherwise sometimes just can't work, as it involves redefining the goals of the game. In soccer analogy, that's probably called 'shifting the goal posts'. If I can't win at a game of tennis, or badminton, I could probably tell myself 'Hey, no sweat, at least I improved my stroke, lost many calories orhad a good social interaction with friends'. Sure, it works. It makes you feel better. but I still didn't win the game. And sometimes in life, you HAVE to win the game.Life is a game. Did I say that already? There are people who win. There are more people who lose. It's an undeniable fact. It's utterly impersonal. Maybe the trick to winning is not so much to play a bad hand back to a winning hand -although it's entirely possible-, but to recognise and bet big on the good hands, and know when to cut losses on the bad ones. Whether it's about social relationships, jobs, finance, personal adversity, I guess in the course of our life, we'll be dealt a great number of cards. Opportunities. Some will reward us greatly. Some will be a great waste of our time, effort, money, and cause much heartache. It's utterly impersonal.So what does one have to do?1)Play the game better. Learn the strategies, the tactics, the raw skills, and even the exploits. Every hand requires a different mix of these, and sometimes stuff that isn't in my repetoire. Knowledge is power, so learn to get an edge. In multiplayer environments, as Life invariably is, understand the social mechanics and psychology of others. Apply Game Theory. Or Sun Tsu's Art of War. Or Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus. Cooperate. Negotiate. Manipulate.2)Balance the risks and rewards. Life is not just one hand of poker, but thousands. Don't bet everything on one throw of the dice,if you will forgive the mixed anologies here. Capitalise on the good hands, play as best you can, and cash out at the right time. On bad hands, give it a go, but cut your loss as soon as you recognise it. Don't keep throwing good money after bad money, as stock investors like to say. (That's where I suspect my work life is at right now. I STILL have to win, i.e. pass my pH.D, but I'm not gonna stake my entire life on this dud hand)So there. My new philosophy for Life. Knowing that I will be dealt with dud hands from time to time without it being my fault makes it easier to bear. If I learn the game, and keep playing each hand, chances are I will win more than I lose. And at the end of it all, on my deathbed, after I tally everything up I want to have won more than I lost. Only then, I can be judged a WINNER. But even if my losses outnumber my gains, I will still only be a person who lost. Not a Loser.Because, in the Great Game of Life, the only real Losers are the ones who choose not to play.Game on! In Pursuit of a Goal: Week 3 Laps: 34Distance: 13.6kmTime: 77mins 37sCalories burnt: 1026Av. Speed 1: 10.7 ( mostly)Av Speed 2: 175.2m/minAv Speed 3: 2min 17sec/lapKnees feel fine, but ankles feeling poorly. Maybe i need better shoe support. In Pursuit of a Goal: Week 2.5 Started my first interval training of the year. 6 laps at between 1:30 to 1:45 mins per lap. Managed to stick to 1 min rest per interval. At last, a regular gym routine seems to be forming. 10+ km on mondays, intervals + weights on thurs, and skating on sunday. And when it doesn't hurt so much anymore, I might consider returning to Aikido on Tues and Fri.Still haven't recovered fully from last monday's 12km run. The knees are somewhat ok, but ankles still hurt. The vigorous pounding on the treadmill belt is taking its toll. Other than that, there isn't much cramping on the leg muscles, so I know they're holding out fine. But maybe I should consider taking glucosamine supplements if I'm gonna keep up this routine. Getting old. Bones aren't what they were used to be. :-(Sling actually ran for close to 28mins, around 4km. I'm proud of her!!! In due time I think she'll have those killer iron legs she wanted. Right, Sling? :-pSigh. Now if only I can get my weight to go down. In Pursuit of a Goal: Week 2 Laps: 30Distance: 12.0kmTime: 68mins 28sCalories burnt: 907Av. Speed 1: 10.6Av Speed 2: 175m/minAv Speed 3: 2min 17sec/lap In Pursuit of a Goal: Week 1 Laps: 27Distance: 10.8kmTime: 63mins 31sCalories burnt: 807Av. Speed 1: 10.2Av Speed 2: 170m/minAv Speed 3: 2min 21sec/lap New skill to learn: How to set deadlines for yourself for projects which have no inherent deadline.Damned, it's hard to move a task from the "someday" pile back into active play.So WWSTD? (What would Steve Pavlina do?)Ahh! Ok, I hereby sincerely and passionately intend for my work backlog to disappear! Oh and 1 million dollars to appear in my bank account too!*stares at workpile*...*Stares a few moments longer*Crap.This intention manifestation thing isn't working fast enough.Ok, lets try with another pithy saying of his."Replace Finish it with Begin it""Begin it, Begin it, Begin it Begin it, Beginitbeginitbeginitbeginitbeginitbegi......." Flowcharts! Because Information is King MIT is opening its course material to the public for FREE! Definitely useful for people like me, who still needs to constantly learn even after the traditional education system has stopped force-feeding me. Hanoi - Day 1: Delays, Scams, and darkening pee sai. We flew over to Hanoi on the 28th of Dec 2006 on Vietnam Airlines. Ticket price was $324 pax inclusive of all taxes and surcharges, which was quite reasonable. However, the airlines didn't exactly give us much confidence, as the company kept calling us to tell us that our flight was changed. Originally, it was supposed to be a direct flight to Hanoi. THEN, they called to tell us that we'd have to transit in Ho Chi Minh City, adding another 2 hours to our travel time. THEN, the day before we were to leave, they called us again to say that our flight would be delayed an hour. Not surprisingly, when we reached the airport, it was delayed YET AGAIN! No prizes for guessing what happened to our plane from Ho Chih Min City to Hanoi. Or our return flight from Hanoi back to Singapore. Yep, clever boys and girls. Delayed again!!!From Hanoi Trip 28...First view of Ho Chi Minh Airport. Yikes! So.... countryside!!!From Hanoi Trip 28...Airplane food. Stirfried pork with rice, fruits, salad, cake, orange juice and vietnamese beer. *burp*But that is neither here nor there. To return to the story, we reached Changi airport at around 1pm, took off at around 3pm, transited through HCM city and reached Hanoi Noi Bai airport around 8pm.From Hanoi Trip 28...Noi Bai Airport -Spotless and Shiny!!!Exiting the airport, we stumbled our way to the airport minibus, which was supposed to take us to the Old Quarter in Hanoi's Hoan Kim district for USD$2. However, there seemed to be few takers, and we ended up sitting in the van for 30 mins as the touts tried in vain to solicit more passengers. Finally we gave up waiting and headed for the taxi queue, where 2 cabbies from rival companies fought over us for our patronage.I'd read on the internet about the various taxi scams the cabbies in Hanoi try to pull on customers, so I was not surprised, though a little fearful, when the cabbie we engaged started his nonsense. After we told him the address of our hotel, he made a call to his friend over in town. He then passed me the phone and asked me to tell his friend the name of the hotel we were staying in. When we arrived, he drove through a bewildering maze of small streets, finally stopping at a strange place where a stranger opened our taxi door, flashed us a business card bearing the the name Anh Dao hotel, and confidently proclaimed "Welcome to Anh Dao". Unfortunately, the dingy building behind him didn't look at all like our hotel, so we sat tight in the taxi and refused to budge. Now, although I was -sure- this was a textbook scam, I had no way of refuting his words, so I decided to fight dishonesty with dishonesty. Feigning doubt, I questioned whether this was indeed the hotel, and bluffed him that I had already paid up for the rooms. I was hoping he'd catch on to the possible inconvenience of me insisting on free rooms at his hotel, since I had already 'paid up'. He did. Realising that he'd have no end of trouble trying to fleece a 'paid up' customer, he threw us an insincere apology and directed the driver.... to take us to the right place.At this time, I decided to reveal my pathetic command of vietnamese by telling the driver to drop us at Hoan Kim lake, or the general post office instead. I hope it shocked him a little, since he was brazenly yakking away (in vietnamese) to his fellow scammer on the phone throughout the entire journey. He probably thought I didn't understand! Haha, I didn't, but it could have shaken him a little as he wondered how much I understood. Anyway, in chicken-and-duck talk, he rejected our request to drop us lakeside, and insisted he'd bring us to the right hotel this time round, which he did. This time, the large signboard outside the hotel was unmistakable. On a good note, at least the cabbie had the decency to apologise to us after we alighted.The service staff at Anh Dao hotel were nice and friendly. The room reservations went smoothly, and we paid up for both the night (USD$15/night), and for our Halong bay trip the next day (USD$39 for 2d/1n, via ODC travel). The room wasn't as horrific as cousin Cheryl described. There was no gaping hole in our door, and our beds, floor and bathroom were spotless. No cockroaches, no bedbugs, no mosquitoes. Aircon was working well. Well ok, the bathroom door couldn't be locked, and the TV cable was loose, but no biggie.From Hanoi Trip 28...Hoan Kim Lake at nightDespite it being rather late, we were eager to head out for a look of the old quarter. Took a 10 minute walk down to Hoan Kim lake and did a circuit of it. Very pretty. Lots of young lovers huddled up on park benches, or on the stone steps near the edge of the lake. The air was crisp and cool, like Genting. A light misty haze gently rests over all of Hanoi. At first I thought that it was really pretty. Only after a few days did I realise that... dammit, its the pollution from all that traffic!! @#$@#$!. I only began to get a clue after seeing my pee sai gradually turn darker and darker as the day passed.From Hanoi Trip 28...North end of Hoan Kim Lake. Sort of the central hub of the old quarter.Generally it felt safe, as there were plenty of people walking on the streets at any time. Streets were dirty and some were dimly lit, but I still think it feels less dangerous than walking down Bangkok's Khaosan road at night. Less sleaze and drunken rowdiness. Motorbikes were everywhere. Every man, woman and kid seemed to ride one, and none of them wear helmets. Traffic lights and rules are non-existent, unless a policeman happened to be standing nearby. The only way to cross the road is, like everyone says, to just step out and walk, and let the flow of traffic flow around you. Don't run, don't make false or sudden moves, don't try to avoid the bikes. They will avoid you. I can totally see why some people are saying the best way is to shut your eyes and just walk!Not much to see in the first night, since it's rather late and most of the shops are closed, so we headed back around 11+, cleaned up, and went to sleep.****Don't miss the next episode of 'Hanoi', where our intrepid travellers, Tempestblue and Sling, head down to the beautiful Halong bay, one of Unesco's World Heritage Sites! Join them as they cruise the clear blue waters. Find out what surprise awaits them at the Surprising cave. Stay tuned!From Hanoi Trip 28... Hanoi Trip 28th Dec 2006 to 2nd Jan 2007 5D/5N in Hanoi for SGD$600 or less, all inclusive.Here we go. Rest of the photos are below. Story to come when I feel like writing. :-pHanoi Trip 28 Dec 2006 Sent the boss a lengthy letter. Showdown talks with him on monday. We'll see how it goes.After 4 years of mismanaging my studies, I may not become a doctor after all. It gives me perverse pleasure to thumb my nose thus at all who've ever teased me with that lofty title. Idle thoughts Feeling kinda sad right now. No lah... not sad. Wistful. Confused. Yes, I know when I made the decision to go down this road, my sensitivity, my usually well-shielded emotions, will have no protection from the battering it will take from this rollercoaster journey. What to do? Pick myself up, rub my bruises and tahan the pain. And walk on.Its the lonely, solitary walk that's the hardest. Happy New Year 2007 Oopsie! Wasn't in Singapore to witness the festivities. Where do you think I was?More details coming up! Archived for future reference A wise woman told me last night: [while it is ok to record all your vents and frustrations in your blog]....it is more important to record the good times. So when you look back on the past entries, you remember all the good things that happened.Ok, I paraphrased a lot of what she actually said, but that was the underlying idea. I feel sad for my friends when they perpetually blog about all the bad things that happened to them. Re-reading it after a few weeks, it still makes me sad. I can only imagine how it would feel like for the friend who rereads his/her own entries. I guess it just perpetuates the general aura of negativity past its natural lifespan.That's not to say that I don't do this sort of thing. I'm sure my rant entries outnumber my happy ones. But awareness is the first step to change. The second step, here, is corrective behaviour. Thus in this entry, I shall record a happy moment.***I look forward to the weekends now, because that's when Forest and I set time aside to be with each other. For many fridays now, after my aikido training and her gym session, we meet for supper and a movie. Last friday, it was Flushed Away, that British mouse/rat movie featuring the voice of Hugh Jackman. I remarked that it's so odd to be watching Hugh Jackman act in 3 movies set in the UK within the span of 30 days. Scoop, The Prestige, and now Flushed Away.For dinner, we tried out that new restaurant at Cineleisure: Chicago's Steakhouse. No, it's not Morten's and the prices were quite reasonable. Steak was good... comparable in price and quality to Botak Jones (which we had 2 weeks before). But the ++ charges make it slightly pricier. They gave us a generous set of discount coupons for future patronage though. Worth using next time.Saturdays, we roam the town and hunt down exciting things to do. Or just spend a lazy afternoon at my place. the saturday after Flushed Away, we went to collect our Hanoi air tix at Beach Road. Then, we drove down to Maxwell Market to sample the famous Hock Kee porridge. It rained cats and dogs while we ate our "pei dan chok" and special fried tao kua, so we hung around for a while and watched the pelting rain, and the people running from shelter to shelter in the distance. The rain didn't seem like stopping, so after a while I ran to the car, grabbed my umbrella, and ran back to the shelter to escort her back to the car.We rented 3 DVDs from VideoEZ, intending to spend the rest of the day at my place watching them on my nearly redundant Xbox: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Keeping Mum, and The Guru. I had a painful diarhhea from something I ate,which interrupted our viewing for 20 minutes, while Forest battled the sleep bug every 10 minutes or so. Somehow, we still managed to follow the thought-provoking Jim Carrey show to its bittersweet end.Mum cooked a sumptious feast of teriyaki cod fillet, herbal chicken and sambal prawns for dinner. Forest and I handled the dishwashing later. I soaped, while she rinsed. I caught the Chelsea-Watford match on ESPN, while she dozed off again, head on my lap. We bickered teasingly about the constant after-dinner snacking of chocolates and peanut biscuits. But I ate as much as she did.She spent the night at my place, and on Sunday morning I sent her home to change. We bought a macdonald's breakfast of egg and sausage macmuffins with hashbrowns and orange juice, and she fed the both of us in the car as I ferried her to the Zoo for her Docents duty.Not particularly exciting... not particularly romantic... but I'm thinking that one day, It'll bring a smile to our faces when we recall the memories of these little moments together. So here I'll file a snapshot of the past. Archived for future reference. Averil Chan Superstar! Hehe...ok sorry guys for the lack of updates, I've been really busy/lazy (take your pick) the past month or so, esp with a business proposal project I've been working on in school. Quick recap, I:Went for IPPT: Scored a silver, with 2.4km timing clocked at 10:47mins. Not too bad given that I hadn't been training for 2 months. I might just start training in nov-feb period, and try again in march for Gold, before my form drops too much.Celebrated Birthday: Went to Ikoi with Forest at Hotel Miramar for sushi buffet. $30+++. The sashimi was fantastic. I loved the Salmon and yellow tail in particular. The rest were so so, but the tempura was a little disappointing compared to Kuishinbo's. Variety was also quite limited. Place was fully booked up to 3 weeks in advanced, but when we walked in (without reservation), we were lucky to have 2 places by the counter, just beside the cashier. I think Kuishinbo is better value for money.. but if you really care about top sashimi quality, then Ikoi is the place.Went for a JB day trip: Ate lobster lunch, then another heavy dinner, and then to Kota Tinggi to see fireflies. Bought a lot of tau sa piah and cuttlefish. Ate till I nearly popped. For SGD$48, I guess I can't complain.PSS2: Went to watch pre-recording of Project Superstar 2 at Caldecott, where cousin AVERIL CHAN 陈诗韵 was doing her stage performance. She sang Fly Away by Fish Leong, and wah... I had goosebumps when she started to sing. Such a powerful and steady voice! I've always known that she could sing, but after all the training for the competition, she's improved so much more. I thought she showed no nerves at all, despite being the first to sing. Even the judges were impressed by her voice. The only thing they could fault her with was in her stage movements, which they said was too restrained. Overall, I think she was one of the top 3 among the 6 girls during the first recording.I thought the silly intro video where she played with a bunch of bananas was really in bad taste. She wanted to use her cat, but the producers said no. In the end, some of the contestents had to use really silly props to describe themselves: Like balloons, bubbles, a teapot, and bananas! How the heck can one try and use bananas as an analogy to their hopes/ dreams/ ambitions??? Really kena sabo by the producers leh.Anyway, Project Superstar 2 is showing every wed and thurs on Channel U 8pm. If you guys are at home, do switch on your TV and take a look ok? I believe they are showing the audition clips today, and hopefully, we can see Averil in action. Actual quarterfinals voting will be... 22nd Nov I think.If you think she's good and deserves to progress in PSS2, then please spare a few votes for her ok? Close Shave Speaking of shaving.....Dammit. This is the 2nd time since Aug that I have nearly been involved in a car crash. Both times, it involved a vehicle turning left into a main road, and then swinging out two lanes to his right, starting from the filter lane, then through the left lane and immediately to the centre lane without looking. Naturally, I would be on that centre lane going straight, when the bloody vehicle cuts into my lane from my left. First, time, it was a bike, and just this morning, it was a taxi.My first instinct was to hit the brakes and veer to my right, but later when I thought about it, that was probably a stupid thing to do. In that moment of panic, I swerved right and crossed ino the next lane without checking my mirror. If there had been a car or bike to my right, I would have hit them, and then I would have been at fault. I could have caused injury, death, or expensive damage to other people and property, and been liable for it.My next thought was that maybe I should have held firm and let that bloody taxi sideswipe me. He was literally only one third of a body-length ahead of my car when he tried to cut in. Confirm langar one. Then HE'd be at fault, my passenger-side would be damaged, and in subsequent repairs those scratches on my car door could have been restored while claiming on the taxi's insurance!! :-pBut the fact is that I probably don't have the guts to do that. The natural instinct is inclined towards self-preservation. In between holding firm and bracing myself for a collision, or swerving away to avoid it, I'd swerve away most of the time even when hindsight suggests the former course of action causes less of a road hazard and puts me in less of a liability.What would you guys have in such a situation? Discuss. Shave I have been jogging with Mr Muscles every monday for the past month and a half, and every time we meet up, he tries to extort me to run shirtless. Now, generally I wouldn't mind going bare-topped. I usually do that when I play street soccer with the guys. But the main reluctance, besides the obvious embarassment of showing off my undefined muscles and United Nations tummy flab next to his bodybuilding-competition-contender frame, is that uneasy feeling of a thousand mosquitoes salivating with glee as they stalk me from the darkness of the trees.Mr Muscles says encouragingly that the ventilation is much better. Not to mention that I don't end up with a soaking wet shirt which will leave stains when I sit in the car. Plus, it gives extra motivation for me to tone up my bod. He makes a convincing argument. But I resist out of principle. And sheer stubbornness, I guess.But the nagging does grow a little old. I guess I could run shirtless. I don't think I'd die from embarassment when I pass by fellow joggers, strollers and pretty babes. I probably won't even warrant a 2nd glance. There's only one dilemma on my mind. One that I suddenly thought of while grooming myself in front of the bathroom mirror.The million-dollar question is this: Should I shave my armpit hair? Should men in general shave their armpit hair? Now, I'm fortunate to be blessed with a moderately sparse growth in the area. Not the huge bush that peeps out every which way even when one clips his arms tightly against his sides. However, it does tend to smell after exercise, or after certain meals. If shaving will help reduce the odour, It'd be a great plus. However, there is a deep-rooted impression in me that men who shave their armpit hair have a strong streak of narcicissm and vanity, Something I don't want to portray. Is that how shaved men are being viewed by others?I'd like to hear some views from you guys and gals who read my blog. What is your impression of men who shave? Should men shave? Should I?? Dilemma!! Music Showcase: Nightwish - Over the Hills and Far Away I Like.Lyrics:They came for him one winter's night.Arrested, he was bound.They said there'd been a robbery,his pistol had been found.They marched to the station house,he waited for the dawn.And as they led him to the dock,he knew that he'd been wrong."You stand accused of robbery,"he heard the bailiff say.He knew without an alibi,tomorrow's light would mourn his freedom.Over the hills and far away,for ten long years he'll count the days.Over the mountains and the seas,a prisoner's life for him there'll be.He knew that it would cost him dear,but yet he dare not say.Where he had been that fateful night,a secret it must stay.He had to fight back tears of rage.His heart beats like a drum.For with the wife of his best friend,he spent his final night of freedom.Over the hills and far away,he swears he will return one day.Far from the mountains and the seas,back in her arms he swears he'll be.Over the hills and far away.Over the hills and,over the hills and,over the hills and far away.Each night within his prison cell,he looks out through the bars.He reads the letters that she wrote.One day he'll know the taste of freedom.Over the hills and far away,she prays he will return one day.As sure as the rivers reach the seas,back in his arms she swears she'll be.Over the hills and far away,he swears he will return one day.Far from the mountains and the seas,back in her arms he swears he'll be.Over the hills and far away,she prays he will return one day.As sure as the rivers reach the seas,back in his arms is where she'll be.Over the hills,over the hills and far away.Over the hills,over the hills and far away. Towards a polychromatic life "...'Even aboriginals do not exist in time as your ancestors did. For them, time was linear-''And for us it is polychromatic,' she completed for him with a vigorous nod.'That is a clarified way to regard it,', he agreed, pleased with her description. 'Polychromatic - of many colors. It is pointless to measure personal time in years when one no longer ages and a life is not a span of phases. The more meaningful understanding of time is how life colors it.'..."- Ellen Vancet, oldest of the original human 'aboriginals' and immortal, in conversation with metasapient Rafe von Takara. Centuries, by A.A. Attanasio***Even in Science Fiction, I guess the fundamental truths still apply... Fed up. I'm not happy.Sometimes, maybe, when people are in a negative mood, any little trivial problem between them just bounces off each other in an amplifying feedback loop until it becomes massive.Sometimes, I feel frustration when dealing with people who never think they are wrong. Who never even consider the possiblity that they -might- be wrong. When any trouble starts, its my fault first.I don't understand these people. In most cases I always start by asking if I am wrong first; If I conclude that I am not, I find it frustrating that the other parties do not seem to go through this self-reflective process. It makes conflict resolution very hard for me.There is so much to say, but there is no point in putting it out here. Dirty laundry shouldn't be aired in public. And conflict resolution cannot occur until the other party recognises that my opinions count for something.Suffice to say, I wish people would be interested to try to see things from my point of view sometimes. Just because I'm adaptable doesn't mean I like to give in every time. Why don't people even want to TRY to understand me? Or must I really be obnoxious about it before it becomes evident I feel strongly about something? Being nice about it doesn't seem to be helping. Its just ... a little crush Wed: National day. Got involved in a massive traffic jam along a tiny one-way carpark driveway near old Airport hawker centre. And that's after getting stuck in traffic at Tanjong Rhu as thousands of people had the bright idea to drive down to the riverside to watch the fireworks. But anyway. Tanjong Rhu was packed, so we had the bright idea to ascend the multistorey carpark overlooking Kallang stadium at Old Airport road. Went into the small road leading to the carpark, which was packed as well. no one could move. a lorry blocked the entire lane. Some couple in the car had an emergency and seemed to need to leave, but couldn't. Girl throws a tantrum and cries in the car. Tortured looking boyfriend looks stressed but can't do anything.Ended up watching NDP fireworks among a crush of people at Kallang. Damned tree was blocking. Couldn't see shit.Friday: Forest was late. Watched fireworks alone among a crush of people at the rooftop of Marina square. Lousy and narrow field of view. Walked around a crush of people in Marina square, where a Tamiya car event was going on. Can't even breathe.Sat: Squeezed through a crush of people in Suntec and Marina Square again. At 8pm, squeezed through a crush of people packed all the way up Benjamin Sheares Bridge. Movement was only possible by leaping over the railings and walking down the expressway shoulder lanes. Not to worry. Police were in full force, guiding traffic. No chance of us getting mowed down by an errant Malaysia tour bus. Even if one did go out of control, probably the hundreds of people walking ahead of me would slow down its momentum first.My view of the firework launch area. Field of view includes a closeup of someone's balding head and thinning hair. Why are all the youths so tall? Must be all the growth hormornes injected into the hamburgers they eat. Damned. All I see is head and hair everywhere.Sunday: Squeezed through a crush of people at the Singapore Expo centre as I browsed through the Library book fare. Grabbed 6 tattered books for $6. I don't even know what they are about exactly. Cheap lah, so mai hiam.Anyway. I'm beginning to see a trend here. Are you? There are too many people in Singapore. Everywhere there is a good deal, a free show, a lobang, a kang tao, I have to fight my way through hundreds to thousands of like-minded freebie hunters like myself. Advanced as my elbowing and barging skills are, I just wished sometimes I didn't always have to knock people out of the way to get to where I want, or queue for an hour to eat as a cafe. Or suck in my tummy when I dive through the crowd....I want space!!!***Anyway, I didn't take any pictures of the fireworks. All I had was my trusty w800i 2megapixel camera. If there's one thing I learnt from the CNY fireworks earlier this year, it's that I don't want to be so involved in looking at the spectacular pyrotechnics through a 3.5 inch LCD display that I miss seeing it through my own eyes in all its thunderous, full-coloured glory. I pity all those people who stood there while the fireworks were going off, their little cameras held high as they tried to balance precariously on their little island of standing space, trying so hard to frame the fireworks into the screen just so they can watch it later on their little LCD display in playback mode and mono sound.Yeah. So when it started, I just put my camera phone away, looked up in the sky, and watched. Beautiful. Mass murder on an unimaginable scale LinkYet another religiously-motivated act of terrorism. *sigh* Seems like all the world news these involving mass-murders and killings (or attempted ones) are religiously motivated. 911, Bali bombings, even that big mess in Israel/Gaza strip/Lebanon, where politics and religion are so hopelessly muddled and intertwined. The only incident I can think of where religion was not the cause of a massive death-toll would be the recent tsunami of Christmas 2004. Now if I wanted to be sarcastic I'd mention that hey, wouldn't some people view the tsunami to be an act of god too? Aha! See? God kills more people. Shame on you, Anubis, Thanatos, Hades, Yama Yanluowang and Azrael. But after more thinking I guess that would have been disrespectful. To the dead people and their surviving kin, that is. So I guess I shouldn't be sarcastic.When will people ever learn not to kill and die in the name of religion? I'm sorry if it offends, but that's just plain stupid. It's really off-putting, all the hassles they are causing to other people trying to lead their lives peacefully. Thought. Food for thought. Point to ponder:Maybe its not enough to have a plan and set goals. The goals and associated actions attached must come with a sense of urgency as well, otherwise I'll just put it off for an indefinite later that will never come.Like a ringing telephone out of the blue; Catching you off-guard. It won't wait for you to finish bathing, or cooking, or waking up. It must be answered now, now NOW before the caller gets tired and puts down the phone. It makes you move despite yourself. Makes you put everything aside to focus on getting to the phone.How do I form my goals with that in mind? How can I make my required actions resonate with the urgency of a ringing telephone?Urgency. Motivation. Time. Everything's connected. I sense that I can almost feel that unifying picture that will make everything make sense. Almost....I need to look some more.Deadlines - That little thing that just wooshes past as I look on by. Gotta work on that. Character observations Mission: Purchase SpecsEquipment:1 x $100 voucher for a pair of specs at Optic Point (Redeemable for $150 purchase and above).Proposed Expenditure:$50 ($150-$100)Setting:Tampines DBS Centre Optic PointChoices:Lenses:Normal scratch resistant: $38Scratch resistant, multi coat: $78scratch resistant, multi-coat, non-high index:$68Frames:Cheap ugly frame(CUF) - $78Acceptable frame(AF) - $109Nice frame(NF) - $138Very cool frame(VCF) - $178Frameless: ~$200-$280Combinations considered:AF + Normal lens: $147 (not eligible for discount)AF + multi coat lens: $187NF + normal lens: $176VCF + normal lens: $216Dilemma:Good lens, or cool frame?Decision:Cool frame for teh win $216 ($116 after discount)Conclusion:Me is cheap but vain Month roundup: Food, movies and Free Gym trials. Foods:1) Chilli Padi @ North Bridge rd, opposite Hotel Intercontinental. Windows plastered with certificates of culinary awards from Wine and Dine, Tatler, etc etc from the past 5 years. Its main drawing point for Forest and I was the cheap buffet offered. Lunch and Dinner buffets at ard $10-$11 nett ($1 more on weekends), and high tea at ard $7 nett. The place was a little cramped; it was clearly a popular place, and the restaurant was constantly filled with crowds for the entire time we were there. Serves Laksa, mee siam, a huge range of peranakan kuehs like ondeh ondeh, tapioca cakes, ang ku kuehs, and err.. many other sweet and sticky stuff generously coated with shaved coconut. Main dishes include babi pongteh, fried fish, samosas .. and other stuff i can't remember. Food is generally of good standard, but my tongue isn't very finicky, so I don't know if it lives up to the 'award quality' standard or not. But value for money, definitely!!2) Rabbit Brand Seafood Delicacies @ #02-114 Lucky Plaza, Orchard RoadSharks fin, abalone, fish maw, buddha jumps over the wall and other Chinese delicacies, all at fast food prices. Sounds crazy? Maybe. But its true. They serve set meals that go for between $4.90 to $10.00 thereabouts. I ordered some fried rice thingy for $5.90 which came with two whole baby abalones, and shredded scallops, while Forest ordered sharks fin soup + rice for $4.90. All came with cheng tng dessert. The portions aren't generous, and don't expect premium whole sharks fin either. But it definitely is comparable to a bowl of cheap wedding dinner quality sharks fin dish. Maybe even better. If chinese delicacies are your thing but you're on a budget, then you'll want to visit that place often. Fantastic value for money.Movies - The quick and dirty verdict:1)How much do you love me - Farcical French film about Monica Belluci's sex appeal, masquerading as an arthouse movie.2)Me and you and everyone we know - Nice. Sweet. Mildly amusing. Lacking in overall direction. Actress and producerMiranda July, in my opinion, was the weak link. Her character is odd and doesn't resonate in tune with the setting.3)Thank you for Smoking - Funniest, wittiest show I've seen in years, since Howard Stern's 'Private Parts'. Watch it! Buy the DVD. Download it. Definitely not a waste of time.4)Pirates of the Carribean - Funny adventure romp with great special effects and classical Hollywood story. Singapore gets mentioned once in the show. Good, but not great. Beginning storyline is confusing, even if you've watched the prequel. For its budget, definitely could have done better.5)Superman - Dark, brooding, and some say sensitive. Do we really want to see an angst-ridden Superman tortured by his conflicting emotions? Lex Luthor is a disappointment, and the showdown between good and evil is a letdown. Anticlimatic. Only scene that I liked was when one of Lex's thugs sat down by the piano and played 'a duet 'Heart and Soul' with Louis Lane's kid. Whimsical and endearing. Like how the kid flung the piano at the same thug moments later and smashed him through the wall.6)The Lakehouse - Sweet romance story for the intellectually uncomplicated. Keanu is as stone-faced as ever, Sandra Bullock seems older and plumper. Reason why this movie sucks for me is the same as most time-travel story every filmed. Too many time-line inconsistencies, all hushed up and swept under the carpet, hoping the audience doesn't notice. Even Back to the Future (that Michael J Fox show from the early 90's) handled time travel better.7)Nacho Libre - Low brow(really low) slapstick. Lots of Mexican stereotypes. Occasional subtle humor. Ok only lah.***Other than eating and watching movies, Forest and i also managed to weasel a 2 week pass to California Fitness from them, after enduring a sales pitch for over an hour. funny thing is, I'm most probably not going to be using it, since its so inconvenient to go over there. (ok ok, maybe it IS convenient. But I'm lazy). At least Forest is making full use of it. I'm interested in their range of classes, but most don't operate past 8pm. If I were to make use of my pass, the best time for me to go down would be after 9.30pm, after a late night in campus. I'd rather use the gym at my place for all my other fitness needs. Or, there's always Bedok Reservoir to jog around. Cali Fitness just feels too crowded and intimidating to me. Too many intensely-focused, muscle-bound enthusiasts repetitatively pumping iron with crazy-eyed intensity.*** Over a stormy sky All is well. Really. The absolutely laziest yet surefire way to losing weight. Quoted from http://www.annecollins.com/Let's say you eat a bag (8oz=227.2g)* of potato chips (approx 1217 calories). * If you jump rope, you can burn off all these calories in about 110 minutes. * If you walk at 3mph, you can burn off these calories in about 243 minutes. * In addition, exercise helps to raise your muscle-fat ratio. The more muscle your body has, the more calories you burn and the more weight you lose. * Finally, exercise also helps you to lose weight by boosting your motivation to stick to your weight loss program.***Yeaaahh.. well. Exercise is well and good, but exercise solely to cancel out the effects of a bag of chips??? Now I ask myself, would I rather spend 2 hours jumping on a fucking rope, or 10 seconds deciding not to eat something that will just turn to shit in half an hour?Wow... dieting has never been easier!---------------------*Comparison: 1 pack of Lay's chips = 184g = 985kcal = 89 minutes of jumping rope Now that's using his head Scene: Germany, World Cup Finals, 2006Teams: Italy vs FranceCast: Zinedine Zidane, Marco MatterazziTime: Extra time, 2nd half - 117:40 mins All I can say is... Wow. Just wow. Way to create a memorable exit, Zizou! Strange Luck. When you start to call upon the powers of Fate; when you start to worship the Goddess of Serendipity;Strange things start happening to you:1) Kena HDB summon for parking without a coupon: -$302) Bet on World Cup matches: +$23.503) Mum's hp no. came out first prize in last week's 4D: +$0.4)Car kena cruelly and maliciously scratched in a dozen places: - several hundred dollars *sob*5) What next??? Lets hope I kena Toto. I need new paintwork for the car. Heck, maybe a new car, if I win the 1.5Million top prize.***Fuck the person who scratched my car. May his/her genitals become infested with fleas and drop off. May they get sacked from their job and thrown into jail, where they get sodomized every night by some fat freak called Bubba. May their family disown them and write them off their will. May their future children(adopted, since their genitals have dropped off) abandon them in a cardboard box somewhere in a Malaysian oil plantation. May organ bandits kidnap them and remove their kidneys (without anaesthesia) in a makeshift operating room in some dirty shack, before smacking them retarded with a baseball bat. May they then get shipped to Thailand, where they are forced to beg on the streets, after their limbs are cut off to make them look pitiful. May their tongues get sliced off too so they can't talk. And may they finally die alone, after days of agony, in a dirty little alley, lying in a puddle of their own piss and defecation.And have their corpse eaten by stray dogs.Fuck.