Out At Sea

BATAM, HERE I COME!!

Yeah, finally... a short (but still better than nothing) 2D1N getaway to somewhere, anywhere.

In half hour's time, I'd be setting out with papa & uncle & aunty to a kelong off Batam island, on invitation of uncle's pal who owned the kelong. =)

Yippee yeah yeah. It's back to the sun & the sea for this crappy crab - its natural habitat! *grin grin*

Okies, tanning oil's packed. newspapers' packed. swimming costume's packed. camera's packed.

AND work's in bin.

Alrighty, I'm set. Perhaps u can look forward to some lovely pictures tomorrow.

TGIT

Sorry for the past few days of word drought.

There really is nothing interesting to write about. Current state of life is a black-white monotone, a clockwork of hr-hand chasing the min-hand, a big sad blur.

The same flurry of paperwork, the same messed-up state of personal life.

Am glad this is the final week of formal meetings with kid-clients. They are already so distracted, it's like a farmer trying to rein in his bulls on heat.

In & out, out & in. The invisible threads that link Family <-> Hospital just never end, do they? Never underestimate the power of genes. It can determine where your death bed would be.

Career-wise, it's currently sweet like oreo cream. But at what price? Teeth will decay, ants will invade. At what price?

TGIT (Thank God It's Thursday) - in another 1hr 16min 40sec.

Let there be LIGHT

BlackOUT. WipeOUT.

ComputerFREEZE. BrainFREEZE.

Candle burning bright, twinkling in the night...

Reporting from XXX Road: Massive Blackout. For the past 6hrs, it's been night. A lone candle burns, trying desparately to spread miniscule rays of light...

Some smiled as it meant no work. Some frowned as it meant more work.

Even the emergency lights had committed suicide. Only the air-con is still running. How weird. It's like a headless chicken still ambling around.

Let there be light.

Camera... Lights... Action!

AIYOH!

Mr Desmond Koh & Ms Quan Yi Feng are just a few metres below me! At the first floor concourse, hosting the "You(3) Hua(4) Jiu(4) Shuo(1)" talkshow! What a hulla balla they are creating. So many wires, so many cameras, so many lights, all the movable backdrops and counter-seats, all the curious kid-clients crowding the stairways, all the NGs, all the mics... and a very professional missy host who is all bubbly, friendly and quick-witted when camera's rolling but who looks absolutely irritated, bored and unapproachable when tape's not moving. Excellent.

It's not easy money I must say, all the NGs... repeat and repeat AND REPEAT until even the chairs can recite the "tai(2) chi(2)". *faint*

I was initially thinking of auditioning for the Channel U's "Superhost" competition, but guess I'd be better off talking to chairs.

Bombshell

The Big Head just told the kid clients - "No more year end attachment trip to Land of Oz... Risk assessment not favorable."

There goes months of planning & liasion. :''(

Hope it will truly be a deferment & NOT cancelation. What a sianz nov/dec hol it would now be...

Crappy Crab

I am crabby in more ways than one...

First of all, I love black pepper crabs. The more peppery, the better. The more roe, the yummier. I think there's a zi-char stall in Tiong Bahru that whips up quite a decent one. *YUM*

Next, I can't navigate straight. I am beginning to think that one reason why I still hasn't passed my test is coz I am a hazardous crab on the road. I can only go sideways and will probably mount kerbs and drive on walkways all the way from bt batok to orchard.

Also, I have a thick hard shell that I sometimes withdraw into and refuse to exit. I can be really anti-social and fiercely private. If you try and dig me out, I will pincer you! But then again, I am most of the time also really friendly and like to wave my hairy joints around. One hellava split-personality, attention-grabbing crappy crab.

Finally, I am a true-blue crab, a pure cancerian. A super family-oriented, darn emotional, terribly loyal crustacean whom horoscope says makes one of the BEST housewife possible. So... would you like a crappy crab?

Pally buddies

One of the greatest things in life is probably to have great, real friends - people who truly look out for your welfare with no strings attached, who patiently tahan your irritating personal habits, who feels your pain & senses your worries, and who puts you firmly in place when you are in danger of becoming light-headed.

Over the past 2.5 decades, I definitely have my share of great buddies. Some stayed, others left. From sharing sugary butter biscuits & Doraemon chocolates during recess times (pri), to badminton gatherings & greasy BBQs at heartland pits (sec), to group dates & stayovers at east side chalets (JC), to thronging forum bazaars & dissecting journals in canteens (uni), to volunteer work & all-night mahjong parties (YEP), to overseas indulgence trips & makan place check-outs (work)... life has been colourful.

Papa used to say, at different stages in life, one will have different good friends. To those who have shared/am sharing so much with me, I hope you'd continue to stay. Love you. Thank you.

Garang Guni...

Tic-Toc... Tic-Toc... Boom... Boom... Boom...

"Garang guni... Garang guni... Collecting old newspapers, old clothings, spoiled tv, spoiled radio..."

Buying price: 1kg old newspapers - 8cents.
Selling price?
How many cents do they earn?

Sooner or later, garang guni man will become as extinct as dodo birds. They'd take their places amongst the middle-aged malay aunties who used to hawk their drool-inducing, homemade curry puffs & nasi lemak along HDB corridors in the 80's.

I like garang guni men. With their trademark horns and rickety-crickety trolleys, they bring a sense of calm and predictability to this increasingly messy world...

Q till u drop

Singaporeans just love to queue, don't they?

Man... after 2.5hrs of house vacumming + mopping, one of the last things I'd like to do is to stand in line for another hour, inching along those snakey rows... But heck, that's exactly what I ended up doing tonight with dear old marly.

Thinking it was some unusual exhibition on blockbusters, with movie screenings and pyjamas party thrown in, I went down to the Asian Civilization Museum (ACM) @ Empress Place... and DAH TAH! It's the JOURNEY OF FAITH, showcasing art & history from the Vatican collections. Woo hoo... artefacts related to pilgrimages, art works by famous painters, articles worn by Popes, architectural plans of the basilica... (and I must admit, i knew close to zilch about Christianity to begin with. If my ex has seen me there, he'd have gorged his eyeballs out and rinsed it in saline to double-check. =P)

Dunno if it's because today's the last day of exhibition, or coz it's the novelty of a 24hr display, or coz it's FREE for tonite, or coz of its rarity & sacredness... tons of people simply descended on ACM. Pavements & bus bays doubled up as parking lots, queues were omnipresent - on pavements, up stairs, in front of gallery, even inside gallery..., papas with mamas with kiddos..., locals, foreigners..., u name it, u got it.

I'm glad I went. I think the paintings were awesome. Some of them looked so real they are almost scary... Saint Matthew could have talked to me. The 1:250 model of St Peter's Basilica was also stunning. One could get lost looking at it.

But the Qs were horrendous. Especially to an old hag with aching legs and back.

Blockbuster exhibition indeed.

Heavy Duty

post-celebrated a volunteer buddy's hatchday today @ marina square. perhaps u can check out Vientai the next time u pop by. the supervisor there is woah, alert & does know what service is all about.

magic formula: order some uncommon dishes, pray that they get sold out, then pray even harder for the waiter to not tell u till it's 15min later. bingo that for 2 times, and the supervisor would be apologetic enough to personally serve u a main course on the house.

anyways, i digressed. a buddy said today that reading my blog is like reading some serious, brain-wrecking journal. recent entries were just too heavy-going man. keep it light, he said. keep it cheery. write about happy things.

but hey, i've always been quite a thinker-reflector-ponderer... who recently is not feeling super light-hearted nor cheery mah. but if you try to write about happy stuff, then maybe you'd feel lighter, then good things may start to happen! he said.

So a blog = a documentation of how i am feeling now?

Or a blog = a documentation of what others would like to read and hear about?

Maslow says...

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs:


Last sunday night, after acquiring 2 new tops as a reward for demolishing a 3-inch stack of marking, I was mechanically chewing on mouthfuls of tasteless vegetarian rice when my thoughts turned to good old Maslow.

(i.e Abraham Maslow proposed, in his 1943 paper, "A Theory of Human Motivation" that as humans meet their basic needs, they seek to satisfy successively higher needs that occupy a set hierarchy)

And I start to question the meaning of life, again. Sometimes I think I am really low-level - fancy feeling fulfiled just because I met some lifeless work target and got some factory-cloned tops as evidence of reward of my "achievement"...

What followed was a self-directed, back-forth, structure-less bouncing of ideas and arguments within my tiny lump of grey matter.

Are we as evolved as we think we are, in terms of needs & aspirations? Or are we no different from our primitive cousins who live out their existence climbing trees?

Do we embrace life by indulging in material pleasures & prestige? Or do we seek release from societal norms in pursuit of abstract goals?

Would we be happy if we self-actualize as habitants without material security?

One day, after my family's taken care of, I'd be tempted to leave behind all, and spend a year or two as a nameless unknown, a wanderer-worker who volunteers in some far flung developing country, or an insignificant extra who follow some performing troupe as they traverse the globe...

What say you, good ole Maslow?

It's a mad mad world

Another spate of bombings in Bali. Who says lightning doesn't strike the same spot twice? U.S, Indonesia, England... Where next? Japan, Philippines, Singapore??? Seems like nowhere is safe.

Turn left or turn right? You'd never know if you're heading straight into another bomb trap... Remain where you are? The mozzies will come bite you and give you dengue... Experts are warning of an impending global flu pandemic that could wipe out millions... Cows, chickens, fishes, dogs and cats are taking turns getting infected by mutated bugs... Sooner or later, it'd be our turn.

The world is so topsey-turvey, Man gets killed before age kills Man. Or should I say, Man kills himself before age kills Man...

Say your prayers, and try to be good boys & girls while we await The End.