X'Mas Hangover.......

It's been one helluva christmas hangover, all thanks to bob the mastermind. Oh yeah man, you're sooo gonna get it from me the next time I see you. Force me to drink even though I pee tor kah already, steady man. For the first time I was so completely wasted to the point I don't even remember what they did to me afterwards. Hell, they could have snipped off my pubes for all I know! I only remember vaguely that those bunch of arsholes keep pulling me up and giving me the dentist chair treatment. For how many times, I seriously don't have a clue.

I only got up at 3 plus the next day. Man, it really felt like shit. I couldn't walk steady at first and my hands were still shaking from the excess alcohol, accompanied by a heavy head and an unsuppressible urge to want to puke, but it never did came out in the end.

So much for X'mas 2005, another week to survive before the dawn of 2006. Most of the people in my office will be clearing leave though, including my boss. Heh, time to chill out...

MY 1ST BUSINESS TRIP

Wahaha... here I am again, blogging from the airport. This time its a short journey up to KL and since this is my first time on a business trip, I must record it down mah. Today, I had to wake up at an insane time of 4am just to check in at 5am for my flight at 6:45am. With plenty of time to burn, here I am at the free internet terminals loh. Errm still quite groggy now, not enough sleep I guess... till then, see you peeps... but will be back on friday before Christmas though... =)

Chillout@Eskibar

After work drinks at Eskibar along circular road. This place is fast becoming the place to be at for me whenever I feel like having a drink. Eh wait, when was I ever an alcoholic in the first place? Hmm... Don't know leh. I've been there for like 3 times already since I started working 2 weeks ago and though it didn't seem that frequent, bear in mind I still haven't drawn my salary yet and I think I've already spent quite a fair bit on drinks there.

Oh yeah, I've been getting compliments from quite a number of people who say that I look more yandao now... HAHAHAHA!!! Damnn... *smug look*

By the way, it was fun that night, had lotsa beer and shooters for all those present. Looks like I'm still the most sober among them after 3 rounds. Pam was wasted though, her loud mouthed ah lian-ish antics and her verbal sparring with me giving way to the manipulation of alcohol on her sanity. *Burrrpp*

SPREADING THE GOOD WORD OF THE LORD... AND THEY DIE WHILE YOU'RE AT IT

Hear me, ye mere mortal! And tremble in my almighty presence!

There was this newspaper report saying that churches are sprouting up in tsunami-hit areas in Thailand. Now tell me why am I not surprised at all? According to the report, these churches have set up shop in makeshift buildings and rented shophouses, just about anywhere that can house a roof over their heads. People have also speculated that survivors are given money just to attend church... talk about getting bang for your buck. The bang I see is a bang plus a kick for humanity in the teeth. At a time when people need practical solutions to their problem, i.e food and water supplies, these proselytizers give them nothing but wonderful promises of what might possibly turn out to be a big lie in the end. Whoever said that one can sustain life on an empty stomach?

And also, word has it that the increasing number of churches are established by Christian fundamentalist groups from the US whose agents/missionaries are competing with each other to expand their influence by converting more people. I'm not making this up, those of you who read last week's Straits Times would have come across this article. Just what exactly is their agenda? Your guess is as good as mine...

KOREAN CHICKS ROXXXxx

I think I have the hots for this Korean table tennis player who goes by the name of Kim Bok Rae. I was having dinner at a kopitiam after gym session when I caught her in action on the giant TV screen. Definetely one of the better looking female table tennis players by my standards. Actually I should put it in another way, she's not exactly drop dead gorgeous, but everything about her just make me stopped eating my chicken bryani and glue my eyes on her. It's about the x-factor, the entire package I guess, she just seems to have this aura of confidence in her play... don't be mistaken by her ice cold exterior but when she breaks into a smile after winning a hard fought set, she can melt my bloody heart anytime man...

OMFG CHEMISTRY!?!

I've just completed my first week in the office, most of the time trying to understand the technical terms associated with the nature of the product I'm dealing with. It's like reading chemistry textbooks in secondary school all over again. And I bet my boss didn't like to hear that I had flunked my pure chemistry (like 28/100 in secondary 3) and had to opt for combined science after a year. Hahaha... Whats with the polymer shit and very boring names like polye... errr... whatever, that it is an absolute torture to try to comprehend the nature of the subject, especially after lunchtime... bloody killer I tell you. Lucky my back is positioned in front of my boss so he can't really tell if I'm dozing off or not, but being the master sleep disguiser I am from school days, I'm pretty sure I won't get caught that easily. Heh. Actually no lah, most of the time if I'm feeling sleepy I would just go to the washroom to wash up lor... So the week's come and gone, everything's been good thus far lah, and the buzz of going to work all dressed up to impress still hasn't worn off yet. Hahaha...

MAN AT WORK

It's the start of a new week and everything's going smoothly since I started work last thursday. My boss and colleagues are all very nice people and easy to get along, and I hope things stay this way. So far, its only been orientation around the town office where I work, and the site office at Jurong Island. I didn't get to go Japan afterall, they cheated my feelings... hahaha... but fret not, there will be plenty of chances in the near future, they say. Something tells me I'm gonna fall in love with this job... but its still early days, so don't count the eggs first before they hatch.

Tomorrow's an off day for me, cos' its the company's establishment day. Yeah! So fast can get holiday already. Hahaha. Will spend the day shopping for some more shirts and ties though, that means its gonna hurt my wallet again. Can my very first payday come faster please?

KANPEI!!! *hic*

Yesterday, I had to go for dinner with one of our clients with my colleagues even before I had officially started on the job. My boss had filled me in on the agenda before the dinner so I know whom I'm talking to, but I wasn't expected to talk much beyond friendly chatter because I'm still a freshie, so they would understand. It didn't turn out as well as I would want it to be, mainly because this was my first time and I'm sure I made a few mistakes here and there, but none too glaring I hope. Dinner in a business context sure has its dos and don'ts, and I hope I can pick up the nitty gritty fast. As what my friend Doong said, I will, or rather I have become a social butterfly. Indeed it has, it is part and parcel of my job and it represents a major shift in the lifestyle I will be leading from now on...

I AM AN ARMCHAIR SAMURAI <武士>

Just finished a history documentary on samurais. It was a pretty interesting clip though, and I always seem to like history a lot, especially when it digs up little nuggets of information that stirs up the imagination of enthusiastic viewers like me.

The Samurai were reputed to be one of the fiercest and most lethal class of warriors ever known. It's because they fight with scant respect for the word fear. The only fear they know, is in the eyes of their enemies when their blade is about to cut them down. They do not fear death, and they live by honour and dignity befitting their status. The documentary explores the lives and history of these men through the ages of time, and their changing social status to reflect the advancement of society.

What struck me most was the revelation that kamikaze pilots in world war 2 are known as the samurai warriors in war-time Japan - somewhat a distortion of the samurai spirit originally intended to serve the good of others. Well, if you think of it from their point of view... it is, actually.

Such is the popularity of the samurai in Japanese culture that it has spawned movies depicting the way of the samurai exactly as was known by their famed characteristics. I'm a sucker for samurais and ninjas and shinobis as you would not have known yet. From way back in primary school, I was hooked on the SEGA game THE SUPER SHINOBI, and NINJA GAIDEN on NES. I doodled plenty of ninja pictures on my chinese and math textbooks, and just about any piece of paper I can lay my hands on. Hahaha... Now, I'm all grownup and watching animes like "Samurai Seven" and "Naruto" and occasional similar themed movies like "The Last Samurai"...

Speaking of which, I also happened to chance upon this movie titled : " SHINOBI-Heart Under Blade "showing soon. By the looks of the trailer, it looks quite cool and not the mention that the female lead is sibeh chio =D~~~ Hahaha... The only thing is, I don't know whether it will show in local cinemas though...

Singapore football sucks!!!

The Singapore U23 football team loses to 1-2 to Vietnam in the opening game of the SEA games in Manila. Don't be fooled by the scoreline. Singapore deserves to lose by a bigger margin because they literally play like crap, and simply because they are not good enough. Time and again, the inherent flaw in our national team has been exposed cruelly by our opponents. Imagine the feeling of dejavu and helplessness when your national team concedes a goal at the very last minutes of the first half... again. Just what is up with our national soccer players?!!!

If you were to ask me, I don't think there is very much difference between the two sides in terms of the skill level to begin with. What is lacking in us, is that we have a WEAK mentality. We just don't seem to have the winning mentality inculcated within our players. The confidence is lacking, not to mention the drive, the hunger and obviously the pride and passion in playing for the national team.

What we are lacking in may be attributed to the fact that our Singaporean players have it too good going for them. That is, living in a far developed country that has everything one can possibly ask for. We have become soft over the years, or rather, we were never tough before. Vietnamese players, as well as those from other developing countries that only recently began to prosper have more hunger and bite than our own lions... I mean pussycats because they are very much depending on their survival instincts, much like their countrymen to survive in this competitive world we live in today.

It pained me so much to see the equalising goal go in for Vietnam but I forced myself to sit through the second half. It was the same old story, I saw no improvements for our team and once Vietnam had taken the lead after going behind, I said to myself: "That's it, I had enough of this nonsense." I switched off the TV immediately. Our national football team is a sad and sorry bunch of never-was and will continue to be a joke to the footballing fraternity. And did you say we won the Tiger cup only this year? Ah, tyco only lah, we only played well because the other teams didn't.

As they say, form is transient, class is not. Our boys DON'T have any class at all. Period.

PARANOID

Mmmkay man, this is really getting to my nerves now. Its been a week since I last went for my medical checkup arranged by the company and they still haven't contacted me as to when I should go down to put pen on paper. For the past few days, I've been practically clutching my handphone wherever I go, even to the loo! Because I'm expecting them to call me anytime during the day but its already the end of the week and I ain't hear nothing from them yet. I'm getting paranoid now. What if they suddenly refused to hire me for whatever reasons?! Now, that would be the nightmare of nightmares man...

The Road To Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions

Pardon my lack of understanding for the above proverb, but what exactly does it actually mean? Or is there no one fixed answer to it at all? Since being a proverb and all, the sentence by itself is open to different interpretations depending on how you want to see it?

I had always thought this is a proverb that is essentially an irony by itself. How can the road to hell be paved with good intentions? Or put it this way: How is it any good doing good knowing that eventually you will end up in hell anyway?! It just doesn’t make any sense at all.

Since the proverb stems from a religious context, allow me to put forward this scenario: There is this person who preaches about christianity, about how good it is for you and your soul... blah blah blah. And then after a period of time, the person eventually gets turned off by the constant pestering. The road to hell can be visualised here with respect to the deterioration of the relationship between these two or put in another way, if the person converts, the road to hell begins for people around him/her who cannot accept his/her conversion. Different scenario, yet yields the same results. Either way, we lose. More hatred in this world, not that we don't already have enough anyway.

Can you see where I’m getting at? Religion drives people apart, not bringing them together! That’s like the mother of all ironies man. It’s just like forcibly telling people: “Either you are with me, or NOT”. Wah, wu jit kuan eh daiji ah? Like that how different are these zealots from the terrorists that have been bombing innocent people everywhere?

Where is the sense and sensibility needed to sustain the fragile peace in this world? Haven’t we got enough trouble in the world already? Why can’t people of different faith live together peacefully? Israelis and Palestinians? Or something closer to home? Fervent christians who are forever trying to convert people, and the rest of the population?

Yah yah you tell me its not so easy. 废话, wounds take time to heal I also know. But YOU can take that small step today and make a difference to the world we live in! How? Embrace each other and say: “To hell with God! Let’s make love… errr and I mean peace, yeah peace!!!”

Say if there IS a God above, I’m sure He wouldn’t mind either. Who needs wars and conflicts where you can have love and peace?

Cleaning Out My Closet

Spent the whole of today cleaning out my room in preparation for the next phase in my life. A new start, hopefully a fruitful one. Man, its gonna be one looonng journey. Certainly hope to find meaning in life with work and by saying that I don't mean to say I find life meaningless now. In fact, its fantastique! What I meant to say is that one should not live to work, but work to live. Work is just a means to the end at this point in time and I cannot honestly say I will lurrvvee what I am about to embark on. Every job has its pros and cons.

No doubt it is a good career option by my standards, and with the opportunity to travel overseas quite a fair bit of the time, I cannot ask for more really. I should be thankful of the fact that the company decided to give that elusive position to me over the others. I will work hard and hopefully the belief that the hardworking will be rewarded prevails at the company.

So right now, I'm practically counting down to the last days of my treasured freedom. I should be expecting a call from them anytime now asking me to go down to sign the contract I guess.

Jobless no more!!!

Wahahahaha! This is just in. Fresh from the oven! I have just received a call telling me that I have been hired for the sales and marketing executive position that I've applied for at this Japanese company. Omigosh! I love you guys! You didn't make the wrong choice! Now can I kiss your feets now? *muack muack muacks!* Muahahaha!!! Damn I'm such a slut! Woohoo!!! I'm soon gonna work in the same building as my sister (not that condemned one). Maybe I can get free lunch from her also? o_O"

So finally, I can stop reading Straits Times classified ads for good! I'm so bloody sick of scrutinising advertisements day in day out and typing cover letters until my fingers bleed! I can also stop surfing JobsDB every single moment of my waking life and no lamenting over interview calls that never came! No more shaking leg at home! Yippee!

But with great powers comes great responsibility, a superhero once said. No more can I act like a kid around my friends all the time, I have to learn to behave according to the situation and be responsible for my own actions. Of course I can handle that! Why do you think they would even choose me in the first place??! Wahahaha... Wah I damn cocky now... Just like when I put down my fellow applicants mentally during the initial interview stages. Hell, if you are not even confident about yourself in the first place, who else would??!

When night becomes day and day becomes night...

Wonder what went wrong with my bio clock. Have been sleeping like close to 6 in the morning for the past few days. Might have been the champions league soccer games on TV, or it could have been the late night suppers at bedok simpang. Damn, my paunch is growing by the inch with every bite of the sinful pratas I take. It didn't help that I couldn't go for jogs with a sprained ankle.

My laptop broke down just now while I was trying to fix a problem. Apparently, it got hit by a trojan virus and when I was randomly removing suspicious programs, I triggered off something and now my screen is only available in the VGA mode... wtf... I'm very distraught now, as though something hit me square on the face and I don't know what the hell it is. Hahaha...

Halloween's!

Still felt groggy from last night's halloween's party at the liquid room. I wouldn't wanna go back there again man. Music not that nice, then somemore place so small and smoky that it hurts my eye bad. But alot of chiobus lah... hehehe...

I suddenly remembered I had a bad dream days ago. I dreamt that somebody was brewing some soup and had asked me to go over and put some ingredients in. Then, when I opened up the lid, I saw live terrapins being boiled in hot water. They were still not dead yet, half cooked and squirming in pain. I felt sick to the guts at that point in time, and woke up to find that it was morning already. It would have been even more sick if the terrapins in the pot were to be my kawaii snot nosed turtle instead. Eeewww... *faints*

Flick, Flick, Flicker!

Yup, I've finally added the flickr album to the column you see on your right. Out with Sony's imagestation because they want me to pay!!! Not a chance in hell man!!! Hahaha. Plus, flickr is so so so much more cooler!!! However, not everyone gets to see all the pictures though, because some of them are quite *ahem* "controversial". So there has to be some censorship in place here.

By the way, Happy Halloween's people!

(ps: anyone whose a pro html editor? I seem to have difficulties aligning the flickr badge to the centre of the column. I know the codes but I have tried almost every single place there is to try, but it just won't work out... help!)

PAIN SIAH!!!

Spent the earlier part of the week recuperating from the exhaustions of sunday soccer and gym straight after. Damn my arms still feel sore and not to mention my ankle, I hurt it yet again and although it felt all right the next day, I wasn't about to take any chances. When I visited my trusted sinseh for treatment, damn it hurts when he grabbed my ankle and began pressing at the nerves. Hurts so bad I wanna cry. To hell with his advice about not playing soccer, and not taking any cold drinks, I don't care!!! They can take away the football from me, but they CANNOT take away the football passion in me!!!

Anyway, tomorrow's the second round of interview at Singapore Land Tower. Got my new funky shirts from G2000 ready (hope no one wearing the same pattern as me... haha), new rimless spectacles collected (yes, I look like a 斯文败类) and polish my leather shoes gilat gilat... WoOt wOoT woOt!!! Hahaha. Hope something good comes out of it tomorrow so that I can kiss goodbye to the days of rotting at home.

Gonna go off for supper now. Tao Huay at Geylang sucks. Don't ever go there unless you really gian. By the way, service there is almost non-existent. Auntie forever give the "ai-mai-mai-sua" face. And did I mention the 油条？Sheeesh, cannot make it man. Shanghai's ones waayyy better, no fight at all.

HEAR ME ROAR!!!

I really think this situation is getting out of hand. I met ah boon, a typical 15 yr old teen whom my mum used to babysit as a kid. He's studying in Catholic High right now, and as far as I know, it doesn't really matter which school you study in. You will somehow come into contact with zealots bearing the goodwill of the christian faith which serves to spread the true word of God. Yeah right... o_O

We all know this situation has already been happening, but can I assume it is actually getting from bad to worse? Like almost any teenagers with friends or friend's friend who go church will automatically kenna jio-ed by them to go attend their service?

And if you think the streets are safe from these hawks, you're sooo damn wrong. Even ah boon says he was approached by these people who purports to act in God's name. I myself also kenna before lah, at a MRT station. In my case, this guy was saying "Sir, would you be interested to come to our church? very interesting you know? there will be food and drinks, plus, you can meet new friends too!" I was like: "Woh woh woh, hold it man... Is this like some kinda NTUC holiday chalets promotion?" For Christ's sake! You're asking people to go to a religious institution for what purpose? Get your directions right first, you misguided one. Looks like you're the one who needs saving instead...

Normally, I would have never bat an eyelid over this. But the fact that it concerns a person close to me meant the issue is very real, and immediate. Lucky for him, despite coming from a catholic school, he wasn't influenced by the outwardly advances of some of his peers, despite going to church a few times. So I do not have to do any repair work at all.

In all fairness, if religion serves to do wonders to the mind and the soul, and teach moral lessons to people, by all means go ahead and embrace it if you feel the need for it. But if things have developed to such an extent that it creates confusion and uproar from the public, then something is wrong here.

Let me not beat around the bush here. The way some people has been actively pushing others to join them in Christianity, and eventually eternal life (wtf?!) , has been a major talking point of late. The crux of the matter lies in who is your intended audience.

I agree, no one can really say for sure whether embracing Christianity is the only way to God in the same way Christians out there say other religions are rubbish. Bottomline, if you (Christians or non-christians) don't know a shit, then shut the f*** up. Don't go around proclaiming your religion is the best just because you can separate your moses from your mary magdelenes. It really doesn't work that way.

Of course, mature Christians don't think that shallow (I hope ...). If you wanna tell about how your religion can help another become a better person, FINE, go ahead cos' no one's gonna stop you. But in all sense and logic, do it in an ethically correct manner - Pick the right people to talk to. Someone who is mature enough to able to make an informed choice, not some young helpless impressionable kids who just want to be seen and be acknowledged! It's like Michael Jackson luring young innocent kids to his bedroom on the pretext of his "love" for children right?

It has become a vicious cycle if you would have noticed by now. Young impressionable kids pyscho-ed by madcap Christians into believing that the church they are attending is actually the mickey mouse club in disguise. These kids would naturally rant on and on about how much fun they've had there with all the wonderful friends they've made, and like all good things, must share with their other friends one what.

Batch after batch, generation after generation, same old shit, same old story. Sian already I tell you. How many have managed to escape unscathed so far? Like young sea turtles that have just hatched, it is a mad scramble to reach the safety of the open seas for survival.

Never flinch once my young ones, for the crows are just circling above your heads.

The Long Ride Goodnight

Something just made me wanna hit the road to nowhere just now. It was already 11 plus and I was so sick of staying at home. Plus, I didn't really have the opportunity to really take a nice long ride to nowhere on nearly empty roads and highways before, and the weather is just perfect today.

Armed with my lumix and a short stand for taking night pictures, I donned my windbreaker and began to rev up the engine. I had to kick quite a few times before it finally roared to life, partly because it has been a week since I last rode, with the constant rainy weather being a huge obstacle.

First stop was Changi Airport via TPE then ECP from Pasir Ris. I had always liked the particular stretch of highway leading to the airport because it always evokes memories in me. Memories of going to Melbourne to study and play, memories of going to Shanghai to work, memories of coming back to this place I call home everytime I went abroad, and memories of sending off friends and relatives. All these events occupy a certain corner in my memory, often reminisced with much relish.

Parked along the road shoulder to take this picture. Hahaha... shiok man...

If you noticed the clock, its already 12:20am. Not that late, but the airport's pretty empty at this hour, save for the cleaning ladies and a few scattered travellers sleeping over for the night to catch an early flight. Reminds me of the days back in Sydney where I had to sleep at the airport too, just because the flight arrived at a rather late hour, and we couldn't find accomodation for the night.

Next was the Esplanade. Had a nice long ride down ECP towards the city area before exiting at rochor road. Took a left and within minutes, I'm at Singapore's premier architecture masterpiece. Or should I say eyesore? Heh...

Wah, the picture turned out not bad eh? That's cos I had my tripod mah, and its perched on top of a rubbish bin... (-_-") Actually the lumix's mega O.I.S anti-shake function is crap. All the hype about being able to reduce blurriness, my ass! It's all a marketing ploy! And I fell for it! *Puuii!!!* I'm sure people who bought the same model would agree too. Still haven't really figured out how to really bring out the true potential of this camera though. I'm pretty much clueless about what settings to tweak in order to shoot a really nice picture in all its grandeur.

The merlion and fullerton hotel at night. Compare with the picture above. Both were taken with the idiot-proof pre-selected night scenery setting. But why the vast difference??? Has it got to do with the light exposure from the surroundings? Even so, abit 夸张 right?

Took a few other random shots and I began to walk back to my bike which was parked by the side of the esplanade. The skies which has now ominously turned an eerie purple started to open up with a drizzle. I was thinking of taking shelter but heck! just ride lah, not as if its pouring buckets. So, I took the nearest exit to the highway just before Temasek towers and luckily, the rain did not persist when I reach marine parade soon after.

Anyway, the Macdonald's near my house has extended operating hours till 3am in the morning leh. Hmm, another place for supper, wonder if the other outlets also follow the same likewise. By the way, the chicken patty in the McChicken burger I ordered made me felt as though I was munching on a piece of rock. Bet the auntie must have dozed off while frying the patty. Ahh, that explains...

Fear Factor

Today's interview must be the most intimidating ever. 4 persons lined up before me in a conference room setting. My heart was at my throat as I struggled to compose myself before them. Never did I expect so many people to interview me, at least not for the first round you see?

After an initial period of uneasiness and nervous pitch, I had more or less settled down well enough to hold a seamless conversation. As usual, I thought I had carried myself pretty well and that I was convincing enough to make them think I am the right man for the job. Every question they ask, every scenario they seek my response on, I had a more than satisfactory reply to them. But then again, it might be just wishful thinking on my part lah.

The most interesting part of the conversation was when one of the interviewers (a Japanese man) suddenly asked me in Jap accented english whether do I drink beer or not. "Of course..." I said. "No problem at all" "Aaahh! weehry guud!" He replied. After which, the panel of interviewers broke into guffaws. Hahaha damn funny lor, I presumed they asked because there will be alot of entertaining clients involved and of course ask me drink no problem lah, bring it on man!!!

After the interview, I met Sis for lunch because they also happen to work in Singapore Land Tower. I popped by their office to take a look as it has been ages since I last worked there as a receptionist before my NS days. Now that they have shifted to this new location and the office space has seemed to shrink by quite a bit. We had lunch at Sakae Sushi at her expense, hahaha... (nevermind she said, IF I get the job I can treat her to lunch everyday. I was like ... -_-") And today I realised the Ebi Tempura doesn't really taste like prawn at all. Hmm... can slowly grow to like it.

Shaggedelic!

2 exhausting days of being rejected in your face countless times that I've already become immune to it... It's just part and parcel of working in a roadshow pushing people to signup for something which you hope they understand in a minute or two... Obviously NOT!

Day 1 was good. Fresh on the job, enthusiastic and raring to go. Day 2? Completely deflated, low on confidence and wanting so much to quit halfway. Hahaha. Imagine your legs being strained so much to the extent that you can't even sleep properly with them straight. Damn jialat right?

Anyway, its over finally... a word of thanks to the peeps whom had happened to bump into me by coincidence and signed up for the nets reward thingy, much appreciated! Don't worry, I did not con you all lah, hahaha...

The whole family's away in malaysia for a holiday. The house's so empty, but I have it all to myself! WAHAHAHA... but the bad side of it is, I have to do the bloody chores myself. Sucks big time man.

Something to look forward to this week. After a dearth of interviews, there's one being lined up this wednesday at Raffles place. And today, the job agency asked me to go all the way down to temasek tower just to talk to me for 3minutes and pass me a piece of paper. WTF man...

LELONG LELONG!!! For this weekend only!!!

Friends and foes, hear ye! I'm currently doing part time work for NETS at a roadshow just outside Tampines Mall Macdonalds. Basically, I'm selling this NETS Rewards thingy which basically the user, you, does not have to fork out a single cent to reap the benefits.

It is simple, really. You come to me, fill up a form with a few of your particulars and 2 to 3 weeks later, VOILA! You can then start to accumulate points with every transaction you make (every $0.50 for 1 Nets reward point) at NO CHARGE TO YOU AT ALL! Wow, sounds too good to be true eh? Indeed, my young ones, NO tricks, NO gimmicks at all.

So people, if I've offended any of you in one way or the other, do try to forget the incident at least for today lah, then you can curse and swear at me all you want after signing up for me. Hahahaha...

Actually no lah, I'm joking. Just to say to the people out there living in tampines area, east area or happen to be passing by tampines interchange, you can just pop by and visit me lah. Signup or don't signup nevermind lah, really. At least visit me to make my day a better one lah. You think stand and persuade people to signup for TEN hours very easy meh?

By the way, an incentive for making those who bother to come down to support me, yours limpeh will do ANYTHING except betraying my principles. WAHAHAHAHA, desperate right? Again, joking lah of cos, I will never stoop so low one lor... Maybe I'll just throw in a dinner date (girls only, hahahaha) and for guys, a once-in-a-lifetime exhilarating phantom ride with the biker man himself! Okay lah, can choose either or. Hahahaha...

So hurry people!!! Till sunday 9pm!!! Not to be missed!!!

Principles of Marketing

This is interesting. As usual, my entries about religion are bound to get some feedback. Hahaha. No, not that I mind at all. Negative feedback is also considered feedback mah. Besides, debating over the topic of christianity always helps kill time, albeit that at the end of the day, we will come to a deadlock eventually, with neither side refusing to budge. Hehehe...

Yes, I do know Boy's Brigade is an organization that teaches Christian values. The point I'm trying to make across is, one can be in such a group but yet come out of it learning other useful skills without actually becoming a Christian. I'm one example actually. I was in the boy scouts during my secondary school days but I managed to learn some nifty techniques like rope tying and such without being overtly influenced by subtle christian teachings mah.

Ultimately, the reason why such a social phenomena is happening in our schools today is because christianity is smart. It is one of the rare few religions that actually moves with the times. By applying simple marketing concepts, it has successfully turned itself into a religion that permeates into all aspects of life in society today.

By positioning itself (read: location, location and location) within the mainstream secular schools in Singapore, it has gained access to a never-ending pool of consumers where generations after generations, young impressionable teenagers will have the opportunity to know more about Christianity through these social entities such as the boys' brigade and such. These organizations are, so to speak, at the right place, right time and with the "right" product. Vital concepts which they have so brilliantly grasped in order to flourish in society today.

I also remembered saying that had if buddhist, taoist, islam or hindu influenced clubs or social organizations thought of doing this much earlier, the social landscape might have been very different today. Who knows right?

Sleepless in Seattle, err... I meant Singapore...

Shit, its 2:40am and I can't get to sleep yet. Don't know why... maybe it could have been the ice latte mocha (or was it ice mocha latte? o_O) I had after dinner with a few of my uni classmates at TCC millenia walk just now. But then again, caffeine never had any effect on me to begin with. I can drink cup after cup of coffee but when you pass me a management textbook to read, I can snooze like a log even before I even realised what happened.

Rick Price's "If you were my baby" is playing in my realplayer right now... for the nth time. The stillness in this quiet night made me thought about the many "what ifs" in life. I will most probably never know what might happen if I had taken that one route over the others. But that is life. It is about making choices and having to bear the consequences of your decisions. I must be content with what I have now, and strive to better what I have achieved thus far. Career wise, I'm definitely at the crossroads. Should I be picky, choose selectively and wait out for that much desired job? Or should I just hantam and go for a decent one? After all, if you never try, you'll never know whether you like that job or not.

I suddenly remembered reading this article in the straits times forum that this parent was complaining that her son suddenly revealed to her that he wanted to become a christian after joining the seemingly innocuous boy's brigade ECA.

Since when did the ECA become an avenue for people to practice evangelism? This is just soooo friggin' wrong man. The ministry of education should seriously partake an inquiry board on this man. How ethical is it to indoctrinate impressionable young minds into believing what is right and what is wrong? Are they really mature enough to think for themselves yet? Or should they just cast that issue aside? Afterall, they're only teenagers what. They should be enjoying the springtime of youth (like what rock lee would say in naruto). Hahaha.

So, be like me and my bunch of buddies from Anglican High School mah. Ironic huh, coming from a chinese medium christian secondary school. We never get swayed by anybody loh. We HAVE a mind of our own. Haha, actually it is more accurate to say we can't be bothered back then. I still remembered everytime the pastor was asking the school assembly to give praise to thy lord Jesus Christ *mock mr. slave's voice* , me and my good friend malau would be tearing at each other's hair to the misbelief of the people sitting around us. Hahaha, now THAT is growing up for you.

GOAL 2010 (o_O)

So I was in the lift lobby waiting and there was this 2 malay teenagers kicking about with a soccer ball. Normally, this wouldn't trigger off any reaction from anyone. But the thing is... they're playing just BESIDE a wake that was held at my void deck. (-_-")

I kept thinking what if they were to miskick the ball and it would end up disturbing the funeral service or worse, toppling over the coffin or what cos' it was just separated by a thin canvass sheet like the ones you would normally see. Okay, that was a bit far fetched...

But but... my heart was literally at my throat lah. I can't bear to watch how would things turn out if the worst case scenario really did happen. I pressed the lift button as fast as I could and god bless the boys. Amen.

But then again, its good to know our Goal2010 still has some hope in these boys. Amidst the foolhardiness of it all, the fact that these kids breathe, eat and sleep football 24/7 is comforting enough to know that someday, just someday, even the wildest dreams can come true.

REVENGE OF THE AMERICANO GEEKY BOY

Bob and I were going back home today when I noticed from the corner of my eye: an americano geeky boy with a local bred singaporean girl. Yeah, that rawks. But the moment I had my eyes on him, I couldn't help but sniggle uncontrollably.

There in the little corner seat in the mrt, I had noticed an uncanny resemblance to the typical americano dork. You know the chequered shirt, geeky smile and the equally geeky looking black spectacle frames? And the way he grins? That was the final straw... hahaha... And bob says he looks like a grown up butters, which I can totally picture it as well. We went bonkers that very split second we saw him, even before saying anything to each other. How about that for chemistry? hahaha... We also did a very evil thing, something that I think won't go down well with some people. But heck! not as if we spreading around like that. Its only for our own entertainment only mah, albeit at other people (which is not very nice).

So we took pictures of him secretly using my handphone lar. And noooo, not gonna let you all see lor. So unethical right? Sorry hor but I won't betray my own principles.

Anyway today's interview at Creative went pretty good. Actually smashing good I would say. But don't haolian in case never get called up for 2nd interview. But when I went for the interview straight after my part time work at suntec at a trade expo, I hollanded! I actually, for the first time in my life, boarded the wrong train that went northbound to woodlands instead of jurong east! omg! and I only realised it when I woke up from my slumber! Its because I had slept the moment I landed my butt on a seat.

I was panicking cos' I had friggin taken a mini tour around singapore. And to make matters worse, I didn't have much time to spare! Kan cheong like spider man. I alighted at bukit gombak on mag's advice and took a cab down to Creative's headquarters at international business park. Lucky only late 5 minutes but still late lah, bad impression on people. But then I got apologise loh, just hope that they didn't take it into consideration when choosing suitable candidates for the post which I'm applying for.

HANG GOAT HEAD, SELL DOG MEAT

Just came back from an interview held at NUSS Guild House. Where? Yeah, NUSS guild house for its alumnis. Pretty nice place though. I was wondering whether to go or not as I never apply to work at NUSS leh. But hell, just go lar. See what they can offer.

Anyway, as I was walking past the line of applicants doing their personality test, I couldn't help but sniggle at them, actually the guys only, cos' all of them look so nerdy boyz. Eh, that one was my new hairstyle say one. Bwahaha. In that time, I had almost instantaneously thought up of a script already. Slapstick comedy the stephen chow way. Bob, told you already... wasted lar, should shoot a mini movie soon with the bunch of guys. All of us are blardy talented comedy actors man.

Yah, at the briefing apparently got one scholar come. Ask me why? I don't know. Also got one very cocky looking (nerdy) guy. From the way he carries himself to the way he talks... it just reeks of cockiness! Haolian kia! Puii!!!

Okay, so I came to the interview thinking it was for a sales and marketing position which I had applied for. But little do I know that it turned out to be a application for a financial services consultant, or financial planner... whatever you call it. Bakero! Waste my time lar! If I had wanted to be a financial planner then I go study business degree for fark?! Blardy waste of my time and money right? Learn so much things at school just to be financial planner?! o_O"

I don't mean to ridicule the profession per se. I have friends who are pursuing this line of work and people have the right to make their own choices. But to me, it just kinda defeats the entire purpose. It's like laying the foundations of a building swee swee then demolishing it to build another building... back to square one again.

Anyway, the guy was a sweet talker. It wasn't exactly an interview but more of a briefing. He kept us all in suspense, talking on the massive financial rewards and the intrinsic gains. Everybody was smitten. But when he ultimately dropped the bombshell, you could see the three lines dropping down from the side of everyone's faces. Well, not everyone I would say, but at least mine did. Still, I had the patience to sit down for another 20minutes before it finally all ended. But kudos to the guy lar, he said we all could take the briefing as an information session to dispel any negative notions about the profession. It did... in a way.

So it all ended well. I could take that as an apology from him. Hahaha. Otherwise, I would stuff the potato wedges up his nostrils for cheating me to come all the way down here.

SUCKY FEELING...

Went for my motorbike class 2A TP test today. Buang. Fell off the bloody plank. Dunno what the hell I was doing looking at the tester for fark? Curses. Everything else was perfect, and I had to spoil it all. After receiving the bad news, I went to book for the next test date. 15th NOV wor!!! wtf!? So bloody long can?? Felt sucky the whole day. Cannot sell phantom, cannot buy super 4. I was so looking forward to visiting the various bike shops and asking for quotations on my dream bike man... Guess it will have to wait a lil' while longer... *shrugs shoulder*

On a brighter note, I have 2 interviews lined up this week. One of them with Creative as a product marketing specialist. Hope something good comes out of it. =)

ORCHARD ROAD LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE

Went to buy my external hard disk at Sim Lim yesterday. Finally I can transfer all my *mock gollum voice* "preciousss" before giving the desktop a reformat which I've stalled for so long because I don't wanna erase all the data painstakingly built up over the years.

Had dinner at old airport road hawker centre with the guys and then headed out to katong for a bit of counter-striking. Ahh... the good old days revisited. Hahaha...

Then, a crazy idea struck Mr. Fu. This siao kia actually suggested going jogging along orchard road at 12 midnight. Being the ever-so-game-for-anything me, I said yes without much hestitation of course. Expect no less from Mr. Outdoor hunk. Hahaha. Not like somebody who ask me go east coast jog then ended up eating satay and bbq chicken wing. Champion man. Actually is becos we had initially planned to jog before meeting the guys for dinner lah, so die die have to make up for it mah.

So by the time we finished counter striking, it was like oh my god 12 midnight already! Die lah! How to run like that? Then, after limbo-ing here and there, the lazy side eventually got the better of me. But apparently jz was still keen on the idea (dunno whether like real or not). Haha. And they mercilessly taunted me and hurl insults at me. I was devastated but I was still adamant about not going cos its very late already wor. I had chosen teh tarik and prata over jogging at that point in time, but my mind was still in a limbo leh. WTF...

My mind was still limbo-ing as I maneuvred the roads as we all headed to fetch le wuss bobby home before going to simpang for our sinful delights. Finally, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. I had to keep to my side of the word. What I had promised, I will do. Must earn people's respect mah. Hahaha.

So yeah, I DID went to jz's place. I was so damn fired up even though its like an ungodly 2:30am in the morning. Suddenly I don't feel like dozing off anymore. Me and jz were all pumped up and raring to go.

The morning air was crisp and our foot steps were light (cos we both are friggin' fit?). We jogged from his place behind botanical gardens ALL THE WAY NON STOP to paradiz centre before we made a U-turn back. Along the way, I would have imagined the bewildered look on the faces of party go-ers as these 2 siao kias whizzed past them like a tornado ripping through orchard road. We made sure that our stomach was in and chest out when we ran past them at a faster pace. Must gek-seh what, cannot lau kwee and appear as if like wanna die like that in front of them mah. Hahaha.

And so we finally finished in approximately 53minutes for a I should say at least 7km run. It sure felt damn good afterwards. Tired, we grabbed a drink from 7-11 at Tanglin mall before walking back home.

Damn shag but still got time to take cute ah lian pictures. Muahahaha...

So there you have it. To the detractors out there (actually bob and malau only) who didn't think we would really go and jog at that time of the day, KISS MY ASS! hahaha... ok, thank you very much. I need to go for my nasi lemak breakfast at adam road hawker now. Cheerios!

NIP/TUCK

Time to have an image overhaul.

Err, not quite an overhaul actually. I just find that the blog introduction is way overdue for a change. It doesn't really have much relevance with the title to begin with. And so, inspiration struck and I'm here again with something new barely an hour into my last posting.

Ahhh, sounds so much better now, don't you think? ;)

(ps: I wrote that up myself. I didn't rip off anyone lor. Steady pom pee pee rite?)

FIRST BLOOD

Yeah, finally got one reply asking me to come down for interview at Keppel Towers. This after 2 and a half weeks of rotting at home. Haha. Considered fast already right?

Actually this can be considered my 2nd interview. First being at P&G, but not really that formal lar cos the manager never interview me and make me feel hot under the collar. Hehe.

Feeling excited, heart's beating very fast. Dunno whether will cock up tomorrow or not. Judging by last interview, I'm quite cool yeah? So just need to maintain my poise and hope everything goes a-ok. One shot one kill? hahaha... better don't get my hopes so high up. The bigger the expectations, the bigger the disappointments. Always happens to me, big time suay bao.

Went jogging today at bedok reservoir despite the gloomy skies, but the weather is purrfect! Apparently, some jogger found a dead body floating there just yesterday evening. But there was nothing to see already: No white tape, no police car, no people carrying out investigations. Bleah~

COURTEOSY BEGINS WITH YOU & ME... =)

There has been lotsa talk recently on remaking Singapore into a global city. One that has a vibrant culture and plenty of graciousness in the way we treat others. In essence, the X-Factor that enables us to be identified as one of the great cities of the world.

Let me just begin, we are far... I mean really far from it, considering the way we treat people in the service sector. I have noticed for myself many people (some of my friends included) treating waiters or the cleaning lady who clears up your table almost as though they are non-existant. The worse though, is behaving as though you as a customer, have every right to boss over them just simply because they are there to serve you.

Some people have almost made it into an art to behave as if the service people owes them a living everytime they step into their establishment. Every now and then, they would reply with a scowl whenever demands are not met and they behave like they are kings and demand the subjects bow before them, trying to make life miserable over the smallest of requests.

"Nabeh, where's my char kway tiao?"

Bloody hell, these low EQ people.

Whenever I eat out or have any contact with customer service personnel, I always make it a point to say thank you or a word of appreciation to the old auntie who ungrudgingly clears up so that I have a clean table to rest my elbows on, or the affable shop assistant who offers to check whether they still have that particular shirt in another size at another different outlet. I think it is only plain courteosy, right?

Maybe it is also true to a certain extent to say that how your boyfriend/girlfriend behaves towards these seemingly "insignificant" people determines how he/she is going to treat you and the people around you in the future once the honeymoon period is over.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. That has always been my motto in life. If you want people to treat you in the way you want to be treated, treat others in the way you would do so if you were them.

THE LAW OF EQUIVALENT TRADE

"Nothing is perfect in this world, maybe that's why it is so beautiful..."

Do you really want to live in a world where everything is smooth sailing for you? No obstacles, no hiccups along the way. That means no family problems, no relationship problems, no money problem. You go to the best schools, you graduate with a mighty fine degree, you landed yourself a comfortable job, you are surrounded by people whom you love and who loves you, you drive the swankiest car around and swats of money to spend.

But what happens when tragedy struck? Your best friend suddenly died, your girlfriend dumped you for another guy, or worse, girl (haha), you get backstabbed by some jealous people at work or you suddenly go bankrupt overnight? Would you be able to handle such a crisis of sorts? Afterall, you have everything good going for you and you're pretty much spoilt in that sense.

Face it, nothing is perfect in this world. In order to gain something, you have to present something of equal value. That is why I remember this quote by one of my lecturers: "An honest day's pay for an honest day's work.", vividly in my mind.

I used to indulge in frequent soccer betting (albeit in small amounts compared to what big time bookies play) when Singapore pools started legalised betting SCORE!. But not anymore. It has been more than a year since I last betted on anything. Cos' I realised it was getting nowhere except maybe the fact that it gave me an avenue to get my 'excitement' from. Of course you feel happy when you win the money that is obtained with seemingly little or no effort at all (maybe if you take into consideration the energy expended walking to the betting outlet and queuing up to buy the bets). But the sinking feeling whenever you lose is like shit. It makes you wonder why the hell you would even bet in the first place for? For fun? At the expense of your hard earned 20 bucks? Just not worth it.

Now you realise I won't be speculating in shares anytime soon. I believe myself to be a conscientious salaryman who believes his pay is worth the talent and effort the company is hiring me for. That said, even during chinese new year gatherings I would be a bit reluctant to gamble away money in mindless blackjack or poker games even though its only a few dollars. If I were to play at all, it would be simply to kill time or to have a nice bonding session with my cousins and relatives. Losing money is just a side issue, what I gained is far more valuable.

Speaking of the need to present something of equal value in order to gain something of equivalence, does it always have to be that way? Some people can put in minimal effort but yet achieve the same, or even better result than someone who gives his all. The world is never fair. Whoever says that rule applies everywhere?

I have given quite a lot in the hope of gaining something. But things always do not turn out the way I had wanted. Did I gain anything out of it? Yes and No actually. Depends on how you see things. If everyone is happy with the way things are, then let it be... let it be.

ME IS THE BIGGEST LOSER

Think of it, finding a job is in many ways similar to finding a girlfriend. One cannot just flip the papers and look for the ideal job. To begin with, the ideal job might never even existed for you in the first place. So, to stubbornly put all your money on getting that dream job of yours is tantamount to plain stupidity.

Remember, if you put all your eggs in one basket, chances are, if plans backfire (as they usually would for me), you will end up losing everything. Forget about saying that you are going to try your darnest best and assume you will get the job because you, well, simply put, think you are the best man for the job. It really doesn't work that way. What makes you think the company which you wanna work for isn't looking for somebody else in the first place?

You, as a job seeker, have everything to lose, and nothing to gain if you adopt this suicidal mentality that I have. In the end, who will have the last laugh? Not you and your stupid idealistic world, but the practical company who keeps an open mind on which employees to hire.

I would like to believe I'm a diehard romantic in the game of love, albeit a naive one. To stay focused on the one which my heart wants me to follow, and shut out all other choices that may appear before me. The rules of the dating game has changed in modern society today. And change it did. That is why I believe I'm still living in the olden days where being true in the pursuit of the significant other usually gets you rewarded in time to come. What was I thinking?!

Screw it. Things have taken a whole new perspective for me now. I will want to keep my choices open, but not to the extent of being a profligate cassanova(I don't think I can qualify as one anyway). I will still be looking out for my ideal girl, but I will not just be looking at the one tree when I can choose from the entire forest.

So, yes. I've already sending out applications for posts that is not even remotely connected to what I want to do. To go for interviews with an open mind, and see if something works out from there. If not, there's always another job opening to look forward to. If you never try, you'll never know.

OVERDUE GRADUATION PHOTOS

(26th Aug 2005)

Dad, mum and sis who attended my graduation ceremony. Must have been a proud occasion for them. The perennial underperforming prodigal son of theirs finally made good at last, after causing my mum so much worries for my future especially after flunking my A levels. I not stupid, I don't think I'm exceptionally clever either but I just don't like studying. Muahaha...

Dustin, me, Zihe, Francis, Wyi Teck, Charles (GINA!), and Gary the gcb face. Muahaha... Oh yeah, I think this photo is the incomplete soccer team one. 29th intake inter sem soccer champions semester 4!!! The medal is still sitting proudly in my display window.

The elusive gang of people whose names are legendary among the class of 29th intake BBBA. Word has it that this secret organization has been around for centuries, holding the much sought-after secret of the holy grail. Okay, I'm still having the da vinci code hangover. Hehe... Grandmaster Mag is not in the picture though, possibly out on a secret mission; Grandmaster Alex looking nonchalant, Grandmaster Zhiwei breaks into a rare smile and Grandmaster Jasmine looks as if she needs to visit the washroom urgently.

And finally, a (complete?) class photo of the batch of graduates from Singapore Institute of Management-RMIT University 29th Bachelor of Business in Business Administration Intake.

As I step into the corporate world, I will work hard and prove to detractors that SIM is not just a dumping ground for people who flunked their As. It is a place where we are given a second lease of life and a chance to prove to the rest that we are as good as, if not better than our peers from the local unis, and we can more than hold our own against them, thank you very much.

THE SHOE THIEF STRIKES THREE!

I was about to go jogging when I realised I can't find my jogging shoes at all. I searched high and low for it, and that's when I knew it was gone. Yes, the bloody hardup shoe thief struck for the 3rd time in like, a year. He/she's been getting quite a reputation ain't it? AND TO THINK MY PARENTS STILL HAVE NOT LEARNT THEIR LESSONS YET! Whatever happened to the saying that goes "once bitten, twice shy??!"

Still they insist on leaving the 'old and dirty' shoes outside. And I have to constantly remind them that the godamnit thief is still out at large and will resort to stealing even shoes that smell like dead fish to him/her. So put all the shoes save the slippers inside, I told them. It doesn't require much effort anyway. They just won't listen, do they? And I had to dump all the shoes inside the house myself but every now and then, I would forgot all about it and then, it HAD to happen on the day itself. Friggin' pissed.

And my dad recently came up with something quite ridiculous. He actually only take one half of the shoes to put inside the house, and his logic was that the thief wouldn't want to take only one shoe. I was like "wtf?!" Right, and I suppose he can read the thief's mind and assume that he wouldn't steal it out of pure mischief in retaliation? Basically, he's just leaving a chance for the thief to inflict more misery upon us and I TOTALLY couldn't see where my dad's coming from. Needless to say, I didn't argue much. I just trashed every single shoe into the house, leaving nothing to chance.

I believe in karma. What goes around, comes around.

And to this f***ing thief, just don't let me catch you in the act when I come home late. I'll be sure to beat the crap outta him before turning him over to the police.

BAM!!! IN YER FACE!

Could it be true?

Shock grabbed me when I first saw it, then this sickening feeling of helplessness just overwhelms me that I stared into space for a good 5 minutes before it finally sank in.

There are things in this world that you just don't understand. Sad life, cruel world.

GOODBYE IS THE HARDEST WORD TO SAY

Went to the airport to see Karli and Michel off. Guess I most probably won't be seeing Michel for quite a while now. I think I'm always an emo wreck whenever someone had to leave me, or I had to leave someone. It was proven right again. I did not openly cry lah of cos, for heaven's sake. But my heart will ache severely everytime someone had to go away. I would tease other people endlessly for displaying their emotions openly, but the truth is I'm emotionally affected as well, but I hide it very well lah. Yes, yours truly is not the Mr. cool he always try to make himself to be.

GRADUATION DAY

Today is my graduation day. A day I've been waiting for years to come. But it was over before I knew it. Maybe its because of the fact that its just a ceremony afterall. The hard work has already been put in before that.

Anyway, I screwed up the testamur presentation award. I forgot to bow to the academic party when I stepped forward to collect it. You know why? I was friggin' urgent can? My mind blanked out loh, I just hurry the process up and ended up messing it up. Hahaha, not like they are not gonna give me like that. And I thought the best thing that could happen was they give a toilet break in-between the presentation or at least give me a rubber band can? >_< hahahaha...

When the ceremony finally ended, I sprinted like roadrunner to the nearest toilet and let it all out. It felt heavenly, I found the surrounding walls and cubicles transforming into a lush green field and the blades of grass with their shiny morning dew were swaying along with the cool gentle breeze, and I was amidst the vastness of it all. What a relief, what a pleasure it was. o_O" I proceed to join my parents who were busy helping themselves to the spread of food laid out before them. I didn't even grab a single bite leh, sad. To think I paid $15 for it. *Puiii!* After that I scoured around the place looking for people to take pictures with, but I had to leave early because my mum was not feeling well and so I had to drive her back home to rest first. A pity I missed out on the group shot of the entire class, but I guess my mum's health takes precedence before everything else's. Later on, I had dinner back home before I drove out to meet Charles and quite a few others at Swensen's.

Talking about driving, I had borrowed a car from brother-in-law for the big day. It was nice to have a car and drive people around in comfort, but on the other hand, considering how insanely expensive it is to maintain one, it really makes you think twice about getting it, unless of cos you happen to be loaded. In just 2 days, I have spent slightly over $30 on petrol alone, and close to another $10 for parking charges and coupons. Crazy right? I might as well stick to my 2 wheeler, where $10 worth of petrol can sometimes stretch me for a week. I can also squeeze past vehicles easily, and breeze through even the most congested of jams.

Not to mention the feeling of driving a car alone. Man... it can get soooo lonely inside when there's no one around, even when you have the stereo on for company. But then hor, its different when riding a bike leh. When you ride a bike alone, the feeling you get... is freedom... and liberation. Like there's nothing to stop you, or hold you back like that. Not in the speeding sense, but the feeling is just different and I find it hard to put down in words here. Hmm...

TRASH TALK

I think I'm too arrogant for my own good. I was preparing for an interview when my friend messaged me:

Lormee: "Get prepared. U have a competitor coming at 3 tmr. Must outdo him k?"

Me (smug look): "I'll not only beat him, but i'll trash him..."

Something tells me I'm gonna fall hard on my face... before my ego.

(ps. Jo is a spelling nazi...)

WHAT'S HAPPENING THIS WEEK?

Don't know what came over me. I woke up this morning and decided that I take a jog around the reservoir. Partly its because I had actually wanted to jog yesterday night but decided against it as I had dinner pretty late last night.

Karli and Michel had touched down in Singapore from Shanghai this morning, and Michel sure didn't waste any time at all, partly due to the fact that she won't be staying long here. 6 days to be precise. Everything's kinda jam packed for them. I accompanied her along where-else-but Orchard road to do her shopping for her friends as well as our colleagues back in Shanghai. She found out the prices are the same, if not slightly more expensive than back home, but the variety here is much more extensive. And she's jealous we have all the better-looking stuffs for certain brands. Haha... I would have to agree on that.

So this week's gonna be pretty exciting. Let's see... On Thursday, there's a gathering for they 2 and a few of the singaporean exchange students who worked at the company. Looking forward to catching up with Fam and Jach then, but they couldn't confirm their attendance as yet. Thursday also happens to be Michel's birthday, so we're sort of planning a surprise birthday party for her. However, something tells me she already knows something fishy is going on. Hope to make this a memorable one for Michel as this is the first time she's celebrating her birthday overseas. Hehe.

Friday would have to be my graduation day of course! as well as my fellow coursemates'! The big day everyone has been waiting for has finally come. Time sure flies, doesn't it? As we embark on the next phase of our lives, don't forget to think back of the many wonderful memories we shared in SIM and in Melbourne. I look forward to throwing the mortar board... or maybe not. Maybe I'll try a stunt and throw the damn thing like a xue di zhi (血滴子). Ya know the martial arts flick where this particular baddie can transform the farmer-like hat into a merciless killing tool complete with blades jutting out from around the rim? hahaha... Then I can slice off the person's head whom I don't like. WAHAHAHA!!!

Saturday will most probably be Sentosa with Karli and Michel. Yeah we all know thats a friggin' boring place but for tourists like them who have never been there before, it would seem cool... at least for the first time. Hahaha... don't kill me STB pleaassee.... After that, I would bring Michel to meet my best buddies and their girlfriends for some cultural exchange over dinner or supper. It should be really cool aiighht? Afterall, she had brought me to see her friends back in Shanghai and its time to return the favour and play the warm sociable host that I am.

Sunday should be last minute shopping for Michel before she leaves in the afternoon.

Phew, should keep me pretty busy this week with the entertaining and stuffs.

THE MORE THE MERRIER?

Come to think of it, I didn't do well enough to earn my degree with distinction. But after seeing half, or almost more than half the class graduate with the honour, I am thinking to myself: "Too many people got liao, spoil the exclusivity of the namesake... like any Tom, Dick or Harry can also get like that." To a certain extent, its true. Even some of the people whom I have seen their work attitude sucked big time that I don't know how the hell they managed to achieve it. So much so that it has become quite... worthless, to be honest.

Actually, the truth is I cannot make it lah. Simply can't be bothered to put in the extra effort until the last few semesters when it is all too late. Now I'm having a serious case of sour grapes. Haha...

What they should do to maintain the credibility of the degree with distinction is to employ what else but the bell curve. There should at least be some form of control mah. I'm not saying the others do not deserve it but they must ensure only the top tier of the student intake can make the grade so that there is competition to constantly push for higher grades. If not, once you slack off after hitting the point quota, then it makes no sense to award everyone with the accolade (assuming if everyone can do it). It will make the degree look bad, it will make the university awarding it look bad and ultimately, it will make us look bad. Make sense right?

THE MUD ON MY FACE IS SOIL... OUR SOIL...

Woo~ ICT's over soon before you even realised it. 19th to be exact, but hopefully we'll be out-processed on the 18th. Received near to $500 for 3 week's work. Not too bad huh? and I passed my IPPT with a 2.4km timing of 11:06. No more RTs! Yeah!!!

Finally passed the bike evaluation test today on the 2nd try. TP test date is scheduled on the 27th September. I can't wait to pass and buy my super 4 spec III!!!

On another note, I've been reading this blog, the retard patrol, having chanced upon them by accident. Since then, I've become a devouted addict, bookmarking them, and checking back almost everyday for more hilarious ah beng/ah lian bashing. I swore I never had such a good laugh at the things they wrote and the circus freaks they paraded before. Just exactly what is wrong with kids nowadays? and their horrendous smattering mix of english, singlish and hanyu pinyin to boot? "helluuu dehdee marmee, i'm home le...?" wtf?! "i'm home LE?" Good lord! what have these kids been learning?! absolutely cringe-worthy stuff there man... and it's good people at the retard patrol and their affiliates have started the initiative to address what could possibly come a social ill in no time to come. Thumbs up fellas! hahaha...

BUY 4D/TOTO PEOPLE!!!

I actually managed to finish an entire book "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown. A first in my entire life! Thanks to all the free time I had in camp. Bloody achievement, this is. Mighty fine book I say.

I bought it at changi airport before I was due to fly off to Shanghai, thinking I will have all the time in the world to finish it. How wrong I was. Free time was mostly spent exploring Shanghai on foot, and taking plenty of crap pictures which I have yet to post online. Plus, I could take the laptop home where I had internet access so I downloaded MSN messenger and caught up with the people back home into the wee hours.

I thought the book had somewhat of an anti-climax ending but I kinda half expected it anyway. When can we ever solve the mysteries surrounding the origins of religion? One thing which I liked about the book was that it throws up questions about Christianity and looked at it from a different perspective. A most welcomed change I must say. So many what ifs? What if the bible was all a pack of lies? What if the bible was fabricated by historians who want people to see things their way? In fact, as mentioned in the book, history is biased. Historians write the history of the world according to the way they perceive. How true. So can we say history is objective? Unfortunately, it never was, and never will be. People will always want to portray their history in the best possible light, regardless of what might have happened otherwise.

Buy 4D people, for I have actually finished reading a book for the first time ever!

It was dad's birthday. 12th August 2005. We went to this Tung Lok restaurant in Liang court for dinner buffet, and it was agreed that the bill be split between me and my sis, pris. The food was ok only, but the bill was quite expensive at $38+++ per head. What was interesting though, is that I actually ate half... urmm ok I lied! quarter of a fried wasabi prawn, much to the amazement of everyone at the table. Even my goodfornothing sister (not to be confused with my elder sis, pris) remarked at how I dared to put my golden tongue on that horrible tasting piece of prawn. Sheesh, it didn't taste that bad. But I'm just gonna take things slow, cos I ain't wanna puke like no merlion ya see? not a pretty sight...

Buy TOTO people, for I friggin' ate... prawns?! laughable it may seem to you... not to me though.

I was always thinking that my reservist PC resembles some really bad actor whenever he opens his mouth and talk, until another fella points out to me that he is indeed pierre png (yes... cringe people) in disguise. Hahaha... For an idea of how my PC sounds like, just tune in to Channel 8 7pm TV serial and keep your ears peeled for pierre's dialogue. "美人鱼，我要我的美人鱼!" Waaaa~ *pierre png whining*

Hahaha, and for the record, I don't watch that show. I don't even know whats it called.

Booya people!!!

SAVING CORPORAL KHOO

The day was to finally come. Section fire movement at one of the last few remaining untouched "forest", tucked away in a little corner at Paya Lebar Airbase.

We put on our SBO, then followed by our jockey caps. Luckily they never ask us to put on our helmets instead, cos I think I won't be able to think properly if I did so. Hehe... We began our tactical movement in file formation, occasionally taking cover near trees and longkangs as we walk towards that little haven of ours. And who would've known squatting down would be such a toture for us NSmen? Even me, a fighting fit 24 year old have some difficulty getting up from the squat position, you can imagine how much pain the uncles and ah cheks are going through everytime they have to squat and take cover.

And so we've finally reached our destination. As I walked among the grass and trees, a sudden gush of memories rushed to my head. It was like back during the good ol' FDC days with my platoon buddies. For that one moment, I felt familiar with the green surroundings, I was ONE with the forest... until a spider crept up my neck and I instinctly squashed it with my palm. Hahaha, no lar I merely swathed it aside... too messy if I were to smash it you see...

By this time, I'm beginning to show the strain of bearing the weight of the SBO, the one full water bottle and the rifle, which seems to be getting heavier by the minute. I sure am getting weak. Hahaha. My neck and shoulders seem so blardy stiff now I could hardly turn my head. *Gaahh*

We were assigned to do the section fire movement spread out in different parts of the "forest". As I walked to take up my position, I could not help but notice the abundance of insects (whoops, I nearly typed incest... wtf?! haha...) among the thick grass. Among them, lotsa grasshoppers, spiders, ants, and funny looking ones... you name it, they've got it... like very crowded hor. Every step I take, I don't know killed how many lives already. *Amitabha* Sinful sinful...

I slung my rifle to the front to prepare for the drill, and wondered whether are they gonna make me prone down while doing it. As the word "CONTACTED!" echoed through the place, I could not help but look towards my fellow peers whom, like me, were also looking at each other as if waiting for a sign from god himself. Hahaha...

One can almost certainly notice the hesitancy as expected of us NSMen in getting completely down and getting our no.4s dirtied in the process. As we cham siong with the section commander, you can hear people saying: "mai lar, ee lang wu siao bo? mai ar ni garang eh sai buay? wa lang si reservist leh! nabeh! kanina lar!" hahahah... damn funny. Like in every ICT, there's bound to have people who kpkb one. But we couldn't do without them also lar, cos' they provide the jokes mah...

When we saw that there was no way he's gonna budge, we sacrifice ourselves in the hope of finishing the whole damn thing faster so that we can have our lunch. Absolutely famished by then. The grass was quite clean actually, but god knows how many insects we've squashed when the fat bellies plopped down on them. Hahaha... I got myself a nice spot when I first landed. But that was not it, at the next leap I moved forward and was to land comfortably when I realised that particular part is wet...

Too late, down I went and my shriek momentarily shattered the tranquility of the place. "MY NO.4 IS WET!!!! OMFG!!!!" Hahaha, no lar I bluff one... how can shriek like a little girl? I uttered a "f***!" underneath my breath, and cursed my luck. I promptly got up, and squatted instead. Wah damn suay man, but heng ah the water is rainwater, not smelly one. I'll just wait for it to dry lar...

It was to be another hour of drills, drills and more drills before we finally get to pack up and head back to camp, and then to the cookhouse!!! Aaahhhh... food... gei wo yi dian chi de ba? huh?

BAD HAIR DAY

OMG... I think I look like a cock now. Shouldn't have went for a haircut on my own. Should've just let the malay barber at my camp cut for me. *Zaarrr-Zaarrrr-Zaaaarrrrr* Whats the difference?! It looks like shit anyway. I hate reservist... when it involves getting my precious locks cut. Tell me how to face the world like that?! My graduation ceremony coming up on the 26th this month leh! How how how!? Don't tell me to wear wig, cos I'll slap you with a smelly trout! *Grrr...*

SERVING MY MOTHERLAND

First day of ICT is always a bore. This time round it was no different. Lecture after lecture, powerpoint slides after slides. I fell asleep, as usual... hehehe. The only thing to look forward to, besides booking out, is the much awaited breaks in-between lessons. Only then can I sneak out to take a pee or get something to munch on. Haha...

There were a few familiar faces this time round, partly because of the few people I've met the last time I attended ICT with these people. I also met ah cheng aka "g.c.b" (hurhurhur =P), my ex- sect comd from my active days and matthew my lao cheow from bcp! whose now working at SIA as a flight steward! How cool is that?!

Lucky this time round, there was no Exercise Steeple Chase. For the rest of you who don't have the slightest clue as to what the hell I'm blabbering about, neh mind. It's just some really stupid thing that requires us to stay in the sandbag bunkers 24/7 - baked to perfection under the hot stifling afternoon sun, and subjected to the elements of mother nature. *Gaahhh~*

Even the outdoor hunk has it hard sometimes...

RETURN OF THE KING

Ah... finally had the chance to see my blogspot in Singapore again. Really don't know why in China cannot even view websites with blogger extensions. Strange... but neh mind lah, now back in Singapore liao, can see all I want...

Signed up for my class 2A bike lesson yesterday and had my first practical lesson today. Haha... good thing only 3 lessons, then its TP. But I flunked today's lesson... couldn't get used to riding a bigger bike, somemore with a different posture than my phantom. Can't handle it well enough. Sigh... so tomorrow I'll be going back again... hope I'll do better this time round, cos I aim to get my license in a month or two's time...

Bad news is that I have to go back for reservist... starting this friday the 29th, all the way till 19th August... woah damn long huh... then its graduation ceremony on the 26th August... woo~ can't wait man... ORD loh!!!

4 WHEELS BAD 2 WHEELS GOOD

The recent case of the taxi driver intentionally driving the motorcyclist to his death sickens me. And to think he supposedly give a grin after he sent the poor fella and his pillion flying through the air. Now that IS really fucking sick to the core.

Regardless of what the reasons are for your dissatisfaction towards the motorcyclist, or for that matter whose fault is it, there is NO reason why anyone should turn against sanity and did what that taxi driver did, unless it confirms one thing; that human nature is inherently evil, something which I have long suspected. The "need" to assert authority and establish dominance in the face of challenge to this thing called the self-conceited pride some of us guys are guilty of at times, its a primal thing ain't it? Think the alpha-male among a bunch of apes. No way are we just gonna walk away without putting up a fight aren't we?

In this scenario, it really calls for rationality at the end of the day. You are just a 2 wheeler, and the other fella is a 4 wheeler encased in metal. You just gotta keep a cool head, even harder when you know this 4 wheeler is purposely getting on your nerves. BUT you have to do it. You have EVERYTHING to lose and NOTHING to gain. I jolly well know this more than anyone elso do. I've lost count the number of times these bloody 4 wheelers tried to run me off my lane, as if I have no right to be on the road. I deserve more than the scant respect (if any) they showed me.

Why do they have to drive so near me when they have acres of space beside them? Why do they need to tailgate me? Why do they have to cut into my lane just infront of me when they could have just drove further ahead and switched?

Like the hell I know?!

9-YEAR OLD SOCCER PRODIGY

Oh-My-Gawd... *Jaws drop to the ground*

This KID can run circles around me, and almost everyone else I know.

Go to: http://www.jean-carlos-chera.com/

Nothing comes close... nothing...

FINALE

So this is it, the moment I'm waiting for. Checked my results online at the office today on the dot at 3:30pm sharp. Heaved a sigh of relief when I saw the screen. Managed a decent result but not good enough for the degree with merit. Just 2 points shy of making the grade. Damnit, so close yet so far. Maybe I'll strip to my undies and dance in front of the chancellor of RMIT so that they'll give me the extra 2 points?

Ｉｔ＇ｓ　Ａｎｏｔｈｅｒ　Ｂｌｏｇ！

Oh yeah, got myself a xanga. Mainly to write about my daily musings in Shanghai. Will try to update whenever I'm bored at the office *Oops!* Hahaha... or when I really have the time lar...

WHEN IN ROME, DO AS ROMANS DO...

My colleague Michel invited me for dinner with her friends yesterday. All local shanghainese. 4 of us. You can say its kinda like a double date. Ahem! o_O *Ooohhh* hahaha... Dinner was steamboat served the local style. They had 鸳鸯火锅, just like in Singapore, plus a few dishes and sauces which I thought was rather nasty tasting though. Put in duck's brain (omg! they really have it!) and pig's tongue (that one I not quite sure) and TADA! You have Fear Factor, Shanghai style! Hehehe...

It was pretty awkward at first, being the only alien there but any fears of a potentially cold situation were put to rest because well, I speak pretty darn good mandarin to begin with. Hahaha... no lah, actually it's because they're really chatty people, especially michel's "老婆". All younger than me, but looks older leh. In fact, most locals I met here looked far more older than they really are... don't know why. We had lots to chat over dinner and we realised that we had more things in common than what we actually thought. Things like watching the same cartoons over the years (NARUTO IS HOT IN CHINA TOO!)to playing the same computer games (WARCRAFT 3:DOTA!) and eating the same type of food, albeit slightly altered (eg. 油条 and 豆浆). Maybe its not a surprise afterall considering the world is getting smaller with each passing day.

Most local Shanghainese grads here speak conversational english better than I had expected, cos they told me they had to learn the language for 13 years prior to entering university. Much like how our Singaporean government "forced" batches after batches of kids to learn the chinese language, to much disgrunt. And to think some Singaporean Chinese can't even speak chinese at all. What a pity. (Nono, not you Jo... but close... hahaha) Well, it didn't affect me much. I'm born with a talent, with languages that is, and it pretty much stops there. Hahaha... Being the effectively billingual me, I surely had no problems with picking up new languages (Just look at the ease in which I can "fake" those bloody accents that almost sound so real). If I had my way? I would want to be an interpreter for anyone, and the world can be my office. Oh yeah, you heard that right...

It's also a good thing to get out and mingle with people from different culture. If I were the me from a few years back, I would rather stick to the singaporean clique in my company and stayed within my comfort zone. Obviously, it would not have made a lot of sense when you are working in someone else's country. How do you consider yourself to have truly been to a country and lived in it unless you play, eat and work like a local?

And yeah, tomorrow morning I'll be playing soccer with the people in my company, including a few ah cheks too. Haha... Cant hardly wait because the goh tat chuan in me is dying to be unleashed on my unsuspecting preys. Most probably will make quite a few enemies because of my dazzling soccer skills and nifty footwork. Can't be blamed though, people often get all green-eyed over talented people. It happens everywhere so its not a big deal. *shrugs shoulders*

CONSPIRACY THEORY

I just realised that its a pretty darn small world after all. The 2 Singaporean interns at the company whom I'm working with - I actually knew one from way back in BMT, even though we're from different sections. The other, well, he was from TJC and he knew some friends from the same secondary school as I was, so we indirectly knew each other as well.

I would like to think that President Hu has something against me. I dunno why but I can't seem to access my blog address from here in Shanghai! It always redirect me to this website saying they cannot find my address... blah blah blah... and that's it! Its the same whether I try to access it from the office or from home! And the strange thing is I can't access any blogspot addresses too... But lucky though I could still type in my entries.

Came back home from work just now and had an insightful conversation with Uncle Jerry. He shared with me his experience and the success he came to identify himself with. Really thought provocating stuffs there, like for example on how I should really have a CLEAR idea of what I am going to be in 5 to 10 years down the road. Perhaps it is really time for me to wake up from this deep slumber and engage in a mindset shakeup in terms of the laid-back, stuck-in-comfort-zone mentality the modern and successful environment has brought to many in our generation.

In the past, people work because they need to. Now, they work because they wish to. It's not a matter of survival anymore. People simply job hop when they can't take hardship in the lightest form and to what extent does it reveal about their personality and character? My uncle's advice to me is very simple. Do lots of research on the company which hopefully, can grow along with your goals and ambition. Make sure you MUST really do what you enjoy doing without having to wake up every morning dreading to go to work. Lastly, pay is secondary. As he puts it, you are a fresh graduate asking to be taken in to learn the ropes, how in any way does it make any sense for you to demand a specified sum of salary from them when all you got is a piece of paper that says next to nothing about your ability to perform? Sounds logical to many, but people are just too obsessed with money. Not that I'm absolved from it as well, but the thing is, money is not everything... for now. Bottom line? Think long term. Even though you might have to make sacrifices now, it will more than pay back in time to come. And it definitely helps that I have no distractions for now. (read: no girlfriends)

Oh well, its close to 1am. Time to sleep. Still got to go to work tomorrow.

Ooh... I feel like a woman!

Company activity today. Annual visit to this orphanage for kids abandoned by their parents because they were born with physical or intellectual defect. Kinda sad though. Their parents threw them aside just because they were not born normal; it reflects how heartless people can get in today's society. Giving birth is a responsibility and you have to accept how YOUR child turns out, good or bad. Its not like tossing coins to buy toy capsules - if you don't like what you get, you throw it away... just like that. Thats definitely not how things work out.

I just realised today that I have this talent for cradling babies. While my peers are fumbling with theirs, I held mine like a pro. Yes, I mean it. It feels like I've been carrying babies my whole life! hahaha... Take that Doong! I'm MORE FATHERLY than you!!! Hehehe... Anyway, this baby was left behind in the cot while the company staff picked up each of them one by one. She was crying so I went up to her and embrace her in my bosoms *oops* I mean chest. After a while of coochi coochi coo-ing, she stopped crying and soon after, she feel asleep in my arms! *See! I'm good at it!* I tried to put her down after a while but I can't bear to cos' the way she fell asleep snugly in my embrace is just a sight to marvel at. Imagine: the ferocious tackling tough-as-nails no nonsense kiat on the soccer field is a snag and a fatherly figure all rolled into one! Haha! And can you believe it, I held on to her for half an hour before I had to put her down. But the moment her head touched the soft pillow, she awoke to bawl at me for letting her go. She must be so deprived of love...

All of a sudden, the matron passed me a milk bottle and asked me to feed da baby. I was stumped for a while and I told her that I don't really know how to feed one. But she just shoved the bottle into the baby's mouth and rotated it around before asking me to take over... just like that! hahaha... friggin' easy eh? and what's surprising is that the baby is sleeping while drinking the milk... I was amazed... hahaha... Eh you guys think I'm talking cock all the while right? hahaha... neh mind neh mind... wait I finish uploading the online photo albums then show you guys ok? The baby finished up the milk in a few minutes or so and I had to put her back into her cot because we had to leave soon after. Yeah, she cried her lungs out the moment I put her down. It was hard to say goodbye but... but... but... korkor has to go...

FIRST DAY JITTERS

Got a taste of what its like to be in Shanghai. People don't give a damn about cutting queues. Experienced it first hand while queuing up to clear customs. They shove you like they hated you to the guts. If you thought singaporean aunties in the Great Singapore Sale was bad, this is worse. In fact, MANY times worse. Hahaha...

I wonder why they would even want to install traffic lights or draw the lines on the roads for? Cars were cutting into pedestrian crossings like nobody's business. You are supposed to look out for them, and not the other way round. Weird. Hahaha... its like a jungle out there. Every man for himself.

Forget about desiring any personal space here. Be it looking at gum to buy in convenience stores or standing in the train carriage to go to work, the locals there literally breath down your neck!Arrghh! hahaha...

Oh yeah, beware of pickpockets too... or so everyone seems to say. I'm not taking any chances though, especially when I lost my SIM card cum cash card on the night after dinner with the guys in somerset. I left it in the IU unit on my bike and its gone just like that. Why would people be so kian png and nothing better to do than to go around looking to make a quick steal?

The weather's just perfect. Hovering around the 20s. Cooling. Just like when I was back in Melbourne. But its expected to heat up in the coming weeks, so enjoy while I can.

The workplace's really awesome. Situated at the highest level (51st storey) in Raffles Tower. Yeah its built by the Singapore government and officially opened by PM Lee Hsien Loong. The interior and especially the lift look exactly like those you find in UOB Plaza. And wait till you get to the office. A panaromic 360 degrees of the entire city landscape of Shanghai. It really can't get any better than this. Pictures coming up soon.

First day at work today. Didn't do much leh. Went around introducing myself to everyone. Got my name card. Muahaha... impressive. Attached to marcom department and my first task was to call up this lady to change the booth we were assigned to. Oh yeah, I chose to dig my own grave by conversing in chinese with a native speaker but it turned out pretty well though. I could pretty much hold my own there. hahaha... eh, what do you expect from someone who took higher chinese at, get this, PSLE level before? Power right?? mai siao siao hor... hahaha... the rest of the day was spent reading up more on the company operations in China and the lonely planet guidebook which I got from karli, my shanghai correspondent cum 'guardian angel' hahaha... he's a pretty nice guy and he's gonna show me the way here so I have to depend alot on him... hehe... that's all for now... zai jian from shanghai!